I have a Dell Inspiron 1750 laptop, which was running 64-bit Windows flawlessly -- until I replaced the 2 GB RAM with 8 GB.
The new RAM is 100% OK (according to the 2.5-hour test which auto-ran after installation) but Windows now boots into a black inanimate screen and ignores all inputs.
This turns out to be because the Windows /BOOT folder now resides on an imaginary X: drive, and so far I have found no way to cure this.
I can get into a regular or Safe Mode Command Prompt window, and from there run TweakingWindowsRepair (which reports 8 GB RAM). That didn't fix the problem, but did enable me to reboot Windows in Safe Mode. That seems to work just fine, and everything is in the right folders on the right drives, AFAIK. (There is no X: drive, of course.)
But how do I restore "regular" Windows operation?
I can change the drive table with regedit (which lists all of the C:, D:, X: drives), but the changes don't survive a reboot (in either Safe or regular modes) -- presumably because I don't have the necessary permissions.
I have a full system backup (2 GB RAM) made with AOMEI, but I can't restore it from either Command Prompt or in Safe Mode Windows, because AOMEI refuses to run there.
I can install old System Restore Points, but only in Safe Mode Windows -- they don't restore operation in regular mode.
And lastly, I have the Win 7 installation CD, but no way to use it -- F2, F8, F12 offer various actions (inc. opening the Command Prompt windows) but don't offer to boot from a CD -- bios access has disappeared....
The only solution I can see is to open the laptop case to get physical access to the hard drive, remove it and wipe it or maybe just replace it with a new drive, then reinstall Windows off the CD, then restore the AOMEI backup. Ugh...
Does anyone have a better solution? Thanks....