Windows 7 x64 An end user tire of waiting to install Windows updates so he just powered the machine off. Now the system won't boot. I tried to put the hard drive in another computer, but I am told Windows cannot access the disk and it needs to be formatted. If I boot to the Windows CD, it sees a Windows install on drive d:, but it cannot repair the install. The disk seems to have lost its MFT table or something. Any help would be appreciated/.BW

Put the disk in the same computer. Try F8 after the BIOS and POST. Find a restore point prior to the incident and restore the computer. Same approach booting with the installation dvd. Any chance user created a complete pc backup or a backup? I didn't think so.

Try booting to windows Recovery environment. Try it first without the CD. After booting, press f8, at the windows advanced boot options look for "repair my computer", if you don't see it then use the cd and do the same thing. Once you are at the Win RE you can try system restore and other recovery options. What brand is your computer?http://www.cesabarre.com/ | www.adm201.info

Hi, You could try to use the system startup repair form System Recovery Options: 1. you may go to perform System File Checker in Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). You can access WinRE using F8 at the boot menu, select Repair Your Computer to start WinRE. 2. If Startup Repair still fails, please use the Bootrec.exe tool in the Windows Recovery Environment to troubleshoot and repair startup issues in Windows Vista or Windows 7. 3. Please run “CHKDSK” to check the hard drive. If above suggestions cannot fix the issue, you may perform an In-Place upgrade to repair the system. In-place Upgrade ============ 1). Start the computer. 2). Insert the Windows 7 DVD in the computer's DVD drive. 3). Use one of the following procedures, as appropriate: a. If Windows automatically detects the DVD, the Install now screen appears. Click Install now. b. If Windows does not automatically detect the DVD, follow these steps: b1. Click Start, click Run, type Drive:\setup.exe, and then click OK. Note Drive is the drive letter of the computer's DVD drive. b2. Click Install now. 4). When you reach the Which type of installation to you want? screen, click Upgrade to upgrade the current operating system to Windows 7 Regards, Sabrina TechNet Subscriber Support in forum If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tnmff@microsoft.com. This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees, and confers no rights. |Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

I have tried booting to the CD and repairing, system restore, nothing seems to work. The computer is a Dell Latitude E6400, I will look in to the bootrect tool. I had looked at an article from windowsitpro.com about bootrec, so I will try it. I was able to use a tool from easus to extract data from the disk, so I may just rebuild at this point. BW

Hi, Thank you for your posting. If there is any update, please let me know. Regards, Sabrina TechNet Subscriber Support in forum If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tnmff@microsoft.com. This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees, and confers no rights. |Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.