Solved Repair F8 Repair Your Computer Option

[GEWB]

You're lucky this is all the corruption GRUB caused since we see cases where it makes Win7 irreparable. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/52129-disk-clean-clean-all-diskpart-command.html

In 15 years of active use of Linux dual booted with Windows, with I don't know how many dozens/hundreds of Linux installs, I have never seen a case where GRUB (or LILO before it) caused Windows to be irreparable.

Ditto. I have been dual (and multi up to four) booting Linux / Windows for 12 years and never had a GRUB caused corruption of Windows.

Regards,
GEWB

 

[gregrocker]

In 15 years of active use of Linux dual booted with Windows, with I don't know how many dozens/hundreds of Linux installs, I have never seen a case where GRUB (or LILO before it) caused Windows to be irreparable.

Over three years since before Win7 release we dealt with this here almost daily, where Win7 which would normally repair will not repair despite all efforts for Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Boot. GRUB bootloader was either on the HD or had been.

For awhile we would have 2-3 cases or GRUB corruption per day often requiring special regimens of wiping the HD to rid it from the boot sector just to get Win7 reinstalled. Lately however with GRUB 2 the cases have tapered off..

Perhaps you help out in a Linux forum where the emphasis is not on imposing the GRUB boot loader on Win7. My expertise is Win7 installation and repair and this was a chronic problem before GRUB 2 which occupied way more of my time than I cared to spend, on an OS I have no interest in. So we have different points of view, granted. But do not tell me that I have not experienced this while grappling with the heaviest workload in the busiest tech forum online.

Previously this was the best way to Dual Boot Win7/Linux on the same HD: Dual boot Ubuntu-Win7.
With GRUB 2 this is now the recommended way: Dual Boot Ubuntu - EasyBCD - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki

Stick around.

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

In 15 years of active use of Linux dual booted with Windows, with I don't know how many dozens/hundreds of Linux installs, I have never seen a case where GRUB (or LILO before it) caused Windows to be irreparable.

Over three years since before Win7 release we dealt with this here almost daily, where Win7 which would normally repair will not repair despite all efforts for Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Boot. GRUB bootloader was either on the HD or had been.

For awhile we would have 2-3 cases or GRUB corruption per day often requiring special regimens of wiping the HD to rid it from the boot sector just to get Win7 reinstalled. Lately however with GRUB 2 the cases have tapered off..

Perhaps you help out in a Linux forum where the emphasis is not on imposing the GRUB boot loader on Win7. My expertise is Win7 installation and repair and this was a chronic problem before GRUB 2 which occupied way more of my time than I cared to spend, on an OS I have no interest in. So we have different points of view, granted. But do not tell me that I have not experienced this while grappling with the heaviest workload in the busiest tech forum online.

Previously this was the best way to Dual Boot Win7/Linux on the same HD: Dual boot Ubuntu-Win7.
With GRUB 2 this is now the recommended way: Dual Boot Ubuntu - EasyBCD - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki

Stick around.

I totally agree with Greg, there have been more cases than I could count for the past couple years, that the only option was a complete wipe/secure erase of the entire HDD to get Windows to reinstall, which I'm sure is one of the main reasons Grub was rewritten to start with; I too have no like for Linux products and could care less if they disappeared from the market all-together.

One of the reasons this tutorial was written in such entirety.

SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation


​

 

[Night AoX]

I'm not done cloning this drive yet but, I'll weigh in on this Linux vs. Windows debacle. I'll by saying I am a huge fan of Linux systems especially in it's freeware harmony, lack of viruses etc. written... The only issue is the fact it doesn't play too nice with Windows. But, the question is, who's picking the fight? GRUB or Window's MBR which can just as well be re-written? Is there an ultimate owner of the blame? Seriously answer. I want to know. I mean can't Microsoft also contribute to some re-writing? They know their customers just love multibooting & phreaking systems. At the very least, there should be more harmony in boot code.

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

I'm not done cloning this drive yet but, I'll weigh in on this Linux vs. Windows debacle. I'll by saying I am a huge fan of Linux systems especially in it's freeware harmony, lack of viruses etc. written... The only issue is the fact it doesn't play too nice with Windows. But, the question is, who's picking the fight? GRUB or Window's MBR which can just as well be re-written? Is there an ultimate owner of the blame? Seriously answer. I want to know. I mean can't Microsoft also contribute to some re-writing? They know their customers just love multibooting & phreaking systems. At the very least, there should be more harmony in boot code.

It was Grub eating the Windows loader and running commands from a command window seldom worked and often made matters worse.

I'm not much on controversy so this is the last I'll have to say here.

 

[Night AoX]

Damn that sucks. I guess that may be what happened to my Recovery partition. I will be ordering those discs from Acer or this other site with good reputation. I'll post the link when this cloning is done.

