Windows 7 - Solutions for boot problems.

for all thoes people who are experiencing this problem, i have a few tips that worked for me.

Solving Windows freeze on startup....(this can happen when even booting from the startup disk, it has nothing to do with any drivers or software related issues) If you have sprung upon this problem after installing a driver, then it is a possibility, but for the majority of people who havent been able to enter windows, this is for you.

Fault finding process;

1. UNPLUG all USB connectors, including keyboard and mice USB. Use PS2 keyboard for BIOS settings
Reboot windows, Problem still stands??? Yes - move onto step 2. No - Diagnose which USB is causing your problems (connect one by one untill windows fails to boot. Main possibility is USB keyboard. Try disabling any USB Keyboard options in the BIOS.

2.Enter BIOS settings - Depending on your BIOS, Disable any USB Keyboard options.
Test Windows?, Move onto step 3

3. Disable ALL LAN Networking Controllers from the BIOS!. Try removing LAN boot from the Boot sequence options.
(Disabling network controllers worked for me.)
Failing to succeed move onto step 4

4. Try Disabling all Raid options in the BIOS

5. Switch off your computer, remove one by one, each pci card you may have, and retry booting. Do not re-insert the card removed until all cards are removed. 2 cards could be simultaneuosly causing the problem. By PCI cards, i mean the accessories, such as WIFI cards, tv capture cards etc from inside your computer. Removing the graphics card may be an option if you have onboard graphics to switch to.
-If windows boots on the removal of your graphics card, this could indicate a video setting issue with in you BIOS.

6. Disable any special motherboard functions, they may not be compatible with windows 7.
Make a backup of your BIOS settings before tinkering, save a BIOS profile if your motherboard supports it, or reset to defaults if you cant remeber what youve changed.


Failing upon that....
Try inserting the windows disc and booting from it, if you still get the freeze, it is a BIOS issue, so the fix is in that BIOS somewhere! Youve just got to find it!
Try removing all hard drives and booting, If you windows disc succeeds to boot, and enters a hard drive - driver select window, then your windows disc is most likely fine, meaning the disc is not the source of the problem.
Try plugging in a hard drive used for storage through IDE or sata. One that doesnt have a windows platform installed.
If the freeze stilll occurs when booting from the disc, you can be sure its not a driver related issue.

I hope this help!

I was just faced with this issue today. Windows 7 was running fine until I did a windows update. I also checked the optional updates which included drivers for my NVIDIA video card, sound card, network adapter, touch pad, and printer.

After the reboot its been frozen on the "stating windows" screen. In safe mode it gets stuck on "CLASSPNP.SYS".

Doing a startup repair from the installation disk does not work - it says it cannot repair the problem.

Doing a system restore to a point before the updates did not work either - it still froze on the "Starting Windows" screen.

The problem with this machine is it is a HP laptop and the bios are as simple as it gets. There are no options for any of the above mentioned bios tweaks.

There is also nothing external hooked up to the laptop. No USB, devices or anything foreign to the OEM parts.

Is there anything I can run from the command line to try to get into windows? Any advice would be appreciated.

If not, can I do a new install of windows and smoothly transfer over all registry settings, users, and programs to the new installation?

Hello, I just joined yesterday in hopes of resolving my issue here. I am experiencing the exact same scenario on my HP Pavillion Elite m9600t desktop. Windows 7 upgrade went fairly smooth except for the monitor not waking after standby mode kicked in. I finally changed it to never in the power savings to get around that problem. Then after the same windows update that included the nVidea driver, the computer gets to the "Starting Windows" screen and pretty logo and stops. System Restore does no good, I had several since installing W7 a week ago. I can access safe mode. Help for unclesam and I would be greatly appreciated. I do have an image saved externally and also rescue discs as a last resort. This is really annoying on a brand new computer.

Well, I got Windows running again this morning. It was a weird and experimental fix so I don't know that it will apply you but here is everything I did:

First I noticed that when booting in Safe Mode, windows would hang on loading CLASSPNP.SYS. So I booted into the windows CD and ran a command prompt. I navigated to my windows installation folder so I could rename the file that was causing the hang in hopes that the CD would repair it after.

I navigated the folder - "cd c:\windows\system32\drivers" and renamed it - "ren classpnp.sys classpnp.backup".

This actually didn't work and I still got stuck on the boot screen.

I have windows XP dual booted on this laptop and I haven't used it since my Windows 7 install. I decided to go in there and maybe replace some system files with ones from my Windows 7 installation on another computer. To my surprise, XP wouldn't boot either - the starting screen would come up but after a second I got a BSOD flash and the computer would restart. Weird.

