Anyone here a windows wizard?

[Jason_E]

Every day I use a Windows PC (which, is every day) I thank the sweet lord for my Mac.

Basically, the Gaming PC I have has decided it doesn't want to boot up now. I get the "Welcome" screen for a long time then just a black screen with a curser. Nothing works at all, no key presses, no mouse clicks etc. All I can do is restart.

The computer will boot into safe mode, but thats about all I can do. I haven't changed a thing, installed anything, deleted anything, no driver updates etc. It's just decided, in typical microsoft fashion, to break out of the blue. Only thing I know is that last week I had a few "Blue screen of death" incidents whilst playing F1 2017.

So, is it new hardware time? And by that, I mean buy a second mac for games that I can bootcamp windows from? Running Windows 7, ironically because I found 10 too unstable. With an SSD, GTX960, 16GB ram etc. if that helps.

Thanks in advance.

 

[HarvB]

Try a startup repair, or boot from last known good config from the F8 boot menu:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17101/windows-7-system-recovery-options

If it seems like a hardware fault you could try burning a copy of Hiren's boot CD and running memtest86+ or Prime95 to stress the RAM/CPU.

 

[iain187]

if you remove your gfx card and connect monitor to onboard vga (if you have it...) does it boot to normal windows?

 

[Knuckles]

@Typhoon is a computer whiz under that tough gangsta exterior if I remember right

 

[Typhoon]

@Typhoon is a computer whiz under that tough gangsta exterior if I remember right

I'll send a price list over later

 

[Darren S]

Was the Windows installation a clean one? Or one that came pre-built with the PC - with a million-and-one bits of manufacturer specific app crap?

I really wouldn't be using a Mac for high-end gaming. Low-end stuff, maybe. But don't expect to be playing the likes of BF1 in high detail.

 

[SharkyUK]

^ What @Darren S said.

I would also recommend sticking with Win10 (maybe a completely fresh install). Teh WinH4t3rz will never believe me but Win10, in terms of what it does and how it does it, is significantly better than Win7 across the board (ignoring the UI side of things as this is very much subjective). If you're prepared to pay big money for a top-of-the-range Mac then perhaps consider a top-end Win10 gaming PC instead and potentially save some money, too.

 

[Jason_E]

Thanks for the replies people.

The install was a fresh Windows 7 install onto a brand new hard drive. I did try Windows 10 for a bit, but found it to be a bit buggy. I actually think now that was to do with my overclock and/or my Asus Wifi card which I've since replaced. Anyway...

I have managed to fix it. Weirdly, I used the jumper on the motherboard to reset the CMOS. Since then, it's worked fine. If I try and overclock it, it just won't boot up now, I get "overclock failed". So I'm thinking for whatever reason, the overclock was causing it? (Even though I tried removing the overclock first and it didnt work, maybe the full CMOS reset properly cleared it).

Anyway, all good for now. But something isnt quite right and when I have time I'll do more digging with your suggestions!

 

[Daz...]

As it's now behaving itself I would definitely recommend trying windows 10 again. It really isn't hard to get used to and runs like a dream on a half decent pc.

 

[CrippsCorner]

Another vote for Windows 10 :up: