[DonnaB]

Oh yeah, good news! Don't get your hopes up just yet.

Choose restart and see how far it will boot on it's own.

The last stages may seem like it is taking forever to finish. This is normal.

It wouldn't hurt to run chkdsk more than once.

Please post the rest of the results when it is finished.

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I had already chose to 'SHUTDOWN' and reboot.  No luck. Since you said it might take a couple times I will run it again and then use the 'RESTART' option.

 

Here are the results of steps 4 and 5:

 

4.  CHKDSK is verifying file data    (225520 files)
    File verfication completed.

5.  Verifying Free Space
    101850224 free clusters processed.
    Free space verification is complete.

    Windows has made corrections to the file system.

    468132863 KB total disk space
     60280748 KB in 187627 files
       110492 KB in 36575 indexes
            0 KB in bad sectors
       340723 KB in use by the system
        65536 KB occupied by the log file
    407400900 KB available on disk

         4096 bytes in each allocation unit
    117033215 total allocation units on disk
    101850225 allocation units available on disk

Failed to transfer logged messages to the event log with status 50.



I then closed cmd window and clicked on Shutdown.
Rebooted and chose to Startup Windows Normally.

1 minute later - black/blue screen with white arrow.  
I left it on overnight just in case it might be trying to
install whatever was pending.  No luck.
 

[khphoto1]

I had already chose to 'SHUTDOWN' and reboot.  No luck. Since you said it might take a couple times I will run it again and then use the 'RESTART' option.

 

Here are the results of steps 4 and 5:

 

4.  CHKDSK is verifying file data    (225520 files)
    File verfication completed.

5.  Verifying Free Space
    101850224 free clusters processed.
    Free space verification is complete.

    Windows has made corrections to the file system.

    468132863 KB total disk space
     60280748 KB in 187627 files
       110492 KB in 36575 indexes
            0 KB in bad sectors
       340723 KB in use by the system
        65536 KB occupied by the log file
    407400900 KB available on disk

         4096 bytes in each allocation unit
    117033215 total allocation units on disk
    101850225 allocation units available on disk

Failed to transfer logged messages to the event log with status 50.



I then closed cmd window and clicked on Shutdown.
Rebooted and chose to Startup Windows Normally.

1 minute later - black/blue screen with white arrow.  
I left it on overnight just in case it might be trying to
install whatever was pending.  No luck.
 

[khphoto1]

I will let it finish tonight and try to re-post before I go to work at noon tomorrow.  If it doesn't come up cleanly tomorrow morning I'll run it again and let it run while I am at work.  Please let me know when you get tired of trying things or need to move onto other issues.  My guess is that if I have to do a 'recovery' there still might be other clean-up that will also take time.  I really appreciate you taking the time to test things further.  It seems like no one else has found a clean solution to this problem.  It might be nice if we do find one.

Kathy

[DonnaB]

Hi Kathy,

Yes. I had hoped that we could find a solution as well, though I fear that file corruption is beyond repair. The only way to fix severe file corruption is to reinstall.

Clean up after restoring to factory condition will not take as long as you think, it's just a matter of accessing Windows Update, uninstalling the trial version AV and replace with an AV of choice, then remove whatever bloatware that was pre-installed.

HP's usually have a Recovery Manager that provides the opportunity to not only create a repair disc, yet a set of recovery discs (not the same as repair discs) as well and if that partition is still intact and no discs have ever previously been created, we may still be able to create them. If not, I would suggest that you clone the drive or contact HP to purchase the recovery discs.

Let me know and I will guide you through the restoration process.

Donna

[khphoto1]

I have attached a pdf showing (in shorthand) how the USN bytes, Total disk space, number of files and KB available on disk.  Interesting pattern but really not getting anywhere.  Let's go through the recovery process from the partition on the harddrive.  I think we might have created the recovery discs on an external harddrive because we thought it would take too many CDs.  Would it be safe to plug that harddrive into MY laptop to see what is on it?  I think I know what steps we will use to do the recovery - but I'll wait for you to post the instructions.

[DonnaB]

It appears that the attachment was not successful.
 

I think we might have created the recovery discs on an external harddrive because we thought it would take too many CDs. Would it be safe to plug that harddrive into MY laptop to see what is on it?

