can't do clean install of win 7 on new HD

[kkennybates]

hi

hope i've posted this to the right place in the forum!

i have tried to install windows 7 on a brand new HD and it comes up with:"windows setup could not configure windows to run on this computers hardware" i have tried 3 times and still get the same error message. i have put the HD into another machine and installed windows 7 successfully so it can't be the new HD- the recovery disks appear to have no surface damage.

i have previously installed windows 7 on new HD's on this machine before using the same recovery disks with success-what has gone wrong this time? is my computer damaged somehow? before i put in the new HD my computer was infected with a virus but this could only damage the old HD? is the computer broken is their anyway around this?

TIA

regards

ken

 

[Klippies]

hi kkennybates
does your BIOS Pick up the HDD?
If it does:
Your RIAD Controler must be on ACHI and Not IDE .(Found under Storage depending on M/B[Mother Board] manufacturer) Windows 7 installs on ACHI.
If it doesnt:
It can mean your boards SATA Controler is faulty or try a differant SATA cable as well as a diff port on the M/B.

Regards
Klippies

 

[kkennybates]

thanks Klippies,

i'll check all that out

regards,

ken.

 

[whs]

Define an active, primary partition on the drive and try to install to that.

 

[kkennybates]

hi kkennybates
does your BIOS Pick up the HDD?
If it does:
Your RIAD Controler must be on ACHI and Not IDE .(Found under Storage depending on M/B[Mother Board] manufacturer) Windows 7 installs on ACHI.
If it doesnt:
It can mean your boards SATA Controler is faulty or try a differant SATA cable as well as a diff port on the M/B.

Regards
Klippies

hi

i could not find RIAD controller but found SATA controller and it was set to ACHI

thanks

ken

 

[kkennybates]

Define an active, primary partition on the drive and try to install to that.

hi

i am not that technically experienced but have looked up how to do this, but before i do this i have to know if the partition has to be set to a certain size.

if i do this will and it doesn't work will i still be able to install windows 7 on the second machine that i successfully installed on?

what confuses me is that the last time i put in a new HD and installed windows 7 using the same recovery disks their was no problem like this and why didn't i have to create an active primary partition on the second computer? windows7 just installed smoothly.

thanks for your time,

ken

 

[whs]

Define an active, primary partition on the drive and try to install to that.

hi

i am not that technically experienced but have looked up how to do this, but before i do this i have to know if the partition has to be set to a certain size.

if i do this will and it doesn't work will i still be able to install windows 7 on the second machine that i successfully installed on?

what confuses me is that the last time i put in a new HD and installed windows 7 using the same recovery disks their was no problem like this and why didn't i have to create an active primary partition on the second computer? windows7 just installed smoothly.

thanks for your time,

ken

For size, it will depend what your requirements are. For Windows only, 40GB would be fine. But then you have to put your user data on another partition. With user data on C:, it will all depend of how much you plan to have.

One reason why you cannot install may be that the HDD is not initialized yet. Check that in Disk Management.

Regarding an installation on another PC will depend on the type of installation disk you have. If it is an OEM recovery disk, that is tied to the system from where it came.

 

[kkennybates]

Define an active, primary partition on the drive and try to install to that.

hi

i am not that technically experienced but have looked up how to do this, but before i do this i have to know if the partition has to be set to a certain size.

if i do this will and it doesn't work will i still be able to install windows 7 on the second machine that i successfully installed on?

what confuses me is that the last time i put in a new HD and installed windows 7 using the same recovery disks their was no problem like this and why didn't i have to create an active primary partition on the second computer? windows7 just installed smoothly.

thanks for your time,

ken

For size, it will depend what your requirements are. For Windows only, 40GB would be fine. But then you have to put your user data on another partition. With user data on C:, it will all depend of how much you plan to have.

One reason why you cannot install may be that the HDD is not initialized yet. Check that in Disk Management.

Regarding an installation on another PC will depend on the type of installation disk you have. If it is an OEM recovery disk, that is tied to the system from where it came.

thanks a lot

ken

 

[gregrocker]

Try wiping the HD first by booting into System Repair Disk or Win7 DVD to open a Command Line, run Diskpart Clean Command.

If Recovery Disks still won't boot then burn to DVD the latest official Win7 installer and do a superior Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7

Unplug all otherHD's and peripherals.
Reset BIOS to defaults: Clear CMOS - 3 Ways to Clear the CMOS - Reset BIOS.

In BIOS setup is there an EFI Boot disk in BIOS boot order? If so: UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 7 with - Windows 7 Forums

 

[kkennybates]

thanks a lot i'll try that.

regards,

ken.

