Windows 7 won't start first time, every time - Help Needed

Thanks, Azeez. I tried all the things that you suggested (including following the instructions at the link you included). The computer would restart fine at first and so I thought I'd solved the problem (although there wasn't anything obvious that I changed) but when I did a full shut down and power down and then tried to restart (instead of just a straight restart), the machine would not start Windows at all. I tried all the combinations for about 2h (I'm persistent if nothing else) and have now given up for the day. I'm planning to take it in to the store where I bought it since it hasn't been right from day 1 (about a month ago).

I'll update this thread if I am ever able to get the problem solved.

Hi Seabee2010,

Thank you for using Microsoft Windows forum

Follow the steps given below and check if it helps.

Step 1 :

To help troubleshoot error messages and other issues, you can start Windows Vista or Windows 7 by using a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. This kind of startup is known as a "clean boot." A clean boot helps eliminate software conflicts.

Note When you perform a clean boot, you may temporarily lose some functionality. When you start the computer as usual, the functionality returns. However, you may receive the original error message, or you may experience the original behavior.

Follow the below steps to put your computer in clean boot state:

Note If the computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may prevent you from following these steps. We strongly recommend that you do not use the System Configuration utility to modify the advanced boot options on the computer unless a Microsoft support engineer directs you to do this. Doing this may make the computer unusable.

1. Log on to the computer by using an account that has administrator rights.
2. Click Start button, type msconfig.exe in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER to start the System Configuration Utility.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.

3. On the General tab, click Selective Startup, and then click to clear the Load startup items check box. (The Use Original Boot.ini check box is unavailable.)
4. On the Services tab, click to select the Hide all Microsoft services check box, and then click Disable all.

Note Following this step lets Microsoft services continue to run. These services include Networking, Plug and Play, Event Logging, Error Reporting, and other services. If you disable these services, you may permanently delete all restore points. Do not do this if you want to use the System Restore utility together with existing restore points.

5. Click OK, and then click Restart.

Check the below link for more details on clean boot:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

After you have finished troubleshooting, follow these steps to reset the computer to start as usual:

1.    Click Start button, type msconfig.exe in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.

2.     On the General tab, click the Normal Startup option, and then click OK.

3.    When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Restart.

Step 2 :Perform check disk.

Windows 7 includes a disk checking tool called CHKDSK which is similar to the "scandisk" tool from older versions of Windows. This application scans your hard drives for errors such as lost sectors, bad sectors and corruption.

You can launch CHKDSK using two methods (the former being the easiest):

Graphical Interface:

Open the Computer option from the start menu, which will display all of the drives available to scan on your PC:

Then, right click on the drive you wish to scan for errors and select Properties :

Now click the Tools menu, then Check Now under the error-checking section:

You have several options within the check disk tool. It is always recommended you leave the "automatically fix file system errors" box checked, as this repairs and problems found. If you want to perform a deeper scan, tick "scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors". This second option takes longer, but is worth doing if you suspect a drive problem. Once you are configured, click Start :

If you try to check a disk that is currently in use, you will receive a message asking if you wish to schedule a scan. Accepting this will perform the scan next time you restart your PC:

Command Prompt Method:

Alternatively, you can use the command prompt to perform a scan on a drive letter of your choice by running "chkdsk x:" where x is your drive letter. The manual scan options are:

• /F Fixes errors on the disk.
• /V On FAT/FAT32: Displays the full path and name of every file on the disk. On NTFS: Displays cleanup messages if any.
• /R Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information (implies /F).
• /L:size NTFS only: Changes the log file size to the specified number of kilobytes. If size is not specified, displays current size.
• /X Forces the volume to dismount first if necessary. All opened handles to the volume would then be invalid (implies /F).
• /I NTFS only: Performs a less vigorous check of index entries.
• /C NTFS only: Skips checking of cycles within the folder structure.
• /B NTFS only: Re-evaluates bad clusters on the volume (implies /R)

"CHKDSK x: /F /R" would perform a full scan (including bad sectors) and attempt to fix them.

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If clean boot and check disk do not help, you may want to update the latest version of BIOS, Sata drivers and chipset drivers from the mother board manufacturer website and check if it helps.

BIOS DISCLAIMER:

Modifying BIOS/complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) settings incorrectly can cause serious problems that may prevent your computer from booting properly. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the configuring of BIOS/CMOS settings can be solved. Modifications of the settings are at your own risk.

Like you mentioned, you've also posted the same issue in the previous link, wait for their answers which are very valuable

Regards,

Azeez Nadeem - Microsoft Support