Reinstallation of Windows the best solution?

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  1. Posts : 51
    Windows 7
       #1

    Reinstallation of Windows the best solution?


    I've had this computer since about July, and right away I had issues. It took a little over a month to realize the problem was a bad stick of RAM. I of course RMA the sticks and have not had a BSOD, or a majority of the other issues that were occurring since. However they're still some oddities. Every time I seem to d/l a file of a certain size I get disc volume errors which leads to Chkdsk whenever I reboot. Even though it does not find any errors, it does fix whatever set off the disc volume error message I received while running the maintenance task. Other issues include not being able to deleted certain files, and programs and not being able to update windows.

    I know the problem isn't my HD, I've checked it multiple times and even though I've done repair/custom installs I've yet to complete reinstall windows completely. The repair installs have not fixed anything but I wonder if a complete reinstall is really any different. Also at this they're a a lot of files I want to save, and I wonder the best possible way to go about that as well as the whole process in general.

    Though it isn't a huge problem, I think I've waited long enough to try this approach.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 22,814
    W 7 64-bit Ultimate
       #2

    Hello.


    Start by having a thorough look at the information presented below to get some ideas where to start and be sure to post back with any further questions you may have and to keep us informed.


    After you have copied out or made back-ups of the data you need to save to external media, use Step One of this tutorial at the first link below to do a wipe (secure erase) to the entire Hard Disk Drive / Solid State Drive.
    • Then if you do not want to create the new Windows 7 "System Reserved" partition use the outline in Step Two #2 to create, format and mark Active a single 100GB partition to do the installation to.
    • If you do want to create the "System Reserved" partition use the outline in Step Two #3 to create, format and mark Active the System Reserved partition and then create and format the 100GB partition to do the installation to.
    Either way, running the "clean all" then creating and formatting the partition(s) using diskpart will get you the best possible space to do a clean install of Windows 7 to; you can always extend the Windows partition to include the remaining unallocated space on the HDD / SSD or create additional Primary partitions or an Extended partition after the installation completes if you choose.

    SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation

    DISKPART : At PC Startup

    Do a Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 51
    Windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #3

    I'm confused about creating portions. Is it necessary to create more? Recommended? Also what exactly is System reserved?
      My Computer


  4. mjf
    Posts : 5,969
    Windows 7x64 Home Premium SP1
       #4

    Do you mean partitions.
    You will get different opinions. I like a few partitions because they physically separate regions on a disk. I think it makes things like file/partition recovery a bit easier.
    But it is definitely a good idea to keep your Windows OS and installed partitions on a partition which can be easily imaged and restored. 100GB is not a bad figure.
    System reserved is a special small (typically 100-200MB) partition used by the OS in it's booting process. Small but very important if you have one and best left alone.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 51
    Windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Sorry, yea partitions. Right now I have a System Reserve and the rest of my drive is all one partition. If I install into a 100 gb partition will I only be able to use that much space?
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 22,814
    W 7 64-bit Ultimate
       #6

    Lulubop said:
    Sorry, yea partitions. Right now I have a System Reserve and the rest of my drive is all one partition. If I install into a 100 gb partition will I only be able to use that much space?

    Hello again, from the last paragraph of my post above.
    Bare Foot Kid said:

    ... you can always extend the Windows partition to include the remaining unallocated space on the HDD / SSD or create additional Primary partitions or an Extended partition after the installation completes if you choose.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 11,408
    ME/XP/Vista/Win7
       #7

    Follow BFK advice.

    Have you called the OEM manufacturer, sounds like time for a replacement.
      My Computer


  8. mjf
    Posts : 5,969
    Windows 7x64 Home Premium SP1
       #8

    I'm not suggesting you don't follow BFK's advice.
    I'm suggesting you limit the size of your Windows partition for the purposes of efficient imaging. You can clearly use the remaining space for other data partitions.

    I also explained the role of the system reserved as requested.
    (don't confuse the 100MB system reserved with the ~100GB windows partition I referred to).

    Also, logical partitions are fine when you need more than the 4 primary partition limit. But logicals are linked partitions living within one physical partition (the extended partition). I believe this makes logicals more vulnerable to recovery if required.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 51
    Windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Hello, I successfully reinstalled windows using method 3 a few weeks ago however I had an incident in which I had to reinstall it again. Now Windows 7 is the c drive, and system reserved is d. This wasn't the case in the previous install and I took the same exact steps. I'm wondering if this is an issue.

    Thanks.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 3,302
    Windows 7 Home Premium x64 SP1
       #10

    In my experience the system reserved partition should not be assigned a drive letter at all I dont think.I would post a screenshot of your "disk management" screen and let someone have a look at it for you.

    Danny
      My Computer


 
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