Yes, though do go into the control panel on McShield2 and double check to make sure the option to scan all hard drives is checked. McShield should scan the drive when inserted into the USB port.

Let me know what you find on the external HDD.

My HP G62 took 4 discs to burn the recovery discs.

[khphoto1]

OK, the external harddrive has 4 folders on it: $recycle Bin, Seagate, System Volume Info, and Windows Image Backup.  Expanding the WIB it has a folder called Matt-HP which has subfolders Backup 2010 12  27 002533, Catalog, SPPMetadata Cache.  The Backup folder contains at least 3 VHD files using 37.8 GB. 

 

My brothers name is Matt and we set up his new computer on December 27, 2010.

[DonnaB]

Kathy,

Sorry for the delay. This took a little thought and some discussing with my associates here. Retrieving that image is going to be a bit more difficult since we can not just click on Start > Computer > external HDD to access the backup image, though there is a possibility that it could be done if we can not access recovery in the following manner:

Have a look at the following tutorial, if needed. You did point out that you thought you knew the steps to take, though having visual confirmation boosts my confidence in times like this. If pressing the ESC key provides no joy, just reboot and try the F11 key. They should both take you to where you need to go. From there, it is self explanatory. If you have any questions or concerns along the way, don't hesitate to ask.

[khphoto1]

I gather what you had on 4 cds is the 'recovery' discs.  That which is also on the drive/partition of the laptop.  What I have on the External Seagate hard  drive is an 'Image Copy' something totally different.  So I guess I could have also made recovery cds and did not.

 

The recovery is processing now.  I'll let you know tomorrow how it finishes up.  Since this laptop was purchased in 2010 it will have a lot of Windows updates.  Is there a way to control them so I don't end up with a failed update?  Of course there is lots of other software to be reinstalled (Office, wireless router, printers, etc, but at least I have the discs)

 

K

[DonnaB]

Yes. They were recovery discs, not repair discs. Instead of providing discs with a new computer, manufactures provide a partition that you can access to create those recovery discs. On HP's you can only create those discs once. There could be the possibility that if they were never created after purchase, you may still be able to do so. If so, use DVD-R's 4.7 GB's and not CD's. Once the restoration process is complete, click on:

Start > All Programs

Scroll down and look for a Recovery Manager folder in the list. If there, click on the folder and you might see Recovery Disc Creation. If so, click on it, then click the Next>> button. If the discs have been created you will get a warning stating so.

As for the updates, yes, there will be many to download and install. To prevent any errors, go into Windows Updates and change the setting to Download updates but let me choose whether to install them. As the updates download, install just a few at a time starting with the Recommened updates first, then the Important ones. Install the larger ones by themselves and the smaller a few at a time. Most Windows Updates do create System Restore points prior to installation though I am overly cautious and create my own as well. This way if you have any issues with the updates you have a point to revert back to.

As for SP1, download the standalone version from the link below to your desktop and install from there. For some reason, SP1 was not installed as displayed in the logs you provided.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (KB976932)

Click on the redish/orange download button. On the page that you are directed, use the scroll bar on the right to navigate to windows6.1-KB976932-X64.exe ~ 903.2 MB (second download from the bottom of the list). Make sure to download to your desktop, and install from there.

Once Windows updates are complete, then we can work on removing the bloatware that came pre-installed and get those other programs of choice installed.

Fiddlesticks! Late for work!!

Keep me informed to your progress.

Have a great day!

Donna

[khphoto1]

It is up.  I did tell it not to install updates automatically - to let me know and I'll pick.  Should they be installed in order of publish date?  I did not see a way to sort the list by publish date.  There are 92 important and 33 optional.  I'll check into making the recovery discs and review more of the updates.  Is there a way to make a copy (recovery disks) of the entire computer - files & programs..... so nothing would be lost if this would happen again (a FULL and COMPLETE backup)?

 

Hope you were not too late!

Kathy

[khphoto1]

I've made recovery discs. Uninstalled Norton (I'll install Kasperkey later), deleted the shortcut to Ebay and installed Service Pack 1.  I've also installed the print driver to my wireless printer EPSON XP-800 and Firefox 30.  I now see that the updates are already in order by publication date.  I'll install them little by little over the weekend and report back on Monday.  Have a great Weekend!

