Windows crashed - what to do? We solve the problem with Windows not working. What to do? Windows 7 crashed.

The Windows operating system is a very complex set of software. That is why various failures often occur in it, which, in turn, can lead to the impossibility of using the computer for its intended purpose. If this happens, then we say “Windows crashed.” In this article we will talk about the reasons for the OS not working and how to eliminate them.

There are quite a lot of reasons leading to the loss of Windows functionality. These could be software errors, for example, incorrectly installed OS or device driver updates, the actions of viruses or the users themselves. In addition to software problems, there are also hardware problems - problems with the system hard drive and RAM, exhaustion of the CMOS power element on the motherboard, or simply batteries.

First of all, we need to make sure that the hardware is not to blame for our problems - disks, RAM and batteries. Let's start with them.

Reason 1: CMOS battery

CMOS, which is a special chip, can be called a storage of BIOS settings. Information about the installed equipment and its parameters is recorded in its memory. The chip requires constant autonomous power to operate, otherwise all data is simply deleted. The system takes some time to read what is contained in the CMOS, which can occur with errors if the battery is dead. In order to eliminate this factor, it is necessary to replace the power element.

Reason 2: Hard drive

The system disk is a drive or partition on which all the files of the operating system “lie”. If problems arise with the disk, for example, bad sectors appear, then both loading and subsequent work may become impossible. In such cases, it is necessary to check the “hard” with special programs. If it turns out that there are errors on it, you will have to purchase a new disk and install the OS on it. Since our Windows does not work, the actions described in the articles below must be performed on another computer.

It would be a good idea to check the reliability of the connection of the cables to the connectors of the drive and the motherboard. There is a possibility of failure of the connection ports and connectors on the SATA cables and the power supply. The solution is simple: connect the drive to an adjacent SATA port, use a different connector on the power cable, and also replace the data cable.

Another reason related to the hard drive is a failure in the BIOS settings. This could be either an incorrectly set boot priority (it can go wrong if the battery is dead, as we discussed above), or an inappropriate operating mode of the SATA controller. To solve this problem you will have to go into the BIOS and change the necessary parameters.

Reason 3: RAM

When the system boots, all necessary data is first written to RAM. It is extremely rare, but still problems occur directly in the RAM modules, which leads to errors in reading and writing information. In order to make sure that the strips are in good condition, you need to use specialized software. Faulty modules must be replaced or removed from the system.

After we have verified that the system disk and RAM are working properly and have changed the battery, we can move on to identifying software causes.

Reason 4: Updates and drivers

In this article, we will not describe how incorrectly installed drivers and updates affect the performance of the system. Suffice it to say that in such situations, only deleting problematic files or restoring the OS in various ways will help.

If a BSOD (blue screen of death) occurs when you try to boot, then we can accurately determine the cause of the problem and find out which driver or other system file caused Windows to not start. In this case, BSOD becomes our assistant in diagnosing and solving problems.

Reason 5: Pirated build of Windows

Unlicensed builds of Windows downloaded from torrents or other resources that distribute pirated distributions have one unpleasant feature. Windows installed from such an image may not respond adequately to changes in the file system or parameters and settings. Most often this happens when installing OS updates, less often when installing drivers or other software.

There are two ways out here. The first involves recovery (see reason 4) with subsequent disabling of automatic system updates, as well as the exclusion from use of programs and “firewood”, after installation of which failures are observed. The second and most obvious is the use of licensed Windows distributions.

Reason 6: Viruses

Malicious programs can significantly complicate the user's life, including making it impossible to start the system. Fighting viruses when Windows is not working is not an easy task, but nothing is impossible. The main thing here is to determine the sequence of actions when such a situation arises. There are two scenario options.

• We first restore the system using the methods described in the paragraph describing reason 4. Then, from a running Windows, we identify and remove pests using anti-virus utilities.
• The second option is to clean the system from viruses using a boot disk, for example, and only then try to start Windows or perform a recovery procedure in case of failure.

Which script to use is up to you. Let us only note that in the first case, restoration using standard means (recovery utility) may not lead to the desired result. The reason for the failure is malware that places its files in the user’s folders, and during rollback these elements cannot be changed. For such viruses, the second option is suitable.

To ensure that such problems occur as rarely as possible, protect your PC from pests. Antivirus software and discipline will help with this.

