Need to repair Windows, but don't have optical drive

So I'm in Spain, and within hour of arriving my laptop decided to die because of a W7 error ("Windows cannot start up. A recent software or hardware change might be the problem"). I DID switch out my hybrid drive for a SSD about a week ago, so I figure that's the problem. I have my Windows repair disc, but my laptop has no disc drive. Obviously, I could use an external disc drive, but I've never used one before, so presumably device drivers would have to install before I could use it. And I can't install decide drivers if I can't boot up the computer.
Is it possible my hard drive came unscrewed from the computer? I went into boot options, and apparently SATA Hard Drive 1 isn't detected.
Otherwise, what x

 

best thing to do first is remove the base plate and check the hard drive is not lose and also check the ram sticks as well.

then turn on continuously pressing F8 to see if it will boot into safe mode

 

Doesn't boot in safe mode either. I don't have a screwdriver (and would rather not go out and buy one), so is there any way to know if the hard drive isn't detected?

 

if it doesn't show up in the bios, it isn't detected...

 

if it wont turn on then he wont be able to check the bios.

and without a screwdriver he wont be able to remove baseplate.

stalemate.

mini watch philips screwdrivers are a couple of £/$ at the most. without it we cant help you much more.

 

He doesn't want to buy a screwdriver?

 

I suppose I'll buy a screwdriver error and hope it was just an issue of the hard drive getting disconnected. I'll update this thread if that doesn't work, but one question: would I even be able to get to the Windows bootup screen if the hard drive isn't connected?

 

if the hard drive isnt connected then you will get nothing,zip,ziltch,nada.
so good point. if it reaches the bootup screen then we have to think again.
does it go past the scrolling windows log in or light up 3 or 4 segmants and then stop or black screen.

i had roughtly the same a week ago where i had to reinstall vista 3 times after major black screens and then bsod.
think it was a dodgy windows update that caused it.

im not sure how an external drive works if drivers arent loaded but if you are loading disc from turn on it might work.
if you can find someone with an external usb drive its worth a go.

by the way, still buy the screwdriver as its always handy to have and you will need to clean the fans and vents out on a regular basis.

 

windows has drivers for external drives. I have loaded many os's from an external drive without windows loading. you have to go into the bios and change the boot order and have the external cd/dvd drive load before the hard drive.

 

Yup, re-attaching the hard drive did nothing. It lights up all 4 windows segments, loads for probably 20 seconds (usually that only takes about 5 seconds), and then goes to a blue screen with a bunch of error info. Then, after about 5 seconds on the blue screen, it goes to a black screen, saying bootable device not found.

Ideas? Anyone?

 

That is a Windows error message, so your drive is not disconnected

Get your hands on a Windows 7 install .ISO from a thread on this forum, create a bootable usb install disc and use it to run startup repair.

 

So I assume there's nothing I can do until I get access to another computer?

 

That would be my guess, unless you carry 4GB windows install stick in your pocket like I do

But actually, tap F8 at startup and try selecting last known good configuration, if it doesn't work try again with the disable reboot on system error and take your time to type the error here.

Running more comprehensive diagnostics (UBCD, Hiren's) also needs another USB stick and thus another computer where to create it.

 

thats almost the same problems that i had > http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/672532-m860tu-boot-up-problems.html
im now sure mine was caused by a rogue windows update.

for future reference download who crashed > Resplendence Software - WhoCrashed, automatic crash dump analyzer which will give a dump report to show what caused the bsod

might be worth buying an external cd/dvd drive for further use.
hope you get it sorted soon.

 

Usually if the drive is listed in BIOS setup means it was installed properly inside the laptop and accepted. You could go into BIOS and check that.

When you upgraded from HDD or Hybrid to SSD did you image the old drive or you did a fresh install? What software did you use for imaging? Did you delete any strange folder or file from root just because you don't know what it was?

You can RTV or RMA the drive for a period of 3 years if you find that the drive's bad.

 

You could probably use a USB drive (assuming your notebook supports boot to USB DVD, but most do). Drivers are needed to support USB drives in the OS, if you're installing a new OS or restoring your image you are actually booting to the drive using the BIOS so having drivers pre-installed shouldn't matter.

If you can't get that to work try hitting the F8 key during startup and booting into safe mode. In safe mode run system restore to restore your system to a previous state. It's worth a shot.

 

Took a picture of the error with my phone. How can I post it here? I don't really have the effort to type a huge page-long error on my phone's touch-keyboard.

 

Send it to the file/picture sharing site of your choise and link it here.

 

Gotcha.

Here's one: https://p.twimg.com/AxPa_LvCEAEVCns.jpg
And another: https://p.twimg.com/AxPbB3_CQAAN-8b.jpg

So...ideas on what's wrong? I'm still completely stumped as to what's actually WRONG.

