Most Awesome Way To Make Windows Unbootable


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I just messed something up with Explorer and System Restore didn't fix it. So I rebooted in last know good configuration. I managed to get to a cursor, then it crashed. Same with safe mode.

So pretty much Last Know Good Config made my system unusable. Got it to work by running System Repair Disk from a USB Thumbdrive.

Now I gotta go back to fixing the original problem!

I've had systems where I had to try Last Known Config 3-4 times before I got a usable system. I didn't change anything in between, just did it multiple times one after another when it didn't boot each time.

There is great reason in keeping a variety of backups because,

System Restore - Doesn't Always Solve The Problem (Even If Problem Happened After System Restore Point) - W7 will delete all restore points if space is limited

Last Know Good Config - Explained Above.

I am going to see if a registry backup going to fix my issue. :)

Honestly, that's why you should never try to tweak stuff all willy nilly.

Stuff breaks.

That is one of the fun things about tweaking. Although I doubt it is related as I stay away from messing with System Restore and so on. Those are a must!!

To be honest I think it's the fact that you messed something up in Explorer, not the fact you tried to use 'last known good config' that caused your computer to crash.

Another reason to keep up to date system images ... It cures a lot of ills..

Restored a registry backup. Everything works now.

To be honest I think it's the fact that you messed something up in Explorer, not the fact you tried to use 'last known good config' that caused your computer to crash.

You can delete explorer.exe and your system will still boot. Sorry but anything relating to explorer.exe will only effect your GUI / Usability - your system will still be bootable.

EDIT:

The LsaLookupOpenPolicy call failed with the following error:

%%-1073741822

This is the culprit. Whatever it is.

Last Known Good basically goes back to previous hardware / driver settings, and can be useful if you install a bad driver that breaks boot-up (like, say, if you disabled your AHCI / IDE driver or something).

Reverting to Last Known Good won't magically fix all problems, and will make things worse if your LKG configuration was actually meant for different hardware...

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