Windows last good configuration windows 7

How to Start Windows 7 Using Last Known Good Configuration

LKGC starts Windows with the last set of working files

Last Known Good Configuration, or LKGC for short, is a way in which you can start Windows 7 if you’re having trouble starting it normally. It loads the drivers and registry data that worked the last time you successfully started and then shut down your computer.

The biggest caveat with Last Known Good Configuration is that it’s only valuable if Windows 7 was working as you’d expect the last time you properly shut it down. So if you’ve started Windows, tried to fix a problem, and then shut it down again with the problem uncorrected, this guide won’t help. So the most important advice we can give is to use LKGC as one of the very first troubleshooting steps for driver problems and issues like Blue Screens of Death.

These directions are for Windows 7 and Vista. Last Known Good Configuration isn’t available in Windows 10 or Windows 8, but there are other startup options you can read about at the bottom of this page.

Press the F8 Key at the Windows 7 Splash Screen

To start Windows 7 using Last Known Good Configuration, press the F8 key over and over just as, or just before, the Windows 7 splash screen starts to load (i.e., keep pressing it while Windows starts). This will load the Advanced Boot Options menu.

It’s really easy to miss the small window of opportunity to press F8. If you see the Windows 7 animation begin then it’s too late. If you don’t press F8 in time, wait until the Windows 7 login screen appears and restart the computer from there. Do not log in. If you do, and then shut down Windows 7, you’ll lose any benefit of using LKGC.

Choose Last Known Good Configuration

Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to highlight Last Known Good Configuration (advanced), and then press Enter.

Wait for Windows 7 to Start

Wait while Windows 7 starts, hopefully normally. It shouldn’t take much longer than you’re used to.

Unlike starting Windows 7 in Safe Mode, there are no scary-looking lists of system files running down the screen as Windows starts with Last Known Good Configuration. Remember, all you’re doing is rewinding driver and registry settings to those that worked the last time Windows 7 was shut down properly.

Login to Your Account

Log in to the same Windows 7 account that you usually use.

If Windows 7 wasn’t starting at all, and you’ve reached this point, it’s a good sign that Last Known Good Configuration is going to solve, or at least get you closer to solving, the problem you were having.

If your problem didn’t start until later on, you’ll have to wait until the next step to see if LKGC did you any good.

Check to See If the Problem Is Solved

At this point, Windows 7 has loaded «known good» driver and registry configuration data, so you’ll now need to test to see if the problem went away.

If Windows 7 wasn’t booting whatsoever, congratulations, it looks like Last Known Good Configuration worked like a charm.

Otherwise, you’ll need to test to see if the problem you were having reoccurs. For example, if you experienced a BSOD when you entered the Control Panel, give it a try. If you tried updating a Windows 7 driver and your sound quit working, try it out now.

If Last Known Good Configuration didn’t fix the problem, trying it again won’t be of much use. It’s only good once since, unfortunately, Windows 7 doesn’t store multiple configurations.

In most cases, your next option is to use System Restore. We have an article on how to use System Restore to undo system changes in Windows if you need help. However, if you were following a troubleshooting guide specific to the problem you’re having, your best option is to go back to that troubleshooting and continue as directed.

LKGC in Windows 10

If you’re not using Windows 7 or Vista, you might be wondering how to start Windows 10 or 8 using Last Known Good Configuration. While there is a similar startup menu with troubleshooting tools, it doesn’t include the option to use LKGC.

What you can do instead in Windows 10 or 8 is boot into Safe Mode, which is a startup type that loads basic drivers and is often a first step in troubleshooting startup issues.

See How to Use Advanced Startup Options for details on everything you can do from this menu, and check out How to Access Advanced Startup Options in Windows 10 or 8 for help getting there.

As of January 2020, Microsoft is no longer supporting Windows 7. We recommend upgrading to Windows 10 to continue receiving security updates and technical support.

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Last Known Good Configuration — Windows 7

I want to configure my computer to automatically start using the Last Known Good Configuration.

I want this configuration to start without any user intervention (i.e. using F8 and selecting the option is not good enough for me since i am using the computer as a server with no screen/ keyboard).

what I am trying to achieve with this is a way of automatic recovery.

