Win 7 MBR Issue? "System Repair Not Successful"

[Mr.Mike]

Was the computer ever able to boot into Windows mode?

What made the client think his computer was infected?

Try running Kaspersky's WindowsUnlocker from the live cd and see if that finds anything.

Hi Gary,

So far, no windows mode is available (safe mode, etc.) and the OS still stops at the startup screen (logo freezes before actually forming). I have just now tried chkdsk /r on all partitions. No joy. A fellow tech in this post suggested tapping the spacebar at startup (apparently an HP thing) to get to safe mode and try a repair from there. The safe mode screen came up but sent me back to the install-disk repair option.

I have the Kaspersky Rescue CD. Not sure if it has the Unlocker feature. I will look or maybe it is downloadable.

Your expertise is much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Mr.Mike]

If you did a factory reinstall using the recovery partition, were there any errors in the device manager?

Have you tried using windowsunlocker via a terninal window in the Kaspersky Live CD to remove any possible mbr viruses.

Try updating the drivers using driveridentifier, I use it all the time to get updated drivers.

Worse case scenario, backup clients data, download the latest drivers, delete the partitions, repartition the drive, clean install of windows.

I was not able to do a reinstall from the recovery partition as that partition was not available. It's there but it is not responding. Still working on getting windowsunlocker and trying your suggestion. Thanks for the driveridentifier tip as well.

Mike

 

[Mr.Mike]

Mike -

Can you get to the startup repair on the HDD? Are you still getting the bootloop? It was probably configured for the preinstalled HP config, so you would probably want to use THAT startup repair, rather than a retail Windows disc. If F8 doesn't get you to the options, then tap the spacebar repeatedly when starting up.

I can get to startup repair and have tried that option from the Win 7 disk and by tapping the spacebar during startup. Neither way has worked. I'll get my client to provide their disk (if they have it) and see if that works.

Thanks again.

Mike

 

[FremontPC]

Mike -

Sounds like you may have lost a partition. I believe the HP's are supposed to have 4.

At this point, the best bet is probably to order the factory disk set from HP as you mentioned.

 

[Mr.Mike]

Mike -

Sounds like you may have lost a partition. I believe the HP's are supposed to have 4.

At this point, the best bet is probably to order the factory disk set from HP as you mentioned.

This one has three. Yeah, looks like it is headed in the factory disk set direction. The client hasn't gotten back to me with any disks yet.

In the meantime, I'm G.Rockliff's idea of trying windowsunlocker on the Kaspersky 10 disk. Report will follow.

Thanks again.

M.

 

[Gary Rockliff]

This one has three. Yeah, looks like it is headed in the factory disk set direction. The client hasn't gotten back to me with any disks yet.

In the meantime, I'm G.Rockliff's idea of trying windowsunlocker on the Kaspersky 10 disk. Report will follow.

Thanks again.

M.

Hi Mike,

Here is a link to Kaspersky's website on how to use the command. Hope it helps. http://support.kaspersky.com/8005?el=88446

Regards

Gary

 

[Mr.Mike]

Hi Mike,

Here is a link to Kaspersky's website on how to use the command. Hope it helps. http://support.kaspersky.com/8005?el=88446

Regards

Gary

Thanks for that.

Unfortunately, running the latest version of Kaspersky Rescue 10's windowsunlocker had no effect on the problem. Great tool though.

I suppose I will have to order the disks from HP.

I haven't given up yet!

 

[Mr.Mike]

This is possibly true, but just because SMART doesn't report failure, it does not mean that the drive is 100% healthy. It just means that SMART hasn't yet detected any issues.

Good point. Keep in mind this is a clone of the original drive and it's a brand new drive out of the box. I know that drives can be and have been bad out of the box, but not very often.

If we assume the drive is healthy based on multiple tests, the alternative seems to be that somehow the partition containing boot recovery has been trashed or removed. None of the three partitions are named "Recovery." One is named "OS, but the others have just a drive letter. And, although I've used lots of antivirus and anti-malware programs to find a culprit, I end up with three possibilities:

1. Just because no trace malware was found after running multiple programs, doesn't mean that malware was not responsible.

2. Since the machine the drive came from is part of a network, there is a possibility that the client's network was hacked by an outside entity, a business competitor, or a disgruntled employee.

3. Possible, but quite unlikely, the client unintentionally deleted a partition by accident.

I can see how a recovery partition can disappear. But, it seems there is no good reason why a BCD/MBR can't be rebuilt to a drive. I've not had that experience before, so I'm clutching at straws here.

 

[Mr.Mike]

The issue is now officially moot!

The client has instructed me to nuke & pave. As much as I would like to get to the bottom of this one, I'm happy with my clients decision.

Thanks to all who assisted with this problem: Ccomp5950, Xander, brandonkick, HFultzjr, Gary Rockliff, FreemontPC, lcoughey.

Cheers!