Windows 7: Move boot files

Hi



I think I was stupid enought to not notice and installed the windows 7 in a disc, having as first boot device another disc. -.-

Is it possible to put those boot files to the disc they should be?

Yes,

Mark the 7 partition active.

Make the 7 HD first in Bios boot order.

Boot 7 dvd and run startup repair 3 times.

Hope it helps

may i beg a question?

what's up with "Boot 7 dvd and run startup repair 3 times"

I've read these 3 times more then once, curious.

Do u think here's a chance of not working? (it's not like something extremely necessary to survive)

Startup repair automates all previous boot repair commands, but can only do one at a time since it assumes it's last fix should boot the OS. But if it doesn't, you need to go back to get additional repairs.

Since the final repair attempt it makes is rewriting the MBR, it often takes 3 runs to get that accomplished in Startup Repair.

The only instance where I see it fail here is when the boot has been derailed to a data drive that was not unplugged during install, or is not unplugged while the repair operations are undertaken.

This seems to be my case. I'm derailed to the drive I ran my Windows 7 "expandedSetup" folder's contents (setup.exe) from.

I've tried fixing with the windows7 start up repair utility but it INSISTS that the OS is loading properly. Tis not.

I made things worse with easyBCD then somehow it's all OK again... so long as I have the crappy old IDE drive (H plugged in I can manage to boot my windows install.

Everything looks good from every angle I look at it from Microsoft utilities and even easyBCD's normal view:


but I see a clue when I study the boot.ini(?) in debug mode using easyBCD:

That's the bugger I think... H: is the old IDE drive I ran setup from and need plugged in to do a boot to Windows 7 on my D: drive.

I hate relying on that drive for my system. Any ideas for when Windows 7 "bootfix" doesn't fix?

Download and burn free Partition Wizard and boot into it to delete the derailed boot drive with its files, which you may want to copy first onto the Windows 7 desktop if you don't have them.

Then mark the Windows 7 partition active using PW, boot into the Windows 7 installer Repair console and run Startup Repair 3 times, as there are multiple issues to fix.

You could also use diskpart commands to force delete the problem partition from Windows 7, then run a repair install from the Windows 7 desktop using the files you have copied there. A repair install in Windows 7 is an Upgrade over itself, which saves all programs, files and settings while reinstalling the OS and reconfiguring the boot.

But the partition to which the boot was derailed needs to be gone first, and any other drives not involved in unplugged.

Thanks Greg.

What I ended updoing:

Copied data off derailed boot drive H:
Booted Partition Wizard
Could NOT pull trigger deleting it as it was my only way in and the following bothered me:

What I saw on EasyBCD was "push button fix" for Vista. Program dated April 08.

Took a look and found beta v2.0 Windows 7 "ready".

Ran it. Pushed the "rebuild MCDyadathingamabog".

Restarted with only my Windows 7 drive and booted up perfect.

It really repaired the boot instructions as promised.

THEN I booted to PW and deleted the derailed partition as you suggested to clean things up.

Your solution may have worked fine for me but I wanted to try a "Windows 7 compliant" version of easyBCD first and I stalled enough to find it.

So I used part of your solution. Thanks!

And again, beta 2.0 of easybcd, did for my Windows 7 boot problem, what the prior version would not.

Glad it worked for ya.

It must have marked Windows 7 part active, too, allowing you to finally delete G:

Easy 2 is awesome - Mahmoud has done a fantastic job.

Still beta - though.