So I did repair install on XP and I was able to boot it up. After the repair install on XP, I tried Windows 7 again. Here is what's weird again: this time Windows 7 did not hang on the starting screen, but did what XP did before the repair - it showed "Starting Windows" for a second, then a blue screen of death, and then restarted. Wtf??

After that I booted from the Windows 7 CD again and ran a Startup Repair. It took a long time and i left it overnight but now I am typing this from my Windows 7 which is booting just fine.

Sorry I don't have an exact answer for how I fixed it - this is just my story in detail. Somewhere along the line some changes happened that did the trick. Maybe someone who can make sense of this can narrow it down.

By the way - my Windows 7 is x64 and Windows XP is x86.

Good luck.

Found the problem on my end. Disabled the NVIDIA 9800 GT graphics card and lo and behold.....it boots normally...but only with onboard graphics. Now, you would think, I'll just go get the updated driver from NVIDIA, right? THe latest driver will not install correctly. Version of driver stays stuck on 8.16.11.9107 no mattter what I do.
Now, do I just wait it out and hope the vendor puts out another one soon? Or research another graphics card that will work with W7. This all started a few days ago with a Windows Update that included a driver update from NVIDIA. Supposed to trust windows updates arent we? Guess again. No wonder it creates a restore point before downloading and installing. ANY SUGGESTIONS HERE? SHOULD I WAIT OR GO SHOPPING? THANKS ALOT ANYONE....

Try doing a full uninstall of the old drivers.

Download Revo Uninstaller - probably the best software to add to Windows:

Download Revo Uninstaller Freeware - Free and Full Download

Uninstall in advanced mode. Make sure to check all registry entries and files and hit delete when it prompts you.

Restart and reinstall the new drivers.

I took a look at the website. It says the free version does not have full 64 bit support. Does that mean it shouldn't be used in Win 7/64?

I tried everything. System still hanging. Even I decided at last to format it but even booting from CD windows still hangs at the same place .....


Any suggestion ?

This thread deserves a sticky, admins?

Originally Posted by stevemilw

for all thoes people who are experiencing this problem, i have a few tips that worked for me.

Solving Windows freeze on startup....(this can happen when even booting from the startup disk, it has nothing to do with any drivers or software related issues) If you have sprung upon this problem after installing a driver, then it is a possibility, but for the majority of people who havent been able to enter windows, this is for you.

Fault finding process;

1. UNPLUG all USB connectors, including keyboard and mice USB. Use PS2 keyboard for BIOS settings
Reboot windows, Problem still stands??? Yes - move onto step 2. No - Diagnose which USB is causing your problems (connect one by one untill windows fails to boot. Main possibility is USB keyboard. Try disabling any USB Keyboard options in the BIOS.

2.Enter BIOS settings - Depending on your BIOS, Disable any USB Keyboard options.
Test Windows?, Move onto step 3

3. Disable ALL LAN Networking Controllers from the BIOS!. Try removing LAN boot from the Boot sequence options.
(Disabling network controllers worked for me.)
Failing to succeed move onto step 4

4. Try Disabling all Raid options in the BIOS

5. Switch off your computer, remove one by one, each pci card you may have, and retry booting. Do not re-insert the card removed until all cards are removed. 2 cards could be simultaneuosly causing the problem. By PCI cards, i mean the accessories, such as WIFI cards, tv capture cards etc from inside your computer. Removing the graphics card may be an option if you have onboard graphics to switch to.
-If windows boots on the removal of your graphics card, this could indicate a video setting issue with in you BIOS.

6. Disable any special motherboard functions, they may not be compatible with windows 7.
Make a backup of your BIOS settings before tinkering, save a BIOS profile if your motherboard supports it, or reset to defaults if you cant remeber what youve changed.


Failing upon that....
Try inserting the windows disc and booting from it, if you still get the freeze, it is a BIOS issue, so the fix is in that BIOS somewhere! Youve just got to find it!
Try removing all hard drives and booting, If you windows disc succeeds to boot, and enters a hard drive - driver select window, then your windows disc is most likely fine, meaning the disc is not the source of the problem.
Try plugging in a hard drive used for storage through IDE or sata. One that doesnt have a windows platform installed.
If the freeze stilll occurs when booting from the disc, you can be sure its not a driver related issue.

I hope this help!

Sorry to say this, THIS IS NOT A SOLUTION. I try all the steps listed, but still not able to solve my problem..


fleeze on "Starting Windows" screen

I just bought Windows7.. After I format my C:\ drive and start install with the CD, I can't login anymore due to the screen fleeze on "Starting Windows" screen.

This really make myself regret should continue use the RC version until next march.

Anyone, PLEASE HELP...