 

[Night AoX]

Also, last I checked the F8 tools stopped working again...

 

[gregrocker]

I believe it's code in the GRUB 1 bootloader that can block Win7 boot and even sometimes reinstall until the boot sector is wiped. So before running Recovery Disks or Clean Reinstalling I'd wipe the HD with Diskpart Clean Command .

If Advanced Boot Options have stopped working again, then we look at the latest Disk Mgmt output to see that there is no System partition and Recovery is marked Active instead of the System Reserved partition which by it's presence means it is intended to be the System Active partition booting the OS. We've already confirmed it holds the boot files.

Your OEM may want Recovery marked Active but it is interfering with the correct configuration of Win7 in the System Reserved and C partitions.

To resolve this I'd mark System Reserved Active and run three Startup Repairs until Win7 boots and the System flag appears on SysReserved partition.

 

[Night AoX]

After cloning, the F8 tools worked again so, there's definitely something funky there. I'll try those steps after I check to see if the cloned disk will boot properly. I'll check to see the F8 tools etc. works on there then I'll post the results.

 

[gregrocker]

I thought you were considering a Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7
then saving a Win7 backup image externally to use as your own customized Recovery.

This is greatly superior to the factory pre-install and is the first choice of most tech enthusiasts, which you appear to be.

 

[Night AoX]

Well I want to have a way back to factory preinstall just in case...I am going to attempt to clean reinstall once I make sure I have a way back to factory preinstall secured. Plus, knowing I can properly clone disks will have it's advantages down the line. I tried Windows' built in System imaging but, it doesn't image all of the partitions. It only images C: & System Reserved. I do like Acer's clear.fi so, I know I'm definitely gonna want to be able to use it after a clean reinstall. It is available for download on the Acer website but, you can understand my need for assurance.

 

[Night AoX]

& yes I am an enthusiast but, I also am currently fighting a case which interferes with work. I'm gonna beat the case but, money to replace any potentially damaged hardware is scarce. I don't think I'll ruin anything as I'm simply not that stupid. Just as an insurance salesman, I learned a thing or 2 about risk lol.

 

[Night AoX]

I regret to inform you all that I chose the wrong option while cloning & the Arcade partition didn't transfer over to the right size...Here we go again...I'll be back in a while...Plus I'm rather hungry...

 

[Night AoX]

Sorry for the wait guys. I cloned the disc using Seagate DiscWizard but, I chose the wrong option. With that, the ARCADE partition was shy about 1.19 GB so, I had to re-do it. Other stuffs happened throughout the day as well...The option I should've chose was As is...That kept the PQSERVICE, ARCADE & SYSTEM RESERVED partitions the proper size & the Acer C: partition just copied over the data as long as the target partition has enough space. Note my original (cloned) drive is 740 GB & my target (clone) drive is only 500 GB. Because my data on my original drive didn't exceed the remaining space on my target drive, it copied over with no hiccups. The cloned drive boots just fine in bay but, I can't seem to get either drive, cloned or original to boot via USB connection. No biggie though. This laptop has 2 bays. Now a reason to get 2 new harnesses & a SATA cable.

I tried to enable USB boot by starting an elevated command propmt & entering my Windows 7 disc & using the command lines:

D: CD BOOT (D: is my Optical drive)
CD BOOT
BOOTSECT.EXE/NT60 F:

Then I copied the contents from the Windows 7 disc to the drive.

It didn't work for both drives. Again, not really a major issue for me but, any suggestions would help. I didn't format first because I thought the purpose of that was to set it to NTFS which it already is...So is that step neccessary?

I tried Alt+F10 hotlink & F8 tools on the cloned drive & the clone drive. It seems F8 works when it wants to. Alt+10 still isn't working on either drive. I'm now going to ignore that issue for now & just do a clean install. My major concern was having a way back to system configuration which I now have. I'll post back with updates.

 

[gregrocker]

Win7 doesn't boot from USB, except eSATA.

Choose which drive you want for your Clean Reinstall carefully. Ask if you need any advice as we have experts on that.

 

[Night AoX]

Well that is very limited being that USB 2.0 is old & ugh. Forget it. You get where I'm going...I was going to use my original 750 GB drive. Should I not use this one & use the clone 500 GB drive instead?

 

[gregrocker]

What are the speeds, makes and models? Someone else will advise.

 

[Night AoX]

Does it matter? They're both new. The original 750 GB is a TOSHIBA MK7559GSXP 5200 RPM & the clone 500 GB is a Seagate ST9500325AS 5400 RPM.

 

[gregrocker]

Either one as far as I'm concerned. Others may differ.

 

[Night AoX]

Are you saying I can install on either drive? What are the specific risks involved?