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WIndows 7 hangs up at the Welcome screen

Anonymous
2010-03-28T12:21:04+00:00

Windows 7 came pre-installed on a Dell Laptop.  System boots fine but regardless of which account I select the system goes to the "Welcome" screen and stays there forever unless I press "Ctrl-Alt-Delete" and then startup continues to the desktop.

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  1. Anonymous
    2010-03-28T23:16:03+00:00

    Hi,

    Did you make any changes to the computer lately?

    First of all check if there is any external devices connected to the computer, if yes remove them and check.

    Method 1.

    Let us run the Startup repair again at this stage, it might fix the issue.

    Refer to the following articles for additional help on startup  repair.

    Startup Repairhttp://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/features/startup-repair

    What are the system recovery options in Windows 7?

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/What-are-the-system-recovery-options-in-Windows-7

    Method 2.

    Please check whether you face the same issue while logging in the safe mode. It is a possibility that one of the non-microsoft application or a driver is causing this issue. Let us boot into the safe mode and check. If you are able to boot successfully in safe mode we can perform a clean boot to find the root cause.

    Step 1.

    1. Restart your computer.
    2. When the computer starts you will see your computer's hardware being listed. When you see this information start to gently tap the F8 key on your keyboard repeatedly until you are presented with the Windows 7 Advanced Boot Options screen.
    3. Using the arrow keys, select the Safe Mode option you want.
    4. Then press the enter key on your keyboard to boot into Windows 7 Safe Mode.
    5. When Windows starts you will be at a typical logon screen. Logon to your computer and Windows 7 will enter Safe mode.
    6. Do whatever tasks you require, and when you are done, reboot to go back into normal mode.

    If it works fine in safe mode try performing a clean boot to find the root cause.

    Step 2.

    You can try a Clean Boot Troubleshooting method to find which application is causing the problem.

    Clean Boot Troubleshooting.  

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

       User Account Control permission.

       If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the

       password, Or click Continue.

    1. On the General tab, click Selective Startup.
    2. Under Selective Startup, click to clear the Load Startup items check box.
    3. Click the Services tab, click to select the Hide All Microsoft Services check box, and then click Disable All.
    4. Click OK.
    5. When you are prompted, click Restart.
    6. After the computer starts, check whether the problem is resolved.

    If the issue is resolved check which third party is causing the problem, referring the link given below:

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

    Also you need to uninstall and reinstall the problem software on your computer.

    Reset the computer to start as usual 

    1. After you have finished troubleshooting, follow these steps to reset the computer to start as usual:
    2. Click Start, type msconfig.exe in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER. 
    3. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue. On the General tab, click the Normal Startup option, and then click OK.  
    4. When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Restart.

    Hope this helps.

    Thanks and Regards:

    Shekhar S - Microsoft Support. Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

    If this post helps to resolve your issue, please click the "Mark as Answer" or "Helpful" button at the top of this message. By marking a post as Answered, or Helpful you help others find the answer faster.

    100+ people found this answer helpful.
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  1. Anonymous
    2011-11-01T03:46:10+00:00

    Before doing a system restore or startup repair, hit F8 on boot and start in safe mode with networking then just try a restart from safe mode, it should restart into normal. While in safe mode looking at the evnt log will help identify the hang up. Antivirus trying to start a remote server? If an application is obviously the culprit uninstall it.

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2012-04-17T11:49:35+00:00

    Thanks! Method 2 worked for me, alhamdulillah! :)

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2011-08-17T18:55:25+00:00

    In response to the post about running a repair on the drive... Keep in mind you will see the drive letter rename phenomena when installing an OS with a media card reader installed on the device. This will cause issues with applications that do not use system variables and look for C:\ as their default OS drive. To get around it, simply disconnect your media reader during the installation of the OS. If it is a laptop, you can usually disable these readers through the BIOS.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2011-03-31T14:58:17+00:00

    Thanks for the KB. My Windows 7 laptop stayed at the Welcome screen after logging in. I did a power down (not my preferred option), booted into safe mode, did not see unusual non-Microsoft services, shut down via Start menu. After boot up, I was able to login as usual. Not sure what Windows 7 was doing or the hang up. KB was helpful. Maybe it was a matter of just booting into safe mode?

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