Error 0xc0000428 occurs installing on wiped formatted hard drive

Yes, I wrote the DVD ISO image to the stick using UltraISO as suggested. In addition I used MobaLiveCD_v2.1 to validate data. All processed fine which suggests that the problem is the hard drive not the stick.

I also agree with Magnus, the hard drive may be damaged. I will test the HD with maker´s diagnostic/repair utility.

Thanks,

I tried the maker's diagnostic/repair but it is not user-friendly and simply does not work. So I tried something even better and more direct. I decided to replace the 3.5" drive in my desktop with the 2.5" drive to test... and voila! Windows 7 Home Premium booted just fine. Pleasantly surprised, I booted several times to be convinced. This confirms that the drive is not damaged.

But the drive still would not boot when installed in the laptop. It gives error code 0xc0000428 under windows boot manager and there is no way to bypass the error.

Since the drive is not damaged, the question now is what would make the drive work in my desktop but fail in the laptop? I do not have the slightest clue at the moment on how to proceed.

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks.

I´m confused now. Your OP states you cannot boot the installation DVD to install to a formatted HD, then that you´ve wiped the HD and still cannot install because of the error message.

But now you say you moved the HD to desktop and it boots. What is it booting if you have a wiped clean HD which could not install? Are you saying the installer booted and installed Home Premium on the 2.5" plugged into desktop?

Clarify this so we can get some traction on the new info.

Try resetting the laptop CMOS, then set the DVD drive first to boot in BIOS setup, followed by the HD. Clear CMOS - 3 Ways to Clear the CMOS - Reset BIOS

Ooops, My apologies. Here is my clarification. I should have said that I tried this two ways:

1. I moved the HD to desktop and from there restored the backed up image to the HD. After restoring, I disconnected the desktop regular HD (3.5") and replaced with the laptop's HD (2.5"). It then booted fine on the desktop. However, when I reconnected the HD to the laptop the error that appears is "Bootmgr image is corrupt. The system cannot boot".

2. Using the laptop's HD as the install hard drive connected to the desktop, I boote the Windows 7 Home Premium installer DVD and installed the operating system. After installation it booted fine on the desktop. However, again, when I reconnect the HD to the laptop the error "Bootmgr image is corrupt. The system cannot boot." again appears.

As you suggested, I will try resetting the laptop CMOS and see what happens.

Thanks again for the help.

Hi Gregrocker,

I did as you suggested and reset the CMOS in the laptop. Here are the results:

1. If I reset the CMOS and set the DVD to boot first in the BIOS, I get Boot Manager error 0xc0000428.

2. If I reset the CMOS and set the HDD to boot first in the BIOS, I get Boot Manager error: 0xc000000e

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."
Status: 0xc000000e
Info: The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible.
-------------------------------
Both these errors are different to the error (before resetting the CMOS): Bootmgr is corrupt. The system cannot boot.
Thanks

The bottom-line is why would the HD boot in the desktop and not in the laptop? Puzzled as to what would cause that effect.

Before you move a Win7 HD or its image to another machine to boot, you need to SysPrep it on the old hardware: SysPrep to move HD to another computer

The alternative is to run Paragon Adaptive Restore CD on the HD before starting.

Otherwise a moved HD or its image cannot be expected to start on new hardware except in rare cases.

Normally moving the HD to another computer to try install is the very last resort when troubleshooting time and steps run out. But there are steps which have been given that are not yet completed and/or reported back on, so please go through the thread and make sure everything has been tried and reported back.

Here is an update. In order to eliminate the possibility that I was dealing with a defective hard drive, today I went and purchased a brand new one from Tigerdirect. Guess what? After installing the new HDD in the laptop, when I attempt to install Windows 7 Home Premium on the new HDD, I get the same 0xc0000428 error (Error reads: A recent hardware or software change might have installed a file that is signed incorrectly or damaged, or that might be malicious software from an unknown source). This suggests to me that the problem may be on the laptop itself (hardware failure) and has nothing to do with the drive. Perhaps the BIOS?

For what it is worth, I should mention that I can CD boot into DOS just fine; however, booting with a PEBart CD the system hangs with the message "Starting PEBART".

Any suggestions as to how to proceed is appreciated. Thanks.

Try installing to the HD when moved to the Desktop again, but this time SysPrep it before moving it back to the laptop as given in my post just above which was ignored.