On my Win 7 Ultimate laptop after the last two automatic updates (the kind where it says do not shut down because it is installing) the machine's next shutdown / and start cycle fails with unable to start windows. On the first one it failed on my very next attempt to apply power to the machine. On the 2nd time it failed after the next consecutive power down and start, for the most recent update it was one of those that came up and said it was applying changes to windows for the update on the next power up. Both times startup repair ran automatically and I was back in after waiting about 45 minutes for repair to run. I know the first time this happened the machine blue-screened during the startup process. On the 2nd one I'm not sure because I was in another part of my office and by the time I got back startup repair was already running and I didn't want to chance killing it. I've looked at the logs in system32/logfiles/srt and srttrail.txt shows all 0x0 for tests and at the end I see: Root Cause Found: Unspecified changes to system configuration might have caused the problem. The weird thing is that at the top of that log it shows Windows directory = D:\Windows so it kind of reminds me of when NT would get the boot.ini screwed up and you had to change devices. My system disk is C: but I'm not sure if that D: reference is actually my dvd drive or is a ram drive that the repair uses since it may not have mounted the optical yet. Is there a good way to troubleshoot this before I wipe the laptop and reinstall? I've run virus scans through trend micro small business security and I turn up nothing.

Sorry for the dumb question, but you don't actually have a CD or DVD in the drive do you? -Noel

Hi, What are the two updates name? I would like to advise that the booting behavior of Windows 7 is different from Windows XP, it does not use the boot.ini file to boot computer. You may try to insert the Installation disk of Windows 7 into the optical drive, then use the automatic repair. If it is no avail, I suggest to use System Restore to restore the computer to an earlier point. Also, If you want, you can upload the CBS log to the Skydriver, let us help you analyse it. Thanks.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'm not sure of the exact updates, but it was two separate instances of several updates. I wish I would have written the dates down or the updates down at the time. I know that the booting behavior is different. I believe it is in the boot record now right? I was grasping at straws because of that D: reference in the log and it reminded me of the issues with NT and 2000. I don't have to use the automatic repair. Luckily it is able to pull itself back together. I wish it would tell me which system files or reg settings it tweaked during the startup repair instead of "Unspecified changes to system configuration might have caused the problem" I've looked at the CBS.log file and it only goes back to 3/8/2011 and my issues were before that timeframe. Do entries get written to the CBS.log during startup before windows officially starts? In my case the crashes have come a few seconds after you see the 4 colored dots merge together to become the windows 7 logo. Sorry so late in getting back. I had notifies turned on, but I didn't have an email address set in my forum settings so I thought I didn't get any replies.

No optical media or bootable usb sticks or anything.

When you DO get the system working again (and for others who are reading this), and if you have a CD or DVD writer, I recommend you use the Create a System Repair Disc process to create a bootable repair disc. To access this feature, click Start, and type repair into the search box. When Create a System Repair Disc comes up, click it. -Noel

Noel. Each time this has happened the startup repair that starts automatically is able to fix the issue and nothing is lost, but it just gives me the generic message in the strtrail.txt log that it said "Root cause found", "Unspecifed changes to system configuration might have caused the problem". I just wish I had more to go on. Like what system files or registry settings the startup repair touched. Based on the time when this happens it seems like it is right before the video driver kicks in so I think it is a driver fault. I'm eagerly awaiting another update so it can happen again and I can be there to keep it from going into the automatic startup repair and boot up in safe mode with logging so I can narrow it down. I do have a system repair disk but haven't needed to use it because the startup repair on the hard drive kicks in with no problem even though it takes about 45 minutes. I've held off installing Windows 7 Service Pack 1 because I want to duplicate this problem again to see what is causing it. Again, the system boots up fine after the repair and I am not one of the unfortunate many that can't get back in after startup repair fails based on my web searches about this issue.

Microsoft sometimes advises an "in-place upgrade", where basically you install Windows 7 over itself again, then run all updates. Perhaps that could help, if something basic is wrong and the root cause is not being corrected by the repair. I hope you don't have malware. -Noel

I shouldn't have malware. I am currently running Trend Micro Small Business security on all machines. And I'm behind two hardware firewalls. I've done full scans and nothing has turned up, and I've also looked at all DLLs and EXEs that trend micro uses to make sure that the digital signature is still there and correct. I guess the best that I can hope for is this occurs again and I can cancel the startup repair before it starts and try to boot in safe mode with logging. Based on the time this seems to occur it is right before it loads the video drivers. I get a brief glimpse of the BSOD for about 1/4 of a second before the machine reboots. Next time I will set up the video camera and hopefully I can get a frame of it to study.