System restore has created a new drive (recovery) plus, windows backup

CHRISD1 · 25 Oct 2012

Many thanks, I will give this a go in the morning and get back to you,

thanks,
Chris

CHRISD1 · 25 Oct 2012

Sorry, one question, if I mark my hard drive 2 inactive after doing as you say, unplugg and run start up repair - will I be able to back up to it afterwards ??

thanks,
Chris

gregrocker said:

I'm not sure exactly what you did but the disk configuration is all wrong. You have a factory preinstall on Disk0 which has somehow had it's boot files derailed to Disk1, as signified by the System Active boot flags.

What I would do is unplug Disk1 and run Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times to repair or rewrite the System boot files to Disk0. Since Recovery is marked Active we have to assume that's where they belong, but if all that does is trigger factory Recovery or fails then I'd Mark Partition C Active before running the 3 Repairs again until it starts and flies the System flag.

If you save backup images to Disk1 and don't really need the factory partitions anyway, then I'd strongly consider deleting them all during a Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 to Disk 0 while Disk 1 is unplugged, following the steps in the tutorial to get a perfect reinstall of factory OEM without the corrupting bloatware.

Whichever you decide, after Disk0 has it's System boot files again then you'll want to Mark Disk1 Inactive so it can't interfere again.

Slartybart · 25 Oct 2012

Yes, you'll be able to use the drive for backups. If you use a script to backup your files, you might have to change the drive letter to match the script or visa versa.

CHRISD1 said:

Sorry, one question, if I mark my hard drive 2 inactive after doing as you say, unplugg and run start up repair - will I be able to back up to it afterwards ??

thanks,
Chris

gregrocker · 25 Oct 2012

Marking the HD partition Inactive only stops it from booting the other HD with the System boot files which were wrongly written to it, or derailing Win7 boot again.

The actual boot files remain and can be wiped after backing up the data using Diskpart Clean Command, or deleting them by unhiding Hidden and System files in Control panel>Folder Options>View. Post back a B drive folder screenshot so someone can identify them for you.

Or you can ignore and leave them and they're inert as long as the partition is not marked Active again.

CHRISD1 · 27 Oct 2012

Hi Gregrocker, I have attached a screen shot for you to see

many thanks,

Chris.

CHRISD1 · 27 Oct 2012

Hi,

I tried both the options, sadly none worked !! ahhhhhhhhhh, what about if I did a factory re store on C Drive from the windows repair CD, and unplugged drive 2 ?? while doing it, or could I leave it as as. I have made drive c active, should I leave it like that ??

many thanks,

Chris.

CHRISD1 said:

Sorry, one question, if I mark my hard drive 2 inactive after doing as you say, unplugg and run start up repair - will I be able to back up to it afterwards ??

thanks,
Chris

gregrocker said:

I'm not sure exactly what you did but the disk configuration is all wrong. You have a factory preinstall on Disk0 which has somehow had it's boot files derailed to Disk1, as signified by the System Active boot flags.

What I would do is unplug Disk1 and run Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times to repair or rewrite the System boot files to Disk0. Since Recovery is marked Active we have to assume that's where they belong, but if all that does is trigger factory Recovery or fails then I'd Mark Partition C Active before running the 3 Repairs again until it starts and flies the System flag.

If you save backup images to Disk1 and don't really need the factory partitions anyway, then I'd strongly consider deleting them all during a Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 to Disk 0 while Disk 1 is unplugged, following the steps in the tutorial to get a perfect reinstall of factory OEM without the corrupting bloatware.

Whichever you decide, after Disk0 has it's System boot files again then you'll want to Mark Disk1 Inactive so it can't interfere again.

Slartybart · 27 Oct 2012

ChrisD1: Which two options did you try?

The Startup Repair might have fixed your system - or not.

The clean reinstall certainly would have since it basically puts Windows on your C: drive as a fresh install. The caveat is that you need to backup your personal files BEFORE doing a clean install. You'll also need to reinstall all drivers for your system and any programs you use on a regular basis.

As Greg says: Unplug Disk1 BEFORE. You only want the system drive available when installing Windows.

Please post a Disk Management screenshot

Thanks,

Bill
.

CHRISD1 · 27 Oct 2012

Hi,

I tried start up repair 5 times with disc 1 unplugged, then I tried it again after making disc 0 drive c-OS active, Start up repair was unable to repair on both occaisions. If I do a factory restore with disc 1 unplugged do you think that would put me back to a normal drive c -dis c0- without all the partisions ete that I now have ??

many thanks for taking the time to look at this. I have to leave now for a few hours so will come back later,

many thanks,
Chris.

Slartybart · 27 Oct 2012

Ok, since you recently did a "Factory Install" your best bet is to follow Greg's advice and do a Clean Install.

Back up any new personal data since your attempt at the "Factory Install".

Physically disconnect Disk 1 and don't connect it again until your system is stable.

Remove all other connected devices (J,k,l,m,n etc) You're about to install your OS - the only things your PC expects to find are those that are really part of the machine (video, network, etc). Having anything plugged in to any port or jack has the potential to derail the install.

I just revisited Greg's tutorial and there's not much I can add. I have a few machines and after creating the Recovery discs, there's not much call for the Recovery Partition - of course without it, you cannot hit the f-key at boot time to launch recovery options and you cannot click a shortcut to launch them either (unless the shortcut points to the DVD). This is my opinion of the Recovery partition - other folks think it's better to keep it. The choice is yours to make.

I agree with Greg, that a clean install without the OEM bloat is a superior system.

Pay attention to step 8, this is important if you want the best results. My recommendation is forget trying to figure out the partitioning - delete all partitions on the drive and let windows do it for you. Your drive will only have unallocated space if you do this correctly. Windows will create the 100MB system reserved space and create the Windows boot partition for you before it installs the OS.

I can't stress enough that you need to remove all devices before proceeding. And I need to caution you again - following my suggestion to dump the OEM recovery partition is not harmful, but does limit your OEM recovery to Discs you've already created.

With those caveats in mind - if you created the OEM Recovery discs and the ISO install media you created, there's always a fallback install.

CHRISD1 · 27 Oct 2012

Hi,
thanks for the info, I have to say, I dont really understand Gregs bit, I am a real novice. I have a windows disc, all my info is backed up, is there a more straight forward way,

thanks,
Chris.

System restore has created a new drive (recovery) plus, windows backup

Drive 2