Windows 7 install problems!!

Discussion in 'Software' started by AlwaysOffLine, Jul 24, 2014.

  1. AlwaysOffLine

    AlwaysOffLine Private E-2

    Hi there! Just installed Windows 7 Pro 64bit over a prior windows XP Pro 32 bit. Install seems to be fine, staterd intalling drivers - realtek, XFX, etc., but ever since then it will not boot without the Windows 7 install disk in the drive. The error reads that it is loking for "system32/ntoskrnl.exe". I've reinstalled the Windows 7 5 times already, both express and custom, to no avail. How can I correct this? Tried removing the audio devices, but still no luck! Can you help? Thanks!!:confused
     
  2. Earthling

    Earthling Interplanetary Geek

    Did you format the drive before installing 7 or install straight over the top of XP? If the latter then reinstall, formatting the drive as you do so.
     
  3. DOA

    DOA MG's Loki

    Assuming you formatted and tried to install as Earthling suggested.
    Are you installing to a RAID or SSD or regular HDD?
    Do you need to put in any drivers to see your target disk?
     
  4. Crimson1077

    Crimson1077 MG - Offical "Active" Team Member

    I'd say create a Drive if you haven't already formatted which i'd do as plan B and plan C create a new Drive. I've had this happen before to me. Good luck!
     
  5. AlwaysOffLine

    AlwaysOffLine Private E-2

    Thanks everyone!

    Earthling, you may have hit it on the nose: yes, I installed over a pre-existing XP, so there's some driver mismatch going on.

    Is the option to reformat the drive part of the windows 7 install disk? Since I'm using an OEM version, I suspect that it doesn't fully remove what's already there, and doesn't give the option to reformat. Should I use a C: prompt, to reformat the drive and then reinstall?

    The drive is a SATA, not using RAID, if I remember correctly.

    Does anyone know the proper command prompt to use, for correct reformatting in this situation?

    Let me know - thank you everyone!! :)
     
  6. Earthling

    Earthling Interplanetary Geek

    If your OEM installation disk doesn't give you any options other than a straight install then it's best to use a bootable CD to clear the drive before installing 7. You cannot format the C partition from a command prompt while still using it, it's a bit like a hungry dog eating itself ;)

    I suggest using Partition Wizard Bootable CD. Boot to the CD and delete all existing partitions but do not create any new ones, just leave the whole disc as unallocated unformatted space. Then install Win 7.
     
  7. AlwaysOffLine

    AlwaysOffLine Private E-2

    Thanks earthling! Yeah, I couldn't remember my basics: whether or not Command Prompt / DOS can run off the chipset vs. an installed op system, but then, well, MS-DOS = "Disk-based Operating System", so, yes, it would be exactly as you described, a rather unpleasant scenario!

    I also considered using the C-prompt to remove all the System32 files but it would probably deliver the same unhappy end!:(

    I've already gone to the website you recommended, and created the boot disk; I'll run it today and reply with results!

    thanks again! How's the summer in the UK this year? Northern California's in a heat wave, over 92 degrees F today!
     
  8. Earthling

    Earthling Interplanetary Geek

    Yes, let us know how you get on. By UK standards we're also having a heatwave - no rain worth speaking of for weeks, daytime highs consistently 80° plus and outside night-time temperatures 60° plus making sleep very difficult as few here have aircon, so bedroom temps are staying over 70°. But of course we shall all start moaning as soon as it cools down and starts raining ;) The few times I've been to Frisco it's always been freezing, even in July :(
     
  9. AlwaysOffLine

    AlwaysOffLine Private E-2

    Hiya Earthling!

    Yes, I remember friends in the UK some years ago, when they had a 90 F heat wave - everyone went outside and got sunburned! They were wearing bathing suits and bikinis in their office, which had no A/C!

    And for sure, we have jokes about a summer in San Fran being 50 F and cloudy! Up here in Napa, it is very nice - sometimes hot - during the day, but the nights are always cool... !

    Your advice worked great, the Windows 7 is up and running!

    Now I have a challenge with the different hard drives I'm using; my BIOS seems to think all three drives are Master! I reset the jumpers on the Maxtor IDE, to no effect. the BIOS doesn't give me an option to choose master or slave for each HDD. The other two drives are SATA.

    Let me know if you can think of anything - thanks!
     
  10. AlwaysOffLine

    AlwaysOffLine Private E-2

    Hiya DOA!

    Just asked earthling: now that the Windows 7 is up and running, my hard drives seem to be all screwed up: all three are listed as "master" by the BIOS, and the BIOS doesn't let me change those settings!

    One disk is an IDE, the other two SATA. Tried changing jumper settings on the IDE (Maxtor), to no effect. Even more interesting, when I removed it entirely, the system wouldn't book, saying the boot drive couldn't be found. For sure, the Windows 7 is NOT installed on the Maxtor!