Conclusion

In this article, we examined the most common causes of “Window crashes” and tried to provide the most universal ways to eliminate them. Typically, system recovery helps in such situations, since software is most often to blame for failures. Do not forget about the “iron” factors. Remember that the connectors can “move away” even when the system unit cover is closed due to shaking or shock during movement. The same applies to a hard drive - it can fail as a result of mechanical stress. With unlicensed Windows, everything is simple: try not to use such distributions, and as for viruses, read the articles on them on our website, the links are above.

It's no secret that most of the software used in the countries of the former Soviet Union are pirated versions of licensed programs. Windows is no exception, which is why problems often arise due to the fact that the activation of Windows 7 or another version of the system has failed. Typically, this problem occurs on the following versions of the operating system:

1. Windows 7
2. Windows 8
3. Windows 8.1
4. Windows 10

Most often, this problem is due to the fact that automatic system updates were not disabled when installing the system. Because of this, at the first request from your computer to the Microsoft server for a system update, which occurs automatically, it is determined that your copy of Windows is unlicensed, after which a corresponding message appears on your screen. To solve this problem, so-called activators were created that correct this problem. Below it will be described how to restore activation of Windows 7 or another operating system with two of them, Chew7 and KMS Activator, respectively.

Chew7

This is one of the simplest activators created specifically for Windows 7. In fact, this is its only function, which it copes with perfectly. In order to restore the activation of Windows 7, you first need to download the program.

After the file has been downloaded, you need to run it as an administrator.

Advice

Before running the activator, disable your antivirus. Any activator is nothing more than a virus that cuts out or replaces part of the system files responsible for checking and registering the system.

Click the Install button, after which, depending on the version of the program, you may receive a message stating that activation will require a restart of the computer. Clicking OK will start

automatic installation of the program. Upon completion, the computer will restart, after which you will be able to fully use all existing Windows functions.

KMS Activator

KMS Activator is a more functional program that makes it possible to activate not only Windows, but also other programs from Microsoft, for example the same office. In order to use this program, you need to download it to your computer.

Advice
When searching, make sure that this is an activator specifically for your version of Windows, since unlike Chew7, KMS Activator can work with different operating systems.

After downloading the program, you need to open it as an administrator.

In the window that opens, select “Activate Windows”, after which the automatic activation process will begin.

After completion of work, a message indicating successful system activation will appear in the program window.

note

Depending on the version of your operating system, the program window may differ from the one shown, and you may need to restart your computer after activation. If you have Windows 7 activation failed, then it’s better to use an activatorChew 7.

The situation when Windows 7 activation failed, quite common. When this problem occurs, the user immediately asks the question? What should I do to get everything back to normal? If this situation is familiar to you, then your further actions depend on what system software is installed on your computer - licensed or pirated. The fact is that Windows activation failure is typical for both.

Licensed OS activation failed

If you are the happy “owner” of a licensed Windows operating system, then it’s definitely easier for you. If activation failed licensed Windows, you can simply contact Microsoft. But there is another solution. It applies to those users who purchased Windows 7 (for example, Ultimate or Professional) bundled with a personal computer.

If this is exactly what happened to you, then there should be a special sticker on your PC that indicates the key of your operating system. When your PC gives you a scary message about the operating system activation failure, you need to re-enter the specified key - and the problem should be resolved.

But it may happen that when you re-enter the key, there will be no result and the message about the activation “gathering” will continue to appear from time to time. In this case, immediately contact service support. This is especially important if you are using a demo version of the OS and the days remaining until the end of the demo period continue to count down.

As a rule, there are two services:

1) service of the computer system unit manufacturer,

2) the system software developer service is Microsoft.

To be more reliable, you should call or write to both the first and second services and try to get some practical advice from both organizations on how to restore your license. If you have on your PC licensed Windows 7 restore activation With the help of service support you should be able to do it.

Pirate OS activation failed

If a pirated version of Windows 7 is installed on your personal computer and the activation of this version has failed, then it will be much more difficult for you to solve the problem. Moreover - pirated OS activation failed is fraught with the need to reinstall the operating system, and not every user can cope with this on their own.

It is noteworthy that owners of pirated Windows 7 are much more likely to encounter failures to activate the operating system. This problem, as a rule, appears during the installation of KB971033 - this is the name of one of the operating system updates. There are at least two ways out of this situation:

1) Disable all regularly updated programs - this is the simplest solution, but far from the most ideal, since the PC will immediately provide a “green light” to hackers who can, if desired, cause serious harm to the computer.

2) First download the necessary updates, and only after that activate Windows using a special program.

