Windows 7: Making a Windows 7 SSD Bootable

I am trying to get Windows 7 up-and-running on my Toshiba M200 tablet with an SSD.

The problem is that I do not have an external DVD and these machines don't allow booting from USB.



I've managed to get a fresh install onto the drive by installing it onto a partition of the old disk based drive and then copying this over using Norton Ghost.

Unfortunately I cannot get this to boot, which I assume is a problem with the MBR.

I have a second machine running Windows 7, and If I mount the SSD using a USB caddy it all seems healthy and is marked as an active partition.

Is there any way to get this drive booting without being able to load up the repair functions on the DVD?

Any advice gratefully received!

Hi Not, and welcome to the forums
Would it be an alternative to partition your drive, mount the ISO on one partition and install it on the other? Or maybe this tutorial could help: Install Windows 7 FAST without a DVD or USB device
I have actually never tried this and don't have experience with SSD, but I thought I would suggest
let us know
Walter (human)

I had already tried the tutorial and run up against the same problem: that of getting the drive to actually boot.

I've actually got one of those CompactFlash converters that has two slots so it may be possible to use one of these to mount the ISO?

If you use Ghost, you have to use the "Copy" function which you find in the left pane of "Advanced". That will allow to also copy the boot record - you have to check the setting though (you'll see when you follow the wizard).

Hi Not, I think in that case you could install from the flash drive as you would from a USB drive, can't you?: USB Windows 7 Installation Key Drive - Create
You will need another computer to make the bootable card, I believe

Well it took a couple of attempts but l got it loaded in the end.

For those that follow:

The set-up is a Toshiba Portage M200 tablet with 1.6 Pentium M and 2GB of RAM.

I've swapped out the original drive with a CompactFlash drive (16GB, X133) using a Startech IDE converter (I've not been able to get the second drive working reliably yet, likely a bios issue):

2.5in IDE to Dual Compact Flash SSD Adapter Card - StarTech.com

I set the drive up using the second set of instructions here:

USB Windows 7 Installation Key Drive - Create

This recognised the drive as the insilation DVD on boot and proceeded with the installation normally. When asked for the instal location l selected the same drive. This seems to have worked Ok. Once the installation was complete I deleted out the old DVD files. All that's left is to sort out the boot sequence as it still lists the DVD as a boot option.

From a cold start to the login screen: 25sec
Login to desktop: 15 sec
Copy: 112 MB/S
Create: 73 MB/S
Read: 302 MB/S

Good job Not, and thanks for sharing. I actually thought you could use the SSD and the flash drive at the same time. I didn't really think it would work the way you just described, but obviously it does. Thanks for teaching a new trick to an old dog!
For the boot sequence, probably this is what you need: BCDEDIT - How to Use

I have SOLVED this problem.

I had an identical problem where the BIOS could see my SSD (Kingston v-series 128GB), and when I booted into windows I could see it and format it and assign a drive letter. But Windows 7 install COULD NOT see the SSD, and Acronis True Image could not see the SSD to clone my old system disk to it.

Very frustrating and it took me 2 days to work it out. I tried EVERYTHING and didn't really find an answer on ANY forum. But the solution was simple...

Physically remove connections to ALL disks on your computer EXCEPT your SSD so it's the only disk connected. Then Windows install WILL see the SSD and you can install Windows 7 to it (and I assume Vista).

If you are trying to clone your system disk to the SSD like I was, I know it's kind of a long way to go about it, but I had to install Windows to the SSD with the above method, and then use Acronis True Image to clone my system disk to my SSD. After Windows is installed on the SSD, Acronis will see the SSD.

BTW... my system is approximately twice as fast. It boots in half the time and apps open up very quick. I'm totally happy.

Hope this helps!

EasyBCD worked greatly, thanks a lot!