Need help on a Win 7 problem.

[Old and In the Way]

I've recently began noticing vartious problems with my Win7 installation. Folders created inside folders wouldn't show up until I closed the folder and reopened. Folder names would not update until I closed and reopened. The system hangs on shutdown and I have to force the close. I think the system is basically corrupted.

No problem, I have the Win7 repair disc...but....I can't get the system to default to the CD on start-up to run the disc utilities. Any thoughts on a workaround?

[unhappycamper]

1. f you're working on a laptop,

you need to go into Setup and change the boot order to boot from the CD.

[Old and In the Way]

4. I'm on a PC, but I assume that would not change.

Can I access via the Control Panel?

On edit...I suppose not, probably at start-up in BIOS. Unfortunately, I'm at a remote location, so I can't do this now.

[steve2470]

6. oh derp....you have to go into the BIOS to change boot up order

It will say on your bootup screen, hit DEL or F8 or something.

[steve2470]

2. I'm betting you have a virus

Use two separate malware utilities, to get them all.

Use Malwarebytes and Spybot, and there's many other free ones.

[Old and In the Way]

3. Thanks...I've used both utilities on a long term basis.

I think my problems came after a recent Windows update. Interestingly, I don't have any restore points either...and I know that I had restore points on this PC at one point.

[gvstn]

7. Since your problems seem to be file system related

Try a chkdsk to see if it finds any problems.

Go to Computer and right-click the C: drive and select Properties. Under the Tools tab hit the Check Now button. In the new window leave just the first box ticked and hit Start. It will schedule for next reboot, so reboot and let it run. Look to see if it finds any errors. If it does then it may be just a simple problem that will have been fixed. If it doesn't then maybe go back and tick both boxes for a more exhaustive scan that will look for problems with the HD.

If you don't catch the results for the chkdsk as they only flash for a few seconds, when you get back into Windows, you can query the results of the chkdsk by going to Start and typing power into the search box and selecting Power Shell. Then paste the following into the powershell window:

Get-EventLog -LogName Application -Source wininit | Select-Object -Last 1 -ExpandProperty message

http://aspiringtech.blogspot.com/2012/03/using-powershell-to-retreive-chkdsk-log.html


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Is your disc just a repair disc or an installation disc? A repair disc won't have many more options than are available from Win7 itself (since you can still boot into 7 the disc may not be important.). Lots of computers(Dell, Acer, Toshiba) use F12 during the manufacturer's splash/logo screen for a one time boot menu where you can select CD as your boot device, you could try that to see if you can boot to the CD.

[Old and In the Way]

8. Thanks!

Some good advice...I'll try these suggestions.

[Gore1FL]

9. Probably not a bad idea to run

sfc /scannow from an elevated command prompt.

[gvstn]

10. I wanted to correct that original powershell command.

Last edited Thu Sep 5, 2013, 09:35 AM - Edit history (1)

I just verified that it does not produce the latest chkdsk results. I don't know enough about the powershell to correct it. The methods here http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/96938-check-disk-chkdsk-read-event-viewer-log.html both work to show all chkdsk results. Depending on how often you run the command you will have to scroll to find the latest result. I used option 2 and it listed my results from newest to oldest which is fine for me.

And for me this corrected version of my original command gives me just the most recent but I think I would use the command from the sevenforums because it will give run dates and you can be sure what you are looking at.

Get-EventLog -LogName Application -Source wininit | Select-Object -First 1 -ExpandProperty message

[steve2470]

11. get the problem solved ? nt

[Old and In the Way]

12. Not yet...

I'm in a remote location, so I can't really apply these suggestions. Hope to be in tomorrow and see if these suggestions help. Thanks to all who have chimed in here.

[Old and In the Way]

13. Solved!

Hard Drive failure....tech couldn't get the diagnostics to run , drive wasn't running properly. Only lost a couple of days of work as I had fresh back-ups for my app data.

[steve2470]

14. hope a new drive isn't too costly :) nt

[Old and In the Way]

15. 500GB = $100

Reloading W7 and a upgrade on Office 2003 to 2007 = $125