    Let me know if you can think of some way to correct this - thanks!!


     
  11. Earthling

    Earthling Interplanetary Geek

    We need to see a screenshot of disk management. Type diskmgmt.msc in Start > Search. When the snap-in appears try to include as much of info as possible of both the top and bottom halves.

    Other than the BIOS info does everything seem normal? System booting and running OK?
     
  12. DOA

    DOA MG's Loki

    In one of my many screw ups I managed to have Win 7 on one disk and the boot information on my data disk. I experienced exactly what you have, cannot boot the OS without all drives present.
    Post if you need this fixed, I have to look it up as it has been a long time. Basically the Master Boot Record (MBR) is in the wrong place.
     
  13. Earthling

    Earthling Interplanetary Geek

    The disk management pic will take all the mystery out of it. It's straightforward.
     
  14. AlwaysOffLine

    AlwaysOffLine Private E-2

    Good evening earthling!

    The system GENERALLY works OK - except for file management: disk access is a mess, the other drives don't even really show up in the explorer, and when I try to open one of the other drives, I get errors saying I don't have access, et al... really a mess.

    Here's the screen shot: note attachment. (Let me know if the attachment doesn't come through)

    Also going to reply to DOA, noting his comment about the boot sector... one of the IT guys I work with also mentioned that possibility. Hope I don't have to do a complete reinstall!

    Let me know what you think! thanks again!!


     
  15. AlwaysOffLine

    AlwaysOffLine Private E-2

    Hiya DOA!

    Yes, this really sounds like the same problem!

    I notice during boot-up, the BIOS lists three operating systems: two Windows 7 choices, and one called "Microsoft Windows", which I suspect is an old Windows 95 OS on one of the other drives. The system probably saw that old OS when I was reinstalling Windows 7, and grabbed it as a Master, thinking I had a multi-disk bootup scheme...

    Let me know what you think! I really appreciate the help from you and Earthling!! I sent him a screen shot via attachment, of what it shows in the Windows Diskmgr... let me know if you can also access it...

    Hope you had a great weekend! - AOL

     
  16. AlwaysOffLine

    AlwaysOffLine Private E-2

    OK - can someone tell me how to insert the screen shot? Sorry!!
     
  17. rustysavage

    rustysavage Sergeant Major

    If you want to insert an image, just click on the button that's labeled "Insert Image" and paste in the URL to your image. You'll need to have an account on one of the many online picture sharing sites like DropShots where you can upload your images. If you don't have such an account then simply click on the paperclip button labeled "Attachments", then click "Browse" and browse to the image on your hard drive. Then click "Upload". The pic will then be attached to your message when you post it and can be downloaded and viewed by anyone who reads your post.
     
  18. AlwaysOffLine

    AlwaysOffLine Private E-2

    Thanks RustySavage! - problem is, it's larger than the file size limit - 97 kb vs 161 kb for the screen shot saved in MS-Word. Can you think of a way to get around that size limit, i.e., another format that is smaller yet coveys the info?

    Otherwise, I'll check out that DropShot website. I supposedly have a Snapfish subscription, which I never use... !

    Let me know if you can think of something - thanks!! - AOL


     
  19. Earthling

    Earthling Interplanetary Geek

    To post a screenshot type snip in the Start box and click on Snipping Tool. Drag the cursor around the screen area you want and click the Save Snip icon. Save to your desktop as jpg or png and use the Manage Attachments button when signed in here to attach your file. You can use Dropbox if you prefer but it's extra hassle and not necessary.
     
  20. rustysavage

    rustysavage Sergeant Major

    If you manipulate the borders of the Disk Management window to show as much info as possible and then you do as Earthling instructs you will end up with a PNG formatted picture that is around 50 kb. I just took a snap of dskmgt (expanded) that was 51 kb, which is well within the allowable size limit for uploading to this forum.
     
  21. DOA

    DOA MG's Loki

  22. Earthling

    Earthling Interplanetary Geek

  23. AlwaysOffLine

    AlwaysOffLine Private E-2

    OK - had to do the screen shot as two different snip... this is one...
     

    Attached Files:

  24. AlwaysOffLine

    AlwaysOffLine Private E-2

    and this is the second, the lower half of the screen...
     

    Attached Files:

  25. Earthling

    Earthling Interplanetary Geek

    Thanks, that clarifies the situation. The problem is that the MBR and Win 7 boot files are on Disk 2, the small drive with two partitions, but Win 7 itself is on Disk 0. This has happened because Disk 2, which has previously contained a Windows installation, was connected and visible to the Win 7 installer, so the installer has tried to create a dual boot for you, resulting in the choices you are being offered at boot.

