Hello,

I have a Sony Vaio laptop running Windows 7 that stopped booting this morning. I get the following error message:

Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem:

1. Insert your Windows installation disc and restart your computer

2. choose your language settings, and then click "Next"

3. Click "Repair your computer."

If you do not have this disc, contact your system administrator or computer manufacturer for assistance.

Status: 0xc000000f

Info: The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible.

I follow the directions and attempt the "repair windows" option. It fails and gives me this message:

Start Up Repair:

Windows cannot repair this computer automatically

If you recently attached a device to this computer, such as a camera or portable music player, remove it and restart your computer. If you continue to see this message, contact your system administrator or computer manufacturer for assistance.

View Diagnostic and repair details

View advanced options for system recovery and support

I have not recently connected any devices to the computer. When I click the "View Diagnostic and repair details", it appears as though everything complete successfully except for this section:

Root cause found:

No OS files found on disk

Repair Action: Partition table repair

Result: Failed. error Code = 0x490

Time Taken: 529467 ms

Is there any way to fix this without completely reinstalling Windows and losing my data?