Can't start Windows 7 all the way with new computer, old hard drive

So I put together a new rig consisting of the following components:

Gigabyte Z68 mobo

Intel i5 2500k

8gb G.skill Ripjaws

8800GTS 512mb

500gb WD Caviar Blue

Both the gpu and hdd are reused from my old build. Seeing as how I don't have a proper way to back up my documents and don't want to clean wipe everything yet, I thought I could reuse the hard drive. The drive has Windows 7 64 bit installed.

Well When I boot up, I get the "Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause" page. I have two options: Launch Startup Repair (recommended) or Start Windows Normally. Neither option fully works. If I launch the startup repair, it finds no solution - and if I try to manually restore, after going through the restore process and restarting, it brings me back to this menu.

If I choose start windows normally, it begins loading windows, does the animations, then before getting to the desktop/loading screen, it automatically restarts, and brings me back to this menu as well.

What can I do to end this cycle?

Hi iaacp

So you didn't do a new install of W7? If yes, then you'll need to do so, and just leave the formatting as is. It'll move the root of your C: drive into a "Windows.old" folder, so that you can dig through it and pull out your documents.

There really isn't a (reliable) method to repair the existing install of W7, since you're using dissimilar hardware.

Hope that helps,
-JT

Ok, so just plop my windows 7 disc in an reinstall? And my old stuff will really still be there? Do I need to do custom or anything? Its just important that I keep my old docs. If that means reassembling the old system in order to do that, I'll do that.

I'd be sure to backup any files you consider critical, essentially anything that you can't get back or recreate if it gets lost.

iaacp said:

Ok, so just plop my windows 7 disc in an reinstall? And my old stuff will really still be there? Do I need to do custom or anything? Its just important that I keep my old docs. If that means reassembling the old system in order to do that, I'll do that.

Click to expand...

Be careful, make sure you do NOT choose to format the volume. If you aren't careful, you could lose all of your data.

Mooyo has a good point; you should backup anything you deem critical prior to performing the re-install. If you nee assistance on how to do that, please let us know.

-JT

Edit: LOL, sorry for the triple post...hotel internet epic fail...