Windows 7 Won't Boot (says hotcore3.sys is corrupt)

[neotek]

Hi there,

I'm not sure what happened. After installing PM10 I tried to resize my partition but it failed to run. I then uninstalled it and reinstalled it after rebooting Win7 now does not boot. The error log states that "hotcore3.sys" is corrupt. There is now also an X: drive called "Boot" with a bunch of Windozy looking files with "setup.exe" at the root.

Anyone know how I can fix this? Some of the existing threads seem to suggest making a boot CD and running that, or maybe running FIXMBR, but I'm not sure how to proceed. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[SIW2]

Try going into Advanced boot screen ( tap F8 repeatedly at startup ). Select Last Known Good Configuration.

Otherwise, select Safe Mode and Do a system restore to a point before you installed Paragon.

If still no joy, run startup repair after booting the 7 dvd/recovery cd.

If you don't have one to hand - you can d/l the recovery cd .iso from here: Download Windows 7 System Recovery Discs — The NeoSmart Files (http://neosmart.net/blog/2009/windows-7-system-repair-discs/)

Hope it helps.

[neotek]

Renamed hotcore3.sys file to *.bak, ran a disk check and hey presto Windoze booted.

Maybe I should be running PM11? PM10 worked ok for Vista but could be time for an upgrade me thinks...

Side Note
Used Acronis Disk Director 10 to resize and worked as per normal.... sweet!

[SIW2]

Hi Noeo.

I am pleased all is well for you.

There is no PM11 yet. PM10 fully supports Windows 7. It works perfectly for me.

There may be some unusual incompatibility with your system that prevented the hotcore driver from installing.

You are lucky DD10 worked ok for you - this time.

[neotek]

Hi SIW2,

Thanks for the links to the Win7 Repair ISO's these may prove very handy. :)

Yes there is a PM11 out now that fully supports Win7. PM10 definitely did not work for me as I tried it a couple of times both resulting in non-booting Windoze.

Yes I heard about DD10 issues with Win7 but have used it multiple times now with no issues whatsoever! Go figure? I'm happy anyway.

Cheers mate.

[SIW2]

Is there a PM11 now ?

Strange as we only just had an update for PM 10 - Which I have been using frequently on 7 x64 with zero issues.

If you had problems installing it twice - sadly, it does appear there is an unfortunate incompatibility with your system.:(

This is the current product http://www.partition-manager.com/

Where did you find PM11 ? ??? Are you confusing it with something else? I understand there is DD11 - still not without issues , I believe.:(

If DD10 is working for you - then great.:thumb:

[neotek]

Oops!! Yes you are correct I was confusing Partition Manager with Partition Commander... silly me! I didn't get to bed till 4am last night so I think the fuzzies got me.

I am building another Win7 x64 machine (a Phenom desktop, rather than this Dell lappy) so will give PM10 another whirl and see how it goes. I hope there are no issues with RAID 0 sets.

Thanks again. :)

[SIW2]

LOL - easily done. I hope PM10 fares better on your new rig.:)

It's 4 am again now isn't it?