windows 7 stuck on 'starting windows' loading screen

[CookieWarlord]

Hey guys, new to this forum and registered to get some help, i was previously playing an online game when it suddenly stopped and stopped responding. i restarted the computer and only got up the point where it says "starting windows" with the glo8wing microsoft logo. I tried restarting again and tried going into safe mode but it got hung. I tried startup repair but the screen stayed black. Then i tried booting from my windows 7 installation disk and the same problem occured where it's stuck at the"starting windows" screen. Ive tried booting from a windows xp installation disk but that resulted in a blue screen everytime. I then tried using memtest86 and found several errors with my ram. Is this a problem with my hardware/harddrives, a virus or is it a problem with my memory modules?

 

[TrainableMan]

Some questions that might affect the answers you receive would be:
How long have you had the computer? How long had you been using W7 w/o issues? Do you run an anti-virus? Have you changed anything in the BIOS recently?

With the info provided so far it's hard to call, it could be a virus but if you know you had it set to properly boot from the W7 DVD (ie the DVD must be first in the boot order so it tries that BEFORE it tries the hard drive) then I would suspect hardware issues: RAM or RAM timings, or Hard drive. And since MEMTEST points to RAM problems I would definitely try reseating those or maybe running with one stick at a time to see if you can isolate if it is a socket or the RAM.

 

[CookieWarlord]

Hi thanks for the reply. I've had my omputer for 4 years now with its main operating system being windows vista. 2 years ago, i encountered a ram problem and i got it replaced and increased. i just recently got windows 7, a few months ago and it has been fine until now. I used AVG as my antivirus as my norton had already expired. Ihad nothing changed in the bios but i tried setting it to optimized defaults when this problem occured. Yep I put my first boot to my Cd/DVD drive but the same problem occurs with the glowing logo. Ok thanks, i'll try that, is there any way to check if there is a problem with my hard drive? Or do i have to instantly replace it? Since the harddrive came along with the computer 4 years ago. Thanks for the help!

 

[TrainableMan]

Easiest way to test the hard drive is to put it in a dock and plug it into another computer, but you have to have another computer and a hard drive dock.

Since Memtest flagged the RAM that would be my first try. As I said try with only one stick and see if it still hangs, then try the other stick, etc

If you are getting the Starting windows with the spinning 4 window pieces then the hard drive is definitely spinning so more likely mem.

 

[CookieWarlord]

Hey, i tried testing the mem sticks, i tried one and that one had no errors. Switched off my computer and proceeded to the next one but my monitor wouldnt work, it turns on but there is no display. I then tried switching monitors and even cables but it still wouldnt work. Did my removal of the mem sticks create a hardware problem??

 

[TrainableMan]

How many RAM Sticks do you have and how much is on each one? And do you have 32-bit or 64-bit OS?

Bare min for 32-bit is 1GB, 2GB for 64. But 2GB and 3GB are the minimum recommended.

But first I would just be sure you plugged the monitor back in the right spot after you had your computer open. If you have a video card then the MOBO onboard video is disabled on most computers so if you plug in there instead of the video card, it won't work.