System does not boot "Mark Partition as Active" .

k4k22 · 24 Jun 2012

hi all,
I have a HP mini , which comes with windows 7 starter preinstalled .
so, i which has 2 disk drives c,d and the HP recovery .
in disk management i marked (HP recovery) "mark partition as active " , pressed ok on the warnings .
the problem is that my laptop doesn't boot and gets to the HP recovery manager and when i cancel it to boot normally a message says "the installed program cannot start.press OK to turn off the computer".
Can someone help me with that noticing that i don't have the windows dvd !

karlsnooks · 24 Jun 2012

Go to another 32 bit Win 7 system and make a SYSTEM REPAIR DISC.

Boot from the SYSTEM REPAIR DISC.

Go to a command prompt and use Diskpart to make the hprecovery partiion INACTIVE, then make C active.

=========================================================
=========================================================
CREATE A SYSTEM REPAIR DISC

START | type System Repair | Enter key | Create Disc button

=================================================================

GO TO A COMMAND PROMPT USING A SYSTEM REPAIR DISC

1) Insert System Repair Disc into optical reader.
2) Shutdown computer.
3) Boot up computer from the System Repair Disc
4) A SYSTEM RECOVERY OPTIONS dialog appears.
5) NEXT button
6) select Use recovery tools that can help fix problems starting Windows
7) NEXT | Choose Command Prompt

Run desired commands and type EXIT when finished.
Remove the System Repair Disc.
Shutdown computer.
Power on computer.

NOTE:
If your computer doesn’t boot from the optical drive, then
Immediately after pushing your Power ON button,
start tapping the F2 key to get to the BIOS to change the boot order

On some computers, Immediately after pushing the Power ON button,
start tapping the F12 key and choose CD/DVD to change the boot order
only for this time.

====================================================================

Once at a command prompt (you will see X:> )
then type these commands, each followed by hitting ENTER

DISKPART
LIST DISK
SELECT DISK 0 (assuming that's your harddrive)
DETAIL DISK (to make sure you;ve got the correct one)
LIST PARTITION
SELECT PARTITION 1 (assuming this is the recovery partition)
DETAIL PARTITION (to make sure you got the correct one)
INACTIVE (this will mark the partition as inactive)
SELECT PARTITION 2 (assuming that this one is your normal C partition)
DETAIL PARTITION (to make sure that you have the correct partition)
ACTIVE (to make the C active)
EXIT (to exit from diskpart)
EXIT (to exit from the command shell)

remove the System Repair Disc and reboot your system.

k4k22 · 24 Jun 2012

...

karlsnooks · 24 Jun 2012

see post #2.

AddRAM · 24 Jun 2012

Why in the world did you mark your recovery partition active ?

gregrocker · 24 Jun 2012

Mark Win7 Partition Active, then run Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times.

Are you sure your HP has no System Reserved boot partition. If so, try marking it Active first from the steps in the blue link above, then run the required Repairs until Win7 starts on its own.

It isn't necessary to mark Recovery Inactive first as you can only have one Active partition at a time per HD.

Slartybart · 24 Jun 2012

HP mini User manual (PDF) Has information on recovery if needed.

Windows 7 Starter: Windows 7 Starter only comes preinstalled—mostly on netbooks—so you can't buy and install it on your own. It's designed for doing the basics, such as using the Internet, sending email, and creating documents.

I'm wondering if the Starter edition is different, has no System reserved, due to the size of the device. Perhaps C: should be Active, but I do not know for certain.