Windows 7 failed to start tried many things

[bryan1291]

Alright I am sorry if this is in the wrong section, but it has more to do with my homebuilt pc than just windows I assume.

I first started having problems with my pc just freezing, the fans were still running, but a manual reset was enough to get it working again. Then windows was not loading all i got was a black screen "windows 7 failed to start due to hardware or software change might be the cause".

I tested my ram with memtest, and that was not the issue, so I thought my Corsair force 3 SSD was the issue. I unplugged it and used one of my regular sata drives I used for storage loaded it up with windows 7 and bam it worked. And for the 2-3 weeks I thought the problem was fixed. Withing those 3 weeks I had my PC freeze a few times, hoped it was not a big issue again.

Then today I ran into the black screen again "windows 7 failed to start due to hardware or software change might be the cause". Okay so what are the chances 2 drives happen to have the same issue, so I decided to install a fresh windows 7 again into my Corsair Force 3 SSD.

Now the problem was installing windows 7, every time it came to the first reboot in the installation process my monitor would not turn back on. This caused me to manual reboot to see if my monitor would respond, sometimes it worked sometimes I would have to unplug the power chord and hope the monitor responds again.

I kept browsing through the site to see similar problems and I tried to reset my CMOS, I did it through swapping the pin heads for 5-10 seconds and swapping them back. I tried to freshly install windows 7 again into the SSD and after a long time of some of the same issues it somehow finally installed windows 7, but after a few seconds after logging in the PC would just freeze while the fans were still running. I tried it a few more time and then after a few seconds of being on the desktop it would reset and sometimes the monitor will respond and other times it wouldn't.

Windows box came back up to try and repair the problem, but of course that didn't work.


I am running out of options, someone please help.


PC specs:
Core i7 920
Asus P6T motherboard
6GB DDR3 ram
Nvidia 275GTX

Corsair Force 3 SSD 120g
Hitachi 320GB 7200rpm
Hitachi 500GM 7200rpm

 

[nimbus9]

From my limited experience that sounds like bad RAM or a poorly seated RAM module which caused me to have problems very similar to what you have.

Other goofs I have done that caused similar failures was a stray cable strangling the CPU fan causing heat buildup and instability. Monitor your temperature in BIOS if you are able to see if there is a heat related stability problem.

 

[bryan1291]

I did a memtest on my ram about 3 weeks ago for over an hour and no errors came up, don't think ram is the issue, but I might run it again if I find get no other response.

 

[Curtis772]

Try checking to see if there is firmware update for your SSD.

After resetting CMOS, are you going into the BIOS and loading optimized defaults?

It is my understand the memtest is designed for 1 stick of ram at a time. I would perhaps try that if the firmware update doesn't do the trick.

gluck

 

[Guest]

points to a graphic card issue. Try to run ur system with bare minimum hardware.

remove all the rams except one. use only the ssd and the graphic card. U must have already check ur cables


Try with another graphic if u have or can get one. even a faulty mouse or keyboard can cause problems

 

[bryan1291]

Try checking to see if there is firmware update for your SSD.

After resetting CMOS, are you going into the BIOS and loading optimized defaults?

It is my understand the memtest is designed for 1 stick of ram at a time. I would perhaps try that if the firmware update doesn't do the trick.

gluck

what do you mean loading the optimized defaults, sorry i had never reset the cmos before

 

[Curtis772]

I don't have an ASUS mobo but the steps should be similar across most mobo. When booting hit the 'delete' key to enter the bios. There should be an option to Load Optimized Defaults, use the arrow keys to highlight and hit enter, Y to confirm this action, f10 to save and exit which should reboot the system.

gluck

 

[bryan1291]

Alright so I reset the CMOS again then did the Load optimized defaults which is just the f5 key on the BIOS menu. I was able to get on the desktop, opened up explorer and about 45 seconds in the pc reset itself and when it came back up the monitor was non responsive again.

Running on 1 ram stick at the moment, going to do a memtest on the 1 stick, I will be constantly checking here for updates, please any help will be greatly appreciated.

>> I will also be booting from one of my hitachi hard drives just to eliminate the cause quicker

EDIT >>> Did 2 passes on 1 of the ram sticks no errors, I will continue to only use that 1 RAM stick until I can find the issue

 

[nimbus9]

Reflecting on your problem a bit more it seems that the failure occurring at such a regular interval might not be due to bad memory or a bad memory slot.

If I were in your situation I would burn a linux live disk such as ubuntu or fedora and load it up and observe what happens. If the live linux cd runs well, then it would rule out a hardware problem.

 

[bryan1291]

At this point I'll try anything, I'll download ubunto and check it out if it runs smooth then I'll know it's a software issue

Still open to any suggestion, spam refreshing this page hoping for the best

 

[bryan1291]

Alright so I was able to install w7 a over lap into one of my hitachi drives, with this drive unlike my SSD it does not freeze, HOWEVER the issue now is when I reboot my pc getting my monitor to work is the only real problem.