    For those with the relevant knowledge there are ways around this without reinstalling Win 7 but I'm not going to recommend them to you. Your best way forward is to physically disconnect Disk 2 and then reinstall Win 7 to Disk 0, where it is now. After you are booted into Win 7 it will be OK to reconnect Disk 2 if it contains files you want to keep, though imo it would be better to copy those files to Disk 0 or to Disk 1 and permanently remove that old FAT32 drive from the system.

    I know you don't want to reinstall 7 yet again but doing so in the way I have advised will resolve your remaining issues - well, those you have told us about anyway ;) Oh, and don't worry about what the BIOS is saying about your drives as that is not important right now.

    Let us know how it goes.
     
  26. AlwaysOffLine

    AlwaysOffLine Private E-2

    Thank you Earthling!!

    OK - it worked: I shut it down, disconnected the other drives, ran the Partition wizard, then reinstalled Windows 7. everything was working great, until...

    ...I tried to get the other drives working again. I shut it down, reconnected the 160GB Samsung HDD. The system would not start properly, had to disconnect it and do a Windows 7 repair. Now, it boots up very slowly, but it does boot up and appears to run normally.

    I tried to connect the samsumg drive externally, but no luck - I can hear it activating, but the Windows Explorer doesn't see it.

    Wondering how I can restore the boot-up speed, and be able to access the other HDDs, so I can retrieve the info?

    Let me know what you think - thank you! - AOL
     
  27. AlwaysOffLine

    AlwaysOffLine Private E-2

    Just to clarify....

    When I turn it on, or restart, the BIOS boots fine, then transfers to the "Starting Windows" screen just fine. Then after the Starting Windows screen shoud transfer to the Windows user login screen, the screen goes blank for exactly 2 minutes.

    At the 2 minute mark the Windows login screen appears.

    When I log in, the system hourglasses for about 30 seconds, then is ready for use.

    Don't know what the 2-minute blank screen is all about, but that started immediately after I tried to reconnect the old HDD.

    Thanks everyone! - AOL
     
  28. Earthling

    Earthling Interplanetary Geek

    Seems there is an issue of some sort with the 160GB drive. Has it previously held an OS? And does the system still boot normally if you disconnect it again?

    First off, with the drive connected, open Computer > Right-click the drive > Properties > Tools tab > Check Now. You will be offered options to Automatically fix file system errors and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors. Depending on what you tick this scan might take quite a while but should be done before attempting anything else.
     
  29. Kestrel13!

    Kestrel13! Super Malware Fighter - Major Dilemma Staff Member

    ...and indeed it is. :)
     
  30. Earthling

    Earthling Interplanetary Geek

    Another possibility - make sure your BIOS is set to boot from the 1000GB disk first, not the 160GB disk.
     
  31. AlwaysOffLine

    AlwaysOffLine Private E-2

    Send some my way - the drought out here on the west coast is terrible; we've been on water restrictions for months now! - AOL
     
  32. AlwaysOffLine

    AlwaysOffLine Private E-2

    Good evening earthling!

    Hope your weekend is going well! I connected the drive "live", that is, with the PC already on. The Windows Explorer doesn't see the drive at all. I am hesitant to connect it with the PC off, then boot, because of the other boot-up problems I ran into - unless you think its OK?
     
  33. Earthling

    Earthling Interplanetary Geek

    Hi AOL - unfortunate that, AOL has a dreadful rep here in the UK ;) - anyway, re-reading my advice the bit about reconnecting the drive after a reboot was badly worded. I meant for you to reboot with it disconnected and, if that was OK, to shut down, reconnect the drive and reboot. It should then be recognised and you can pull off your data. So you can try that now.

    Weekend good thanks, and weather has returned to normal - sun, rain, calm, windy, blue skies, grey skies - and that's just in a day :-D
     
  34. Earthling

    Earthling Interplanetary Geek

    EDIT - did you do what I requested in #28 and 30?
     
  35. DOA

    DOA MG's Loki

    Other ideas:
    1) attach the IDE to another computer
    2) buy an external drive enclosure
    3) SATA is hot swap but IDE is not. I have worked with motherboards that ALWAYS boot the IDE if there is one even if the BIOS says boot the SATA first. I had to install only the IDE, boot from a CD and transfer the files to an external drive. This took me almost a week to find out so I smashed the IDE drive with a sledge hammer when I was done.
     
  36. Earthling

    Earthling Interplanetary Geek

    Amen to that!
     
  37. AlwaysOffLine

    AlwaysOffLine Private E-2

    Good evening DOA and Earthling!

    OK - got it working, and was able to extract what I needed, and put it on an external 1 TB drive! The trick was to go into the Gigabyte boot menu, and specify the SATA drive.

    Now, I reconnected one of the older SATA drives, and am working on getting past the security lock - it used to be on an XP system with a user/password only access. I'm thinking if I fool around with the security menus enough, I can find the one to switch ownership to the new admin on the current Windows 7 setup!

    Thanks again to both of you for all your help!
     

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