Problem :
Here’s my puzzle: I cannot boot my Windows 7 VM — it gets stuck on the startup screen with the pretty pulsing windows icon. I can get into safemode ok. I believe if I could only get to the bootlog for the normal startup that I could figure out what’s preventing startup.
Now, whenever I reset I get to the menu with the several safemode options, last known configuration, or start windows normally.
But none of them have the option to bootlog like for example XP did.
So I found that I could go into safemode and use msconfig.exe to turn Boot logging on (see http://windows7themes.net/enable-boot-logging-in-windows-7.html).
However, the trouble is that if I then restart windows normally, I presume it creates the bootlog. But then the only way I can view it is to start into safemode. And after starting safemode the bootlog is for the safemode startup, not for the previous normal startup.
How can I get a bootlog created for the normal startup, and then actually view it?
Solution :
Hit F8 to get bootlogging, not F5.