Win7 MBR Issues After New Deleted Dual Boot

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  1. Posts : 36
    Win7 Pro
       #1

    Win7 MBR Issues After New Deleted Dual Boot


    I am in need of your expertise =)

    Here is the scenario:

    I have 3 SATA2 platter drives and have my Win7 Pro installed on my Samsung Spinpoint 740GB drive.
    My wife gave me an OCZ 120GB Vertex2 SSD for Christmas so I decided to dual boot Win7 on that drive to make sure it worked OK etc prior to wiping my Spinpoint C: drive.
    The OCZ became my X: drive and I would get the option to boot from either drive at start up.

    Last night, after about a month of running off the OCZ without an issue I decided to wipe my C: drive via Acronis and utilize the SSD solely.
    Now I figured Win7 would see that there was no OS on the C: drive anymore and tag my X: drive as C: and boot up, wrong! =(

    Upon format of the Spinpoint C: upon boot up via Acronis I get this once rebooting:

    MBR Error 1 Insert Floppy (I hit enter and then I get)
    MBR Error 2 Insert Floppy (I hit enter and this repeats)

    So I took my Win7 DVD and booted up via that and chose Repair start up and that had major issues as it still saw my Spinpoint as C: and my SSD as X:
    I removed the Spinpoint and it chose to make my 2TB storage drive as C: LOL!?
    So I then removed the power to my entire array of platter SATA drives so that just my SSD and DVD drive were connected.

    Upon boot up via the DVD my SSD is now C: BUT when I try to repair it I do not get the drive listed in the window as an OS drive to choose
    (Like here):

    and the DVD ends up creating a 33mb partition called X: and installs the Win7 repair files on that partition instead.

    So when I try to boot up after trying bootsec /FixMBR & /FixBoot (which initially tells me it is successful prior to reboot) I get::
    "Reboot & Select proper boot device or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot Device and press a key"
    Any ideas on how to get the SSD to boot up without having to wipe it and reinstall?

    Cheers in advance everyone!
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 19,383
    Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
       #2

    Hi,

    I would restart the installation (keeping that old disk unplugged until installation to the SSD is ciompleted). This tutorial might be of help to you:

    SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation[2]=Hardware and Drivers

    Regards,
    Golden
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 36
    Win7 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Aw man that sucks...I didn't think there would be an issue as I have done this exact process on a dual boot with XP and 7 without a hitch.
    I will lose everything on my SSD then
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 22,814
    W 7 64-bit Ultimate
       #4

    Hello Zoidbort, welcome to Seven Forums!



    Make sure the data cable of all the all Hard Disk Drives are disconnected from the motherboard, leaving only the Solid State Drive connected to the #1 SATA port on the mobo and set that SSD as the second boot device after the CD/DVD drive in the BIOS; make sure the SSD is marked as Active using Option Two #3 in this tutorial, if it is not, make it so using Option Two #1 and then run the 3 separate startup repairs outlined in the tutorial to see if a new set of boot files will be created to the SSD.

    Don't be concerned what drive letter the repair utility sees the SSD as it matters not.

    Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times

    DISKPART : At PC Startup


    If you can't get this to work you can copy out the data you need to save and be sure to post back with any further questions you may have and to keep us informed.

    How to Copy & Paste in Recovery Console on Windows 7 or Vista
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 36
    Win7 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Cool, thanks Bare foot
    The only thing I have not done listed above is connecting the drive to SATA #1
    I will try once I get home from work and keep you posted
    You guys have offered more input and advice than the actual MS forums...they seemed clueless lol.
    Cheers!
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 22,814
    W 7 64-bit Ultimate
       #6

    Remember to mark the Windows partition as active on the SSD if it is not, or the startup repairs will fail and do post back to keep us informed.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 36
    Win7 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Well the SSD is one partition of 120GB or 114GB formatted
    Should it not automatically be set as active if it is the only drive connected with an OS already installed?
    If not how do I activate it within the repair menu?
    I do not recall seeing that option.
    Cheers once again
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 22,814
    W 7 64-bit Ultimate
       #8

    It may not be active already and needs to be made so or the startup repair will fail; active is the flag that tells WinRE where to create the boot files.


    I described the process of how to check and how to mark it active if necessary in my first post to this same thread above, please have a look there.
      My Computer

  9.    #9

    The best method with separate HD's is to unplug the existing OS during install to the new HD, then boot either HD/SSD via BIOS - either the BIOS setup boot order menu or the one-time BIOS Boot Menu key given on first boot screen.

    This keeps the HD's separate to come and go as you please, with each OS having their own System MBR.

    Since this was not done, you now have to unplug all other HD's except the SSD, set SSD as first to boot in BIOS, mark Win7 partition Active as given before, then run Startup Repair up to 3 separate times with reboots until it writes the System boot files to Win7 partition.

    After SSD starts up, plug back in the former OS HD and wipe with diskpart: Disk - Clean and Clean All with Diskpart Command
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 16,154
    7 X64
       #10

    Clean all isn't necessary, Greg. Just make sure the ssd is first in bios boot order ( and/or make sure there are no active partitions on the regular HD )
      My Computers


 
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