BSOD - 0x7B at boot

[mrjoey98]

Hello all,
Starting last night I've been having a big problem with my computer. At this point there is no way for me to start it. At all.
What happened was that I bought a computer identical to the one I was using before, and I put my old hard drive in there, which is what caused that error in the first place. However, the error still appears after putting the hard drive back in my old computer. I have tried using system restore, but that failed every time. I tried using bootrec and bootsect but that didn't work either.
At this point, I am at a loss. I really don't think reinstalling Windows would really be worth it; there has to be more options as to how to fix this problem.
My computer is an HP EliteBook 6930p and it is running Windows 7.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

• "If Windows 7 came preinstalled on your computer, your computer manufacturer might have included other recovery options. For more information, refer to the documentation that came with your computer, or go to the manufacturer's website." (per Microsoft)

If not, please review the link to see if it offers a solution:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...boot-device-after-you-install-windows-updates

To pursue further, please clarify with specific detail:
1. what was error in original system which led you to remove HDD?
2. what error occurred when you put HDD into new system?
3. what error appears when you put HDD back in old system?
4. apparently this is a UEFI system, do you have password for administrative account?
5. can you reach BIOS screen?
6. is there a recovery disk?
7. is there a system disk?
8. do you have key code for OS license?

If there is little or nothing on the HDD which is important to you, a re-partition clean wipe and fresh install of Windows might be easiest solution.

 

[mrjoey98]

Oddly enough, I was checking out that link shortly after this happened and the it seemed irrelevant to my problem.
But to answer those questions, my computer got into an accident a couple of months ago, and since I was finally able to get another computer that was identical to the one I was using before, I thought putting my old hard drive into that computer would work, which it didn't. In both computers, the 0x7B error appears, preventing me from starting Windows at all. I don't have UEFI enabled on this computer, and as far as I know, the Admin account doesn't have a password. I can reach the BIOS screen. I don't have a recovery disk, a system disk, or a key code, though.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

Umm, difficult.

Start in BIOS, confirm 'automatic restart on error' is off, confirm HDD is properly identified and that it is listed as a boot device, confirm DVD drive and USB are boot devices as well as you may need them.

Then, download Win7 ISO and make bootable media on DVD or flash drive - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows7 . Being an HP system, your license key should be on a sticker. If not, it is possible you may recover it from the system if you can 'repair' the OS. Then download system manual from HP.

The guy at website in link has an exhaustive tutorial. Give it a look. http://www.deskdecode.com/startup-repair/

If you can access Windows Error Recovery (which may appear on a failed boot), select and run Startup Repair. Try booting up 3 times before giving up on this.

Next best, start boot and press F8 key quickly and repeatedly until you gain access to Advanced Boot Options (I think F8 is right key, but it may be F12 on some HPs) - then run 'repair'.

Last, there is a method of using installation media to repair, but I have messed up doing that a couple of times - and we do not want to format your HDD if we can help it. The detailed description in the link above seems right to me (but I've only done it two or three times)