The second option is worth talking about in more detail.

Selecting an OS recovery program

Choice OS recovery programs- a fairly simple procedure. When the PC displays a message about the activation of the operating system, enter the corresponding query into the search engine, for example, “Windows 7 activator.” You will see an impressive list of software products from which you can choose the most optimal program, as you think. In principle, all activation software are effective as long as they are functional and “correct” products.

In order not to run into “left” software, carefully study user reviews about it. If negative ones predominate among them, continue your search and choose the program that has many positive statements. After this, you can download the program to your PC. Advice: look for activators only on trusted sites where the risk of viral infection is minimized.

As a rule, the activator comes with instructions, which, in addition to instructions for installing the software, contain recommendations that will be useful to you to restore the legalization of the operating system. Activation for Windows 7 will give you the opportunity to use any system tools to the fullest.

conclusions

Of course, you can work on your PC for some period of time without carrying out the above procedure, but a failure message that will periodically pop up and say that the operating system was checked for authenticity and did not pass this check will probably irritate you. And a black desktop is also an unpleasant sight. For this reason, when Windows 7 crashes, it is better to solve the problem quickly and then feel at ease.

And the most important thing: in the software market today there is a lot to look at and a lot to choose from, and therefore you should not mess with pirated programs, but immediately purchase licensed software. Otherwise, you run the risk of not only constantly encountering Windows crash problems, but also of finding yourself in a not-so-best situation: your PC could easily be confiscated by certain services, since the use of counterfeits is strictly prohibited.

Good luck to you and your PC!

This article is also searched for the query: installing licensed Windows 7.

Good day!

No matter how reliable Windows is, sometimes you still have to deal with the fact that the system refuses to boot (for example, the same pops up), slows down, glitches (note: all sorts of errors pop up) etc.

Many users solve such problems by simply reinstalling Windows (a reliable method, but quite long and problematic)... Meanwhile, in most cases, you can quickly fix the system using Windows recovery (fortunately, such a function is included in the OS itself)!

In this article I want to look at several options for restoring Windows 7.

Note! The article does not discuss issues related to computer hardware problems. For example, if after turning on your PC nothing happens at all (note: more than one LED is off, you can’t hear the sound of the cooler, etc.), then this article will not help you...

1. How to roll back the system to its previous state (if Windows has booted)

If Windows has loaded, then that's half the battle :).

1.1. With the help of special recovery wizards

By default, Windows has system checkpointing enabled. For example, if you install a new driver or some program (which can affect the operation of the system as a whole), then “smart” Windows creates a point (i.e., remembers all system settings, saves drivers, a copy of the registry, etc.). And if problems arise after installing new software (note: or during a virus attack), then you can always return everything back!

To start recovery mode - open the START menu and enter “recovery” in the search bar, then you will see the desired link (see screenshot 1). Or there is an alternative link (option) in the START menu: start/standard/system/system recovery.

Screen 1. Starting Windows 7 recovery

Note! Restoring the OS does not affect documents, images, personal files, etc. Recently installed drivers and programs can be removed. The registration and activation of some software may also fail (at least for the one that was activated and installed after creating a checkpoint, with the help of which the operation of the PC will be restored).

Then comes the most crucial moment: we need to select the point to which we will roll back the system. You need to select the point at which Windows worked as expected for you, without errors or failures (it’s easiest to navigate by dates).

Note! Also check the box " Show other restore points". For each restore point you can see which programs it will affect - there is a button for this. Find affected programs«.

When you select a point to restore, just click “Next”.

After which all you have to do is confirm the OS restoration (as in screenshot 4). By the way, when restoring the system, the computer will restart, so save all the data you are currently working with!

After restarting the PC, Windows will “roll back” to the desired restore point. In many cases, thanks to such a simple procedure, it is possible to avoid many problems: various screen blockers, problems with drivers, viruses, etc.

1.2. Using the AVZ utility

An excellent program that doesn’t even need to be installed: just extract it from the archive and run the executable file. It can not only scan your PC for viruses, but also restore many parameters and settings in Windows. By the way, the utility works in all popular Windows: 7, 8, 10 (32/64 bits).

Screen 4.1. AVZ: file/recovery.