Kathy

[DonnaB]

Recovery discs! Excellent! Were you able to create them from the Recovery Manager? Do note that the recovery discs can be used to restore the laptop back to factory condition just as you did by pressing the F11 key. They are not an image of how the system is set up at this moment. We can work on that after everything is as you want it.

Also, keep in mind that since the pre-installed trial version of Norton has been removed you are totally unprotected till Kaspersky can be installed. I would do that as soon as possible.

To ensure that all residual files for Norton are removed, download the Norton Product Removal Tool from here to prevent any conflicts that may arise from the leftover files. You can right click and delete the tool once finished with it.

Another tool I like to recommend after restoring to factory condition is PC Decrapifer. It will audit the system and list the software/bloatware that can be removed safely without affected the functionality of the system.

As with any free software, please pay close attention as you install any of the programs above to prevent from installing foistware such as unwanted browsers, browser hi-jackers, scanners, toolbar,etc.

I look forward to your report coming Monday.

You have a great weekend as well!!

Donna

[khphoto1]

The recovery discs were created from Recovery Manager. 

OK,  all updates to Windows is now complete.  There were 2 that were questionable since they were not automatically check marked by the Update screen.  They are one for cumulative updates to IE 11 -  KB2929437 & another for detection of invalid software copies - KB971033.  Should I install them?

 

I have removed Norton with the tool you sent.

I have removed shortcuts to EBAY and HP Games and the PC Decrapifier also had it listed. 

 

I have installed Kaspersky Pure 3.0.

I have installed Microsoft Office XP 2000 and activated it through Microsoft.

 

I have run a full scan with Kaspersky.

 

Ran PCdecrapifier again and am not sure what can be eliminated.   The following is the count of items per publisher, total of 48:

Adobe 6

Broadcom 1

CinemaNow 1

CyberLink 8

HP 12

Intel 4

Java 1

Kaspersky 1

Microsoft 7

Monzilla 2

Realtek 4

Synaptics 1

 

Do you want the item names on each of these?

What steps should I take next?

 

I finished much faster than I expected.  On the external harddrive was an IMAGE COPY.  Would an Image copy now save all the software installed, updates, and current files?

[DonnaB]

Go ahead and allow KB2929437 to install, though do create a restore point prior to installation and if it fails, jot down the error code it generates. To find the error code, go to Control Panel > Windows Updates and click on View update history found in the left side panel. Look for KB2929437, right click and choose View Details. The error code will be found in the details.

As for KB971033, hold off on that for a moment till I can look into it. If I remember correctly, some W7 64-bit OS's were being flagged as Not Genuine after installation of that update. I'd like to verify that one way or the other before we proceed.
 

Would an Image copy now save all the software installed, updates, and current files?

Yes, but let's wait on backing up an image till all the software is up to date. I'd like for you to run the following two programs so we can see where we are at:

Please download OTL to your Desktop

• Double click on the to run the program. On Vista/Win7 or 8 right click select Run As Administrator to start the program. If prompted by UAC, please allow it.
• Make sure all other windows are closed and to let it run uninterrupted.
• Click the Scan All Users checkbox
  and
• Under Files Scans place a checkmark in Skip Microsoft files
• Click the Run Scan button. Do not change any other settings. The scan won't take long.
  • When the scan completes, it will open two notepad windows. OTL.Txt and Extras.Txt. These are saved in the same location as OTL.
  • Please copy (Edit->Select All, Edit->Copy) the contents of these files and post them in your topic
  • OTL.txt <-- Will be opened, maximized
  • Extras.txt <-- Will be minimized on task bar.

• Please post the contents of both OTL.txt and Extras.txt files in your next reply.
  
  Next:
  
  Download Security Check by screen317 from here or here.
  • Save it to your Desktop.
  • Double click SecurityCheck.exe and follow the onscreen instructions inside of the black box.
  • A Notepad document should open automatically called checkup.txt; please post the contents of that document in your next reply.
  In your next reply, please post the following logs:
  
  OTL.txt
  Extras.txt
  checkup.txt