Windows 7 installing on D: rather than C:

My Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop's hard drive recently crashed. I have ordered a new 320GM hard drive and installed it, and I am trying to get Windows 7 Ultimate installed. After the initial installation, I saw that the video card was not getting the proper driver, so I downloaded what seemed to be the right one, and the problem that I am having is this:
After Windows finishes installing and I log in for the first time, any updates or changes I make cause the "Startup Repair" Window appears, saying it will try to fix problems. It then either says the problems are fixed or can't be fixed, tells me to click "Finish" to shut down the computer, and no matter if the problem was fixed or not, the "Startup Repair" comes up automatically again. It i like I am in an endless loop. Also, it seems for some reason that Windows was installed in the D: partition, rather than on C: drive, even though I told the software to install it in the one large partition that was visible when installation began. The bottom line is, I seem to get Windows 7 installed fine, but as soon as I run Windows Update or try to install updated drivers, it ends up in this "Startup Repair" loop.
Any ideas?

Start over and follow these steps closely to get a perfect Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7
paying special attention how drivers are handled in Win7.

Only if the latest Display driver is not delivered by Windows Updates should you import it from the Dell webpage for your tag number.

If that fails post back for more help.

I'm guessing that I didn't make myself clear. This laptop was new in 2006, and had Win XP SP3 on its 60GB hard drive when the drive crashed. I got a new 320 GB hard drive from Dell which was supposedly compatible with this laptop, but it was not an OEM version of Windows 7. I purchased 7 Ultimate through Dell, and am trying to install that on the new hard drive, because the XP disk I have from the laptop will not recognize this huge hard drive. When I install 7, The software shows me a partition on which to installed the OS, although it doesn't show the whole 320 GB, only 298 GB. It also doesn't allow me to look at what areas are available for the install, all the choices are there but grayed out. After I finsh, and start to install the appropriate drivers for the hardware is when the problems start, always ending in an unrepairable error which makes it necessary to use a Windows '98 startup disc to wipe out the 2 (not 1) partitions created by the Win 7 install. I then try to do the install all over again, but running Windows Update doesn't seem to find the necessary drivers.

Did you run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor? I'd check the Dell Downloads page for your Tag number to see if there's a newer BIOS version to update.

Unplug all other HD's and peripherals, boot into BIOS setup to set to Defaults, then set SATA controller to AHCI. Save changes and Exit.

Then boot into installer DVD or flash stick burned or written using tool and latest ISO for your licensed OS version here.

At first installer screen Press Shift + F10 to open a Command Box, type:

DISKPART
LIST DISK
SELECT DISK 0 (after confirming Windows 7 target HD #)
CLEAN
CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY SIZE=102400 (for 100gb partition, adjust as desired)
FORMAT FS=NTFS LABEL="WINDOWS 7"
ACTIVE
EXIT
EXIT

Next click Install Now to Clean Install Windows 7 to the partition you created. If it fails then report back at which step and the verbatim error message.

In addition read over these steps to understand the tools and methods which work best to get and maintain a perfect Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7. The steps are the same for retail.

A screen shoot of your expanded disk management screen might help. Maybe your System Reserved partition is getting drive letter C, even though it shouldn't get any drive letter. Or because the drive was blank and unformatted your optical drive got C for some reason.

I can't really show a screen shot of my disk management screen since I have yet to get the OS to work properly. The part that really has me confused is why the installation creates a 100 MB partition as the C: drive but installs Windows on the D: drive.

The other thing I need to find out is: how do I buy an additional license for the Windows Ultimate that I currently have and want to us on this new drive once I figure out the problem that is preventing it from loading? If I enter the ID number I get a message saying this version of Windows is already activated, please buy a second license, but no indication how I do that. Online searches haven't really been clear as to how to do this, either. I am using the 32 bit disk as the system I want to install it on is a 32 bit system.

If you follow the steps I gave you there will be no 100mb System Reserved partition since you've already created the install partition. Otherwise by deleting all partitions from the booted installer as shown in Steps 6-7 of Clean Install Windows 7 you will get the 100mb partition which should be ignored and will not be lettered if you follow the steps given.

If you're reinstalling an Upgrade version on a new or wiped HD then you should leave the key blank during intsall and afterwards do the quick workaround shown in Option 3 of Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version to activate Upgrade version when no qualifying OS is on the HD.

If this is full version Ultimate then you can reinstall it anywhere you want as often as you please. If it errors then use the phone activation number which should be provided at the time, or How To Activate Windows 7 by Phone Step-by-Step Guide

gregrocker, I am not reinstalling the OS that was on this laptop. The drive for the laptop crashed, and I ordered a new drive. I could not install the original XP Media Center Edition, because of the size of the drive (320 GB). I decided to go ahead and use the Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade and do a clean install, but knew that I would likely have to buy a new product key. I have not been able to find any info on Microsoft's website telling me how to do this, and the search results online are less than specific as well. If there is a way to use the same upgrade DVD more than once without buying a new key, I have no idea what it is.