You were running Norton Ghost transferring your C: drive to an external drive as a backup. Somehow, you pushed a wrong button(s) and next time you booted up, you ended up with a blue screen that said in small letters “Windows 7, Build 7600, This copy of Windows is not genuine.” Can you help me recover my windows operating system?
You tried restarting lots of times, to start a recovery module. There’s not any C: drive that’s working so you can’t even get a C: prompt. You can try booting your computer into Windows 7 safe mode with last known good configuration.
Press your F8 key after your computer powers on. Select “Last known good configuration” in an advanced boot options menu. Hopefully, Windows will boot normally.
If you cannot boot into any versions of safe mode successfully and or with any Windows 7 recovery options, then you can try recovery options and or perform a repair install with a Windows 7 DVD. Turn on your computer, insert a Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive, and then turn off your computer. Restart your computer.
Press any key when prompted to do so, and then follow any instructions that appear. When a Install Windows page appears, click Repair your computer to access system recovery options. Follow some instructions.
If you do not have a Windows 7 DVD then make sure to purchase one that has a same version of Windows 7 that you have installed. If you have a valid Windows 7 Certificate of Authenticity sticker on your computer, you can borrow a copy of Windows 7 or burn a copy. You would use a serial number off a COA sticker on your computer.
Also, you can purchase Windows 7 from many online retailers and Ebay.com. A repair install will try to repair any system files and install Windows 7 to a previous state but leaving your data and software alone. Your windows profile settings will change, but your data and software will not be removed.
You can view a startup repair: frequently asked questions page from Microsoft about Windows 7 startup repair. Also, a what are the system recovery options in Windows 7 article from Microsoft with details of recovery options should you have a Windows 7 DVD.