By the way, the list of restored settings and parameters is quite large (see screenshot below):

• restoration of launch parameters of exe, com, pif files;
• resetting Internet Explorer protocol settings;
• restoring the start page of the Internet Explorer browser;
• reset Internet Explorer search settings;
• removing all restrictions for the current user;
• restoring Explorer settings;
• removing system process debuggers;
• unlocking: task manager, system registry;
• cleaning the Hosts file (responsible for network settings);
• removing static routes, etc.

2. How to restore Windows 7 if it won't boot

The case is difficult, but we will fix it :).

Most often, the Windows 7 boot problem is associated with damage to the OS bootloader, or a malfunction of the MBR. To return the system to normal operation, you need to restore them. More on this below...

2.1. Computer Troubleshooting / Last Known Good Configuration

Windows 7 is quite a “smart” system (at least compared to previous Windows). If you have not deleted hidden partitions (and many do not even look or see them) and your system is not “Start” or “Initial” (in which these functions are often not available), then if you press several times when turning on the computer F8 key, you will see additional download options .

The bottom line is that among the boot options there are two that will help restore the system:

1. First of all, try the item “ Last Known Good Configuration". Windows 7 remembers and saves data about the last time you turned on the computer, when everything worked as expected and the system was loaded;
2. if the previous option did not help, try running “ Troubleshooting your computer«.

2.2. Recovery using a bootable USB flash drive

If nothing works and the system still does not work- then for further Windows recovery we will need an installation flash drive or disk with Windows 7 (with which, for example, this OS was installed). If it doesn’t exist, I recommend this note, it tells you how to create it:

To boot from such a bootable USB flash drive (disk) - you need to configure the BIOS accordingly (more about setting up the BIOS -), or when turning on the laptop (PC), select the boot device. Also, how to boot from a flash drive (and how to create one) is described in detail in the article about installing Windows 7 (especially since the first step in recovery is similar to the installation step :)).

The Windows 7 installation window has appeared... What's next?

In the next step we choose not to install Windows, but to restore! This link is located in the lower left corner of the window (as in screenshot 7).

After you follow this link, the computer will search for OSes that were previously installed for some time. After which, you will see a list of Windows 7 operating systems that you can try to restore (usually there is one system). Select the desired system and click “Next” (see screenshot 8).

1. Startup recovery- Windows boot record (MBR) recovery. In many cases, if the problem was with the bootloader, after working with such a wizard, the system begins to boot normally;
2. System Restore- system rollback using checkpoints (discussed in the first part of the article). By the way, such points can be created not only by the system itself in auto mode, but also by the user manually;
3. Restoring a system image- this function will help you restore Windows from a disk image (if, of course, you have one :));
4. Memory diagnostics- testing and checking RAM (a useful option, but not within the scope of this article);
5. Command line- will help to carry out manual recovery (for advanced users. By the way, we will also partially touch on it in this article).

Let's look at the steps in order that will help return the OS to its previous state...

2.2.1. Startup recovery

See Screen 9

This is the first thing I recommend starting with. After launching this wizard, you will see a problem search window (as in screenshot 10). After a certain time, the wizard will report whether problems have been found and resolved. If your problem is not resolved, move on to the next recovery option.

2.2.2. Restoring a Previously Saved Windows State

See Screen 9

Those. roll back the system to a restore point, as in the first part of the article. Only there we ran this wizard in Windows itself, and now using a bootable flash drive.

In principle, after selecting the bottom option, all actions will be standard, as if you had launched the wizard in Windows itself (the only thing is that the graphics will be in the classic Windows style).

The first point is to simply agree with the wizard and click “Next”.

Screen 11. Recovery Wizard (1)

Screen 12. Restore point selected - Restore Wizard (2)

Then you confirm your intention to restore the system and wait. After rebooting the computer (laptop), check the system to see if it boots.

Screen 13. Warning - Recovery Wizard (3)

If the restore points did not help, the last thing you can do is rely on the command line :).

2.2.3. Recovery via command line

See Screen 9

Command line- there is a command line, there is nothing special to comment on here. After the “black window” appears, enter the two commands below in sequence.

To restore the MBR: you need to enter the command Bootrec.exe /FixMbr and press ENTER.

To restore the bootloader: you need to enter the command Bootrec.exe /FixBoot and press ENTER.

By the way, note that on the command line, after executing your command, the response is reported. So, for both commands above the answer should be: “ Operation completed successfully". If you get a different response from this, it means the bootloader was not recovered...

PS

If you don’t have restore points, don’t despair, sometimes you can restore the system like this: .

That's all for me, good luck to everyone and a quick recovery!Thanks in advance for any additions on the topic.