I don't want to say it's fixed because it's not, yes I can get onto my desktop (with 1 ram stick will try with the 6gb in a bit) , but having to unplug my chord everytime i reset does not seem like something healthy for my pc lol.

Please any idea towards what it wrong


EDIT

On my hitachi drive windows froze and the pc rebooted and of course the monitor went blank when it rebooted

back to square one

 

[bryan1291]

I've been running ubunto for about 20 minutes without freezes, but on reboots i still have to unplug chord to get my monitor to respond.

I still have no idea how to get my W7 to work though

 

[smorizio]

sounds like a bad cap or part in the power supply. if you have another power supply i would use that. what brand is the one you have now and have you gogled the make and model to se the reviews and any tests data??

 

[bryan1291]

I am using a corsair gs700, a few months back my old psu was dying on me and i replaced it with this one and it has been really good to me so far, i doubt the psu is the problem

 

[nukemaster]

For the monitor, try another port on the video card. I have seen that happen for some strange reason with some cards.

I understand you are sure the memory is not the issue, but sometimes even bad ram needs many passes to show up as an error.

So to ensure, you have tested the system with the bare min as suggested by ajaxmaru. It is one of the best starting places for trouble shooting.

I highly doubt the power supply. For one thing, your system is not loaded up and a bad cap would most likely reduce power filtering to a point of crashing even sooner(even under Ubuntu).

Does your ram have any special voltage needs? Some need that little bit more voltage to work right.

 

[bryan1291]

I will let it go through passes through the night and post the results on the morning

 

[bryan1291]

I did 10 passes on one of the sticks on the first slot, I will put the same stick on the other slots to 100% rule out the ram

-------

Posting as much info as I can to get this sorted

CPU Temperature 35c
MB Temp 37c

CPU Voltage 1.144V
3.3V Volate 3.328V
5V Voltage 5.094V
12V Voltage 12.137V

(from the bios)

 

[bryan1291]

The problem is no longer Windows failed to start, just clarifying for people just jumping in to the thread the 2 issues I need to figure out are:

1. On all reboots my monitor does not work while the fans are running, and I have to unplug the power chord press the power button for 5 seconds and plug it back in for the monitor to finally respond. When the monitor does respond I can hear a change in the fans, it sounds a bit lower is the only way i can describe it.

2. The few times i have even tried to load up windows it freezes shortly after i reach the desktop anywhere from seconds to 3minutes in. On my SSD it was seconds and on my Hitachi drive I think the longest time I was able to be on the desktop was 4minutes then it froze and immediately after the freeze the PC rebooted itself, and on the reboot my monitor again was not working.

 

[nimbus9]

I scanned the thread and did not see the results of running the machine with another video card. Did I miss that?
Also as I pointed out earlier I have made my share of dumb mistakes during a build so I must ask - Is the video card plugged into the power supply?

 

[bryan1291]

I don't have another video card to try out, but I've been using this pc for 3 years I assure you the video card was plugged in correctly

 

[nukemaster]

Have you tried to remove and reinstall the video card it self, just in case it has become partially unseated.

You have what seems like a rather unique problem.

 

[bryan1291]

I reseated the video card yesterday

 

[nukemaster]

When you loose video, what happens if you unplug and replug your DVI/VGA/HDMI cable(same or other port while it is still on)?

I remember in the older days, sometimes the drivers would toss my video onto the tv, but you have no mention of TV or a second screen.

 

[bryan1291]

I am able to boot up into safe mode, not sure what I can test for while in safe mode though

I only lose the video, when the pc reboots, or if Turn off the pc and boot it up again quickly. And it's not really losing video it's just my monitor does not respond at all when that happens

 

[nukemaster]

The biggest issue i see here is that on restart you seem to loose the video all together right, no access to the bios even just black screen?

If that is so, i would have to guess a board or gpu(video card) issue, but it is hard to see what it is without another video card to test.

It is very important to see if a friend has a video card you can try. The fan difference you are hearing sounds like the startup on most systems. Fans spin fast then slow down as it posts. This can be a bios OR video problem.

Do you have a PC speaker connected(not related to the sound card its just a little speaker in the case it connects to the board near the power/reset switch connector), does it beep at you or anything when this happens? This speaker can also give you an idea of what is happening on the board when it does not post.

A very far fetched idea would be a cpu error. On X58 and newer, the CPU has the PCI-e controller that runs the video cards(s) so any error or issue with the cpu or even its socket(LGA to be accurate) can cause issues with the video card.

Lots of variables that need to be ruled out one at a time.

I am looking at hardware problems now because at post, windows has no effect on anything.