Windows 7 Boot Up Repair Guide: Easily Fix Startup Repair Not Working

About Windows 7 startup repair

Windows 7 Startup Repair is a useful and user-friendly feature on your computer. It is a built-in Windows tool found in the System Recovery Options, designed to fix common problems that stop your computer from booting into the operating system.

It works by replacing critical system files that may be damaged, helping to restore Windows 7 when it fails to boot. When your PC can’t start properly and can't boot into Safe Mode, Startup Repair automatically runs, scans for issues, and attempts to fix them. However, it cannot identify or fix hardware problems, nor can it protect your computer from viruses or the damage they cause.

 Sometimes, you may also experience issues with it not working on Windows 7. Generally, these issues fall into 2 categories: Startup Repair can't fix your computer automatically, or it gets stuck during the process.Windows 7 Startup Repair not working is a common problem and can be caused by several factors:

Disk write errors

Corrupted Boot Configuration Data (BCD)

Problematic updates

Virus or malware attacks

Power outages

If you want to fix this issue and successfully boot into Windows 7, kindly please keep reading.

How to perform Windows 7 boot up repair

In this section, you will learn Windows 7 boot up repair with several solutions. Follow the detailed guide to successfully boot into your computer even when Windows 7 startup repair not working.

Method 1. Repair damaged or missing BCD file for Windows 7 boot up repair

Boot problems can happen for many reasons, such as corrupted or missing boot configuration data (BCD) files, as we mentioned above. The BCD file holds important information that helps the operating system start, similar to the boot.ini file in older Windows versions. AOMEI Partition Assistant has a "Boot Repair" feature that fixes damaged or missing BCD files. This tool provides an easy and effective way to restore your computer's normal boot function. Even if the Windows 7 startup repair is not working, you can still successfully boot into your computer. This powerful software also provides features similar to Bootrec for easily repairing corrupted MBR if your Windows 7 cannot boot.

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Case 1: Repair a running PC

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant. In the Main Tab, please click the "Recover" tab and select "Boot Repair".

Step 2. The Boot Repair tool will pop up. Please click "Next" to start the system’s boot entries scan process.

Step 3. After the process is completed, it will display the scan result: system paths, system versions, and boot status. And, all repairable boot entries will be available to select.

Advanced Settings: Select a location to store the repaired boot entry.

Repair to the current disk: The system will boot from the current disk and ensure the boot files are complete and functioning properly. (By default)

Repair to another disk: This operation will repair the boot entry or create a new system boot entry to ensure the system can boot from the disk you select.

Step 4. Select one/multiple repairable boot entries you want to repair and click the "Repair" button to start the boot repair.

Step 5. Wait for the repair process to finish. Once it is finished, you can check the repair result. If it succeeds, you will get a "Repair Successfully" result.

Case 2: Repair Boot for PC that is unable to Boot

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant on a working PC, click "Recovr"-"Boot Repair" and then click the "create a bootable disk" option to create a WinPE "Boot Repair" disk.

Step 2. Plug the bootable disk you created into the target computer you wish to repair the boot issue.

Step 3. Enter BIOS in your computer, choose the bootable disk as the boot drive to access AOMEI Partition Assistant.

Step 4. The PC that cannot boot into WinPE will automatically load the Boot Repair tool and start the boot entries scan process. All boot entries will be displayed. Then you can follow the same operations as the above shows.

Method 2. Run CHKDSK for Boot volume

In Windows, CHKDSK (check disk) is a tool that can help check the hard drive for file system problems and fix hard drive errors. It's possible that your Windows 7 Startup Repair is not working because the hard drive has bad sectors or file system problems. The specific steps are listed below.

Step 1. Insert the Windows 7 installation disk into your computer, and boot it from the disc. Then press the "F8" key to enter Safe Mode when your computer boots.

Step 2. Select "Repair Your Computer" among the advanced boot options.

Step 3. Select "Command Prompt" under the System Recovery Options menu.

Step 4. Input the following command and press "Enter" to check the hard drive for file system corruption. 

chkdsk C: /f /r ("c" is the letter of your Windows installation drive)

Method 3. Disable Automatic Restart 

To fix Windows 7 Startup Repair not working, you can also turn off automatic restart. You can get a full error message, which can help you fix the boot problem if you turn off Automatic Restart. To do that, take these steps.

Step 1. Restart your computer. Press the "F8" key until the Advanced Boot Options menu appears.

Step 2. Select "Disable automatic restart on system failure". Then press "Enter".

Step 3. Select "Disable automatic restart on system failure" andhit the "Enter" key. Now, wait for your computer to boot.

Step 4. Record the STOP Code from the Blue Screen of Death.

Note: Document the hexadecimal number after "STOP" and the four sets of hexadecimal integers in parentheses.

To sum up

This passage guides you to perform Windows 7 boot up repair. AOMEI Partition Assistant can not only serve as a greater Windows 7 boot up repair tool, but also it can be an excellent disk manager. It also supports resetting Windows 7 password without disk, upgrading Windows 7 system hard drive, managing Windows 7 partitions, and so on.