Windows 7: Trying to install Windows 7 over Ubuntu

Let me start off by saying that I am not very experienced with installing operating systems or knowing how they work.



I just received a new Netbook today, and Asus Eee PC. I ordered it in a deal where it only came with the Asus ExpressGate OS on it, and my windows 7 dvd was at a friends house, so I figured I'd give Ubuntu a try before I got Windows on it. So far, my Ubuntu experience has gone well, but I put the Windows 7 files on a flash drive (following this guide) and tried to boot from the USB drive, and nothing happened. Startup took a while longer than normal and the USB drive flashed like it was trying to start up the windows installer, but then it just gave up and started Ubuntu like normal.

Does anyone know what might possibly be going on? Any help is greatly appreciated, and if you need any more information, just ask and I'll reply very soon.

Haven't tried actually installing Windows 7 over Ubuntu (have it installed along side Ubuntu), so I could be wrong here ... but my guess is that since your drive is already formatted with Ext3 or Ext4 filesystem partitions, the Windows 7 installer can see nowhere to install the OS on the drive.

You might have to remove the Ubuntu partition(s) first so that the Windows 7 installer will see the unallocated space, and if you had an optical drive you could boot from, I could recommend any of a number of free partitioning tools you could download, burn, and boot from -- but since you don't have that, I don't know what to recommend at this point.

Perhaps someone more versed in loading SW to USB and booting from that can be of some help.

Have you set your boot order to allow removable drives to be booted from first, then the HDD (Done through bios)

Also, when you start up the laptop, during the BIOS post screen (the black screen with all the white writting) hold down F8 until a screen with options comes up, in that list should be your HDD and the USB stick, choose the USB and you should be good to go

Try that and post back with results

Lucky

Also, after you get it installed, you're going to have to reinstall grub because Windows will blow it away.

Reinstall Ubuntu Grub Bootloader After Windows Wipes it Out

Try this:

USB Windows 7 Installation Key Drive - Create

All Linux code must be deleted.
Disk - Clean and Clean All with Diskpart Command
Partition or Volume - Delete
Partition or Volume - Create New

Try a full clean & full format.
1) Boot DVD.
2) Press Shift+F10 (for command prompt)

Type in command line
DISKPART
LIST DISK
SELECT DISK # (win HD)
CLEAN ALL
CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY
SELECT PARTITION 1
ACTIVE
FORMAT=NTFS
ASSIGN
EXIT
EXIT

Its a lot easier to install windows first. At one point I had xp and 5 different versions of linux installed, and never had a problem. Just set up a vm in ubuntu if your cpu will support it.

What Mark Phelps said was definitely right. My entire drive is partitioned to the ext4 file system, so that must be why. And I have handy partitioning tools in Ubuntu that I can't use because the hard drive I need to partition is the one Ubuntu is using...

This is a pretty frustrating situation, wish I had thought this out before I just jumped in and installed Ubuntu.

@LuckyStar, Yes, I have been booting from USB.

Also, I wish I could do Theog's fix, but I've already made the USB drive into a windows installer, and it won't even start up because of the file system on my hard drive, so I can't try to use Command Prompt.

Thank you all for the replies, but I guess I'm in a much worse situation than I originally anticipated, so any more help would be appreciated.

Your HD will not stop a USB stick from booting.

Try remaking your USB drive or use the Win 7 DVD

USB Windows 7 Installation Key Drive - Create

Well, then could someone explain to me why the USB drive booted up the Windows 7 installer just fine on my sister's laptop, but refuses to start it on mine? It's not BIOS settings, because I was able to get the Ubuntu flash drive working just fine and haven't changed anything since then. And I've already explained that I can't use the DVD because it's a netbook. No DVD drive.

Did you have linux on the USB drive? if yes

Try remaking your USB drive, use the clean all command.
USB Windows 7 Installation Key Drive - Create