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I’m afraid this has all just turned to kaka. The first time I tried to add Gmail I selected “Enable POP for all email.” When I saw that it was downloading messages from 10 years ago I stopped it and then went thru the whole routine again with “Enable POP for mail that arrives from now on.” Then I imported the PST file to my second attempt. However, the Send/Receive only works with the first one that is incomplete. This may sound confusing to you but I think I see the error of my ways.

It seems that I’m going to have to wipe the slate clean and start all over. This time I’m going to select “Enable POP for mail that arrives from now on” and then import my old PST into that. At least I know that I can get it working properly eventually even tho I pooched it the first time. I’ll be missing some messages for the two week period that my computer was down, but I can always find them online if I really need to.

Yes, I did set up a new account as you advised. Then I imported the old account. It appeared as if I had a second account, which was presumably the first one that I deleted. Perhaps I threw the baby out with the bathwater. I’m thinking that I may have to just wipe everything out and start all over again unless you have a better idea.

Well, I’m making some progress. I was able to import the old outlook.pst file from a couple of weeks ago and recovered all my emails including contacts. However, I can’t get it to Send/Recieve now. Even the test message didn’t come thru to Outlook altho it made it to the online Gmail.

When I checked the Account Settings the E-mail tab is blank but Data Files shows the correct email account. Can you tell me how I can fix that since I’m so close now?

That seems a strange version number for Win 7 SP1.

I think the only solution I’ve come across for no OS found was a clean install, but hopefully the tech will be able to recover your personal stuff.

I thought that I had installed SP1 so I don’t know why it’s not showing up.

A wing and a prayer is about all I’ve got left now.

See the link in post #15…expand the section titled UEFI Component Tests.

These are the options…

Unfortunately I can only get the basic hardware diagnostics tests, not the UEFI Component Tests since I apparently don’t have the latest version of this software and obviously can’t install it now.

Here is the link again for you to create a Kaspersky Rescue Disk.

Give it a try and it may save you from having to splash the cash on a repair tech.

I finally managed to download and run KRD 10. The mistake I was making all along is that I was only changed the boot order in the BIOS and not the Boot Manager at F9. Once I discovered that it was mostly downhill.

Couldn’t get the graphic mode to work so ran it in text mode instead. I was able to scan the startup objects and disk boot sectors, but didn’t find anything wrong. Was able to read the hardware info as well, but no other commands.

Since I was on a roll, I decided to run my Win 7 Repair Disk. Then my luck ran out. When I ran System Restore I got an error message saying “Windows cannot find a system image on this computer.” Startup Repair confirmed this with “NoOsInstalled” altho it did list the OS Version as 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.1. Was also able to run CHKDSK but not problems were found.

Thanks again for the link to KRD. Actually I don’t mind spending the money on a tech if he could somehow rescue it as much as I would prefer to avoid the aggravation of reinstalling my system from scratch.

No problem.

It could turn out be hardware…I was hoping you would have been able to run the System Board test, and Video test, in the HP Component Tests list.

You’ll know more after doing a clean install.

I’m not quite sure what you mean about the “HP Component Tests.” Where would I find that?

I’m doing my best to avoid a clean install as you may have gathered by now since my system as currently configured requires a lot of tweaks.

I would take it to your tech person, have them save your personal files and data off to a removable device (they should be able to make and use a Linux Live CD), and then re-install Windows from scratch.

Seeing as how nothing seems to work and we’re running out of options, that seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Thanks for all your kind assistance and suggestions. If I ever find out what pooched this dog I’ll let you know.

I have been able to get into Safe Mode in similar situations by doing the following…

1. Power off the computer.

2. Hold down the F8 key.

3. Power the computer on while still holding down the F8 key.

You may get a series of beeps (the system may think there is a key stuck).

It was worth a try, but nada, zilch.

I’m really sorry I didn’t make a backup on the one chance that I’ve had. Sigh.

Try the Kaspersky Rescue Disk then to see if that boots up.

I didn’t have a Kaspersky Rescue Disk but I did have ones that I had made from HP as well as Acronis. Also tried this Rescue Kit 14 that someone had suggested but struck out on all of them. Wouldn’t open in command prompt either.

The good news is that I now know that all my programs and data are still there. The bad news is that I can’t access them anymore.

See if you can repeat Jerry’s fix after a cold boot.

With the machine shutdown, switch off the power at the wall socket or pull the plug then hold the power button in for about 30 secs or so and then try again.

It sounded like a good idea, but no luck.

Glad to hear you’re back in business. If you can boot normally now, you shouldn’t need to run any of the other Advanced Startup Menu items. I would run the following item from an elevated command prompt:
SFC /scannow

And just to be on the safe side, download and run MalwareBytes: http://www.malwarebytes.org

Jerry

Ooops. Perhaps I spoke too soon. When I booted up this morning, the spinning wheel on the Internet Connections icon went away in 45 seconds, which was a promising sign. However Outlook and Firefox didn’t start up right away. Skype just hung there also Not Responding. Nevertheless, after a few minutes everything finally did open up and worked properly.

Not satisfied with this lackluster performance I decided to see if I could run the Startup Repair option. When I got into the Advanced Startup Menu I foolishly tried Last Known Good instead to see if the system could find a better way to operate and that’s when my troubles started all over again just like before. Unfortunately, this time when I killed Windows twice on startup and tapped on F8 I couldn’t get it to run in Safe Mode so that I could run System Recovery again.

I should have run the backup when I had a chance, but now I’m stuck again. I hate to bother you, but do you know of any other way out of this mess?

FWIW I was able to run the SFC and no problems were reported. Also, I have the paid version of Malwarebytes and ran a full scan but nothing was detected.

===> shop

Would have saved lots of aggravation IMHO, assuming the shop is competent. I presume a 840 is still under warranty if it is defective.

As it turns out the only tech I would have trusted wasn’t coming back on duty for a couple of more days so I just continued tinkering with it. Since I as able to resolve the issue, it was worth the aggravation and I learned a new trick. Also, the 840 SSD was out of warranty too.

Very big thanks, Jerry! I left the black screen running for a few hours while I went away to take care of some other matters. When I came back everything was running normally and I hadn’t lost any data or programs. This is the 5th day I’ve been struggling with this computer and you found the magic bullet! Believe me, I’ve scoured the Internet and have never seen this solution posted anywhere else. Don’t know how you did it but it’s a real lifesaver.

Now that I’m back in action again, which of the Advanced Startup Menu items do you think I should run? Obviously I’m going to perform a full backup post-haste. Anything else you would recommend?

Holding down the Power key should power off the PC thus “killing the boot” After two unsuccessful boots in a row, you should get the Advanced Startup Menu on the third boot.Jerry

Well, I think I figured out what you were talking about since I was actually able to access the Advanced Startup Menu one time. I ran a System Restore, but when I tried to restart the only thing I got was a black screen with an active cursor. Tried to boot it again and got past the Windows Starting screen to the Welcome screen before it blacked out again like before.