 

The most significant part of that bluescreen is this "stop 0x00000074"

"Stop error code 0x00000074 (BAD_SYSTEM_CONFIG_INFO)" error message when you start your computer

Maybe worth checking this out. Reseat SODIMMs, if not helping then take one out and boot with one only. Then the other one. If you have two sticks in the first place

 

Tried reseating both together, then each individually, and had no luck.

Here's one more screenshot: http://p.twimg.com/AxPrXn7CQAM13w9.jpg:large

Other ideas? This seems to be getting futile ...

 

That screen simply states that hard drive is not found and there's nothing to boot from.
When it is found, windows says that there is a hardware failure (bad ram).

At this point I'd take those components to another computer and test them there, if both hdd and ram pass then I'm pretty sure it's the motherboard actually failing and causing these errors.

Unfortunately I understand that isn't possible right now? :/

 

PHP:

If the hardware is not found, how does the computer even get to the Windows boot screen? And yes, you're correct, I don't have access to another computer until I get home in a week.

 

That's the point. Sometimes it finds the drive and lets you boot into another (windows generated) error and other time not?

That's why it feels like erratic behaviour on the motherboard itself. The exact diagnose would need more testing though.

 

I'm somewhat confused as to what exactly you're asking, but the general process is this: I turn on the computer, and it suggests I repair Windows. If I choose the option to do so, I'm greeted with the second screenshot. If I choose to boot up normally, I go through normal bootup, except after the Windows icon is on the screen for about 20 seconds (far longer than it usually is), I'm greeted with the first screenshot. That screen shows for two or three seconds, and then my computer tries to reboot (auto-reboot upon error is on). After it reboots for a few seconds (it doesn't get to the Windows icon this time), I'm greeted with the text in the final screenshot. And, obviously, once my computer is displaying what's in the last screenshot, I can't do anything but turn it off.

I might've misunderstood your question, but does that help at all?

 

Okay... So trying to boot into windows you get an error saying probable hardware fault in memory and then reboot.

After a few more reboots hard drive also drops out and you get the error saying no drive found.

I originally thought those two different errors just change randomly. Unfortunately that won't help much, need more hardware to test with to sort out the broken part (or just send the whole system into warranty if that's possible).

 

Yeah, that's essentially what's happening. So what should I do once I get access to a new computer? Try and boot the other computer with my laptop's hard drive in it? And sadly, my warranty just ran out a month or two ago (sigh).

 

Get Ultimate Boot CD - Overview
Mount it on a virtual drive or burn it, use it to create bootable usb version.

Boot with that, use it to run Memtest86+.
I was going to tell you run Seatools to test the hard drive but you have an SSD...

Install your SSD as a slave drive on another computer and if Crucial provides a test software, run it. If they do not, try Hard Disk Sentinel - HDD health and temperature monitoring for example. The free version will tell you some details about the condition of the drive.

If you can, install your ram and drive on another computer to run those tests, loan said parts from that another computer and try them in your own. Basically run the tests on both computers at the same time.

 

Maybe I'm really missing something, but wouldn't a better solution be to just put in my old hybrid drive into my laptop and see if it works?

 

You aren't missing anything. I just don't assume everyone has a pile of spares around like I do

That'll work just great, try it.

 

Will do. As I said, I won't be able to try it until next Sunday or Monday, so if you'd be so kind as to check this thread then I'd greatly appreciate it. And thanks for all the help

 

make a usb flash drive of windows 7

 

Super bump!

OK, so I'm back at home, and I tried putting in my old hybrid drive. It worked just as it had before, so I decided to re-clone it onto my new SSD. The SSD worked fine for about 12 hours before once again going kaput. I now have the hybrid drive back in my laptop, so the SSD is most certainly the problem.
Also, I made a Windows 7 USB and tried to repair Windows with it, but Windows couldn't figure out how to repair it.

Is there anything I can do to fix the new SSD? Might trying to repair Windows via an external optical drive work?

 

finally got to the bottom of it.

heres Crucial support > Memory (RAM) upgrades, usb drives, solid state drives (SSD) at Crucial.com

if lappy is still in warranty then you need to contact dellianware for a rma of the ssd. once they are dead theres not much you can do with them.

had same problem with a dead ocz but had to send it back to manufacturer myself which took weeks.

 

Yup, my laptop's warranty expired a few months ago. I contacted Crucial support and I'm gonna see if their suggestions work...

 

the ssd would be covered for anything between 3-5 years so it should be replaced free of charge by them if their suggestion doesnt work.

 

So I can occasionally boot the SSD, but it usually crashes within 10 minutes or so. I bought an optical drive, but Windows can't repair the problems with my computer. Would just re-installing Windows work, or would that be a bad idea?