Why do I have trouble starting my machine?

[Seany Sean]

Hi,

I've recently been having a problem starting up my machine. I get the single beep which inticates that all the pre-OS checks are ok but then the OS fails to load and I'm left staring at a black screen. Normally switching the machine off then on again resolves this but the issue seems to be getting worse. Recently I have to perform this process a number of times before I get a start up, and sometimes I have to leave my machine a day or so before I get anything. My C Drive is an SSD and I've run scans and checks to assess the state of it's health but according to the results everything is fine with that drive.

Is it possible that some other hardware issue could be responsible? Could it be a software thing? Are there any checks or tests I can do to track the source down and fix it?

My machine specs are as follows:

Motherboard: Asus Z9 P-E D8 WS
CPU: 2x Intel(R) Xeon(R) E5-2687W0 @ 3.10Ghz
RAM: 64Gb
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

Many thanks.

SJ.

[Poseidonas]

Re: Why do I have trouble starting my machine?

It sounds like you have a corrupt boot record. Unfortunately your drive scans did not include the first partition (~100MB) that contains the data to boot up the OS. If you wanted to perform a complete scan, you would need to destroy all partitions (2 if MBR, 3 if GPT/UEFI) then create a single partition to scan it

Fortunately, you likely wouldn't need to do this at all. If you find your Windows 7 Ultimate DVD, boot off of it then choose the option to repair your computer. Next, it should present some options. Here, choose to go to the command prompt.

Now, run each of these commands one by one, IN ORDER, pressing enter after each and waiting for the process to complete before continuing:

• bootrec /fixMBR
• bootrec /fixBoot
• sfc /scannow <--first change to drive windows is on (may not be c:) then type this
• bootrec /rebuildBCD <--Don't Run This Unless Other Options Failed To Help

BootRec = Boot Recovery. MBR = Master Boot Record (if formatted as such). BCD = Boot Configuration Data. SFC = System File Check

Note there is a space before each /

The options available are explained in greater detail here and here


You can boot into Linux off a USB drive to perform data transfers, repartitioning, and much more.

1. Grab Universal USB Installer here
2. Download UBUNTU or the Linux Mint distribution in the Cinnamon flavor (UBUNTU is more common, has a Mac/Unix feel to the UI. Mint is more technical)
3. Insert a 4GB+ thumb drive, keeping in mind any data on it will be lost
4. Use Universal USB Installer, and look in the list for the Linux distro you downloaded
5. PLEASE READ ALL PROMPTS DURING USE TO AVOID ACCIDENTALLY FORMATTING THE WRONG DRIVE
6. Proceed with formatting the USB drive and installing Linux onto it.
7. When complete, boot your computer off the fresh USB drive. Choose to run it Live (not install).
8. Enjoy! You can install programs off the internet from here as well

Linux uses GPart for drive management

Also, you can run far more tests using Ultimate Boot CD (iso) There is a myriad of repair tools as well but I am not sure if they would help with the SSD. Performance / failure tests would help you more with this particular toolset.

To install Ultimate Boot CD to a USB drive, download the ISO and utilize Universal USB Installer that I mentioned previously!