I am using Windows 7 64 bits.

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To assist you with your concern, you may refer and follow the steps provided on this link for the system recovery options in Windows 7.

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the link gives a result for a reactive fixing of startup problems and it requires user intervention.

what i am looking for is a way of configuring the Windows to always startup using the last known good configuration.

I will try to explain my scenario of using the system:

I have a system with two computers namely Server and Client.

the Server runs Windows 7 with no monitor and input devices connected.

the Client is connected to the server using Ethernet.

if the Server fails to startup for any reason, user is prompted to select the startup option. since the server has no monitor/ input devices, the user cannot neither see nor react to this prompt.

I hope this clarify my question.

2 people were helped by this reply

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When your system boots normally it take a snapshot of the registry settings (that would be the settings that just worked) and copies it into another location in the registry and calls the copy «Last Known Good Configuration». There is also a different configuration in the registry for Safe Mode and Windows will load the one you select if presented with some of the Advanced Boot Options or Recovery type screens.

If you system fails to boot later (perhaps from some invalid configuration adjustment, bad driver, etc.) and from the boot options menu if you choose «Last Known Good Configuration» Windows replaces the suspicious/afflicted registry configuration settings that didn’t work with the one called «Last Known Good Configuration» and continues.

So if there have been no bad adjustments to the current configuration that current configuration is the Last Known Good Configuration. They would be the same.

When Windows boots it checks to see if it was shutdown properly the last time it was running and if it was not shutdown properly you will see the recovery options screen.

It sounds like what you want to do is just skip that and go right back to Windows and hope that there is no real problem that prevents Windows from booting.

You don’t necessarily need to choose Last Known Good Configuration. You just want to skip the recovery option screen and in effect choose «Start Windows Normally». without having to press/select anything.

What you should really do it figure out what the problem is with your system called Server and fix that so it never goes down. Instead you can fix the symptom of the problem instead.

Open a Command Prompt as Administrator:

Click the Start orb/button and in the box enter the following:

Right click cmd.exe and choose to Run as Administrator:

To have Windows bypass the failure options screen enter this command:

bcdedit /set bootstatuspolicy ignoreallfailures

To test the adjustment I manually initiated a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) from the keyboard (easy to do) and restarted my system and did not see or have to take any action for Windows to boot normally.

To undo the adjustment and set things back to normal issue this command:

bcdedit /set bootstatuspolicy displayallfailures

Let’s hope that you never really ever need the system to stop on the failure options screen to fix some problem.

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Last Known Good Configuration — Windows 7

I am having a serious problem with a computer PC Windows 7 pro 64. I was troubleshooting a malware problem . As soon as I rebooted the PC I am getting the Blue screen of death, the problem is it reboots too quickly and the page does not load completely. The repair from the OS disk cannot solve the problem, after of trying several times it offered me to send the error to microsoft. I tried to restored from an earlier point but it cannot find any, and I never made an image. I tried the command wmic recoveros set autoreboot = False and it says that it was successfully done, but it keeps rebooting! When I hit F8 it fails to take me to the recovery options, like last known good configuration, so after long research I founded this in here from another topic that is now locked:

To have Windows bypass the failure options screen enter this command:

bcdedit /set bootstatuspolicy ignoreallfailures

To If fails to load stating that it cannot find the specified file! I was hoping I could load the last know good configuration. I also tried importing a saved registry file. but I do not know where to look.

I have a couple of old Legacy apps on that computer for work that I have long ago lost the installation CDs and they are not longer available, so I clean install is not an option for me. I missed the good old days of Windows XP which it would let you reinstall the OS while booting up from the CD, windows 7 does not let me do that! I wish there was a way to bypass that?

Any help will be greatly appreciated,

FOLLOW UP

I think I had a typo before on bypassing allignorefailures because the PC just rebooted correctly, so this is my first time using this feature, is it correct to assume that since it boot up correctly, it will save this configuration and boot up normally from now on? I am planning in manually saving a restore point and create an image. Anything else that I should consider doing to prevent this from ever happening again? This took many days of research!

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