Windows Fails to Start on a Dell Server

How to troubleshoot an installation of Windows Server that fails to start

If Windows Server does not boot, the following troubleshooting steps may be taken:

1. Determine whether the issue is caused by hardware or software. Boot to the BIOS or PERC BIOS and verify whether the hard drives can be seen.


2. Try to start the server in safe mode or, if the server is a domain controller, Directory Services Repair Mode (DSRM).
   If either of these is successful, the issue is likely with an installed driver, application, or service. Proceed to step 4.


3. Boot the server using a Windows boot disk, such as the Windows installation media.

• Recovery options for Windows Server 2003 include the following:
  • Use the chkdsk tool to determine whether there is a disk problem.
  • Copy, review, and edit the boot.ini file.
  • Other recovery console commands are listed here.
  • If nothing else seems to work, you can perform an in-place upgrade (repair install).
  • Additional troubleshooting steps for Windows Server 2003 are available here.
• Recovery options for later versions of Windows Server are somewhat different:
  • Use the bootrec command to troubleshoot startup issues.
  • Chkdsk is still available to check for disk errors.
  • Use DiskPart to verify the status of disk partitions.
  • Use the bcdedit utility to view or modify the boot configuration database (BCD).
  • Run the System File Checker (sfc.exe) in offline mode.
  • Run StartRep.exe.Dell support website and look for the appropriate driver for your hardware and version of Windows. You can then extract the driver to a USB flash drive. Press F6 when prompted at the bottom of the Windows loading screen and browse to the location of the driver.

4. From within safe mode or DSRM, use the msconfig utility to disable startup applications and non-Microsoft services on the server, then attempt to reboot into normal mode. If this succeeds, use msconfig to identify the culprit by enabling services and startup applications one at a time until the server fails to boot.


5. Use Dell's Linux-based OMSA LiveCD to boot the system and run diagnostic tests to determine whether any hardware is malfunctioning. OMSA LiveCD can also be used to recover data from a server whose operating system will not start.