 

[kkennybates]

hi,

i have just put the HDD into the (broken?) computer. i tried to see if the HD installed (succesfully) with windows 7 worked on the broken machine- it booted up but all the screen images were larger than they should be and it could not connect to the internet because the network adpater was not working.

does this mean that i still have to clear CMOS and check the EFI Boot disk in BIOS boot order before i do a clean reinstall factory OEM? please forgive my ignorance on these matters!

if i can't do a clean reinstall of factory OEM on the broken machine will it work if i do it on the other computer and transfer the HDD to the broken computer- will this fix the incompatabilty problems?

can the HDD with the screen resolution and network adaptor problems be "fixed" on the broken machine.

TIA,

regards,

ken.

 

[gregrocker]

What HD did you place in the "broken" PC? Is this the PC which will not run Recovery Disks on the new HD? Is this the new HD you could not run Recovery on? How did it get Win7 installed on it?

You can adjust this HD to run on the new PC since it will boot if it is the same version as you have licensed for that machine.

First install the network adapter to get online, then install all of your Important and Optional Updates after enabling Automatically get recommended drivers and updates for your hardware.

If any drivers are then missing import them from the Support Downloads webpage for your model PC or device.

You can adjust your screen resolution in Control Panel>Display or by rightclicking on a blank area of the desktop to choose Screen Res.

 

[kkennybates]

sorry about confused post!

hi

sorry about confusing post, i'll try to explain a little more clearly and leave out things that i now understand from your reply.

i got a brand new HD and put it into the broken PC i tried to install windows 7 using the broken PC's recovery disks after it had loaded the both disks it reported that windows setup could not configure windows to run on this computers hardware.previously windows 7 has been installed on the broken PC successfully with the same recovery disks (undamaged)

so to check that the new HD is not defective i put it in a working PC and installed windows 7 using the working PC's recovery disks it worked fine. i then put it back into the broken PC and it booted with compatability problems.

i have taken note of the steps you outlined in your post but need to be given a link to somewhere where i can find advice on how to find and install a network adaptor. i have looked in the broken PC's recovery disks and can't find anything relating to network adaptors.

thanks for your help,

regards,

ken

 

[gregrocker]

Ken -

If you'd given even your PC make/model in the requested specs in bottom left of your post, we could have already supplied the LAN driver.

As I just stated above import any missing drivers from the Support Downloads webpage for your model PC. Go there now to download to stick or CD your LAN driver, then install it and connect to the web to do all of your Important and Optional Updates which will include newer drivers and performance updates.

Once all updates are done and any missing drivers imported you can judge if you want to keep this install or try wiping the HD to run the Recovery disks in the problem machine, or get the superior Clean Reinstall which always gives better performance with only the OS and leaving out all the factory bloatware.

Look over the steps in Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 so you'll at least know how to get a perfect Win7 install even if you decide not to pursue it now but want the bloated, corrupt factory preinstall on Recovery disks.

 

[kkennybates]

this is great!

hi,

thanks for the help-is it so easy to fix the network adaptor, just download the LAN driver for the make and model and install?

i know i have to do the other stuff but it was fixing the network adaptor that was worrying me most of all! i once had another computer that my computers retailers technical support said that the network adaptor was hardware and couldn't be repaired unless it went in for repair.

my computer is a toshiba satellite model# C650-15Z,can you point me in the right direction?

many thanks!

regards,

ken.

 

[edwar]

If you don't have the correct drivers for the Ethernet adapter then it won't work. Whether it is broken no one knows until you have the correct drivers installed.

If the On Motherboard NIC is bad you can always disable it in the BIOS and use a USB to Wired Ethernet adapter.

 

[kkennybates]

thanks

thanks a lot

 

[gregrocker]

Your drivers are here: Download Windows 7 drivers:

LAN driver is on the second page. You may need to plug in by wire to have Windows Updates find the rest of your drivers by running all Important and Optional Updates after enabling Automatically get recommended drivers and updates for your hardware .

After all Updates are done if any drivers are still missing in Device Manager find them on the Support Downloads webpage. We may need to help you find the Wireless Driver if Updates doesn't provide it or it's make/model isn't listed in Device Manager under Network Adapters, or you can use Hardware Identification to identify it then google for the Win7 driver.

 

[kkennybates]

great!

hi

thanks a million! that will keep me busy for a while (especially as i have other projects on the go)

i will get back to you if i need any further assistance. once again thanks.

bye bye,

ken

 

[kkennybates]

network adapter problems

hi,

i got the correct LAN driver from toshiba (atheros AR8152) it installed correctly.

i automatically updated and the update installed the wrong wireless driver- atheros AR9285. i found the correct driver installer (DriverBoostPro-setup from driverboost.com) downloaded it,scanned it with avast (which gave no warnings) as i tried to install zonealarm gave the following warning "suspicious behavior the installer database contains the logic and data required is trying to launch C:\windows\syswow64\msieexec or use another program to gain access to privileged resources "

i had checked with ZA site check and it said the site was ok.i realise that by nature the wireless driver would have to access parts of the system related to communications and ZA may find this suspicious.i am paranoid because my computers have been hacked in the past and i have been the victim of credit card fraud because of this.do you think it's safe to install using this software?

many thanks,

regards,

ken.