Installing Windows 7 over Faulty Ubuntu Install

Did you reset BIOS to defaults? Confirm SATA controller is set to AHCI, and the disk is set to be booted from. Set HD first to boot, use one-time BIOS boot menu key to trigger install media.

If so and it errors again, change SATA controller to another mode like IDE to test that.

Confirm no other HD's or peripherals are plugged in. What is left that is plugged in?

Try unplugging DVD drive and use flash stick installer from step 1 and 2 of Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7

Try Diskpart "Clean All" to wipe the HD more completely which takes around an hour for each 320gb. This has worked in the past for removing badly corrupted code.

The add the command "Convert Basic" to make sure you're not working with a Dynamic disk.

Next try testing the HD with the maker's HD Diagnostic extended CD scan.

If these all fail, try another HD.

Yeah I reset the BIOS to defaults and have tried the SATA at the two available settings although neither of them say anything about AHCI. Did I mention it's a laptop? Is that important? Also I read somewhere else that installing an upgrade version might not work, is that true? I 'm using Win7 Home Edition with the SP1 updates should I try with just Win7 and no updates?

Use the licensed version you own shown on the COA sticker on machine.

Stick with the steps we've given you to get a perfect reinstall, ignoring misinfomation from other sites. This is the top tech forums on the net, specialize in these having helped countless thousands do them.

I'm kind of doing this by intuition as yr instructions don't completely match what's available in my BIOS and I don't know what most of the things you've mentioned are or do. What i have failed to mention till now is that the only way I can get the USB stick to boot is to go into the BIOS go to Boot and then to Hard Disk Drives and set the USB to first and the HD to second. Otherwise the stick doesn't boot and I get the follwing message:

Check cable connection!
PXE-M0F: Exiting Intel PXE ROM.


BOOTMGR is missing
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart

This has only started coming up since formatting the disk, previously Ubuntu would load to the login screen if the stick wasn't set to boot first. Is this part of the problem? Also I tried Clean All and Convert Basic and neither made any difference.

The errors you quote above occur when it skips the media you're trying to boot and attempts to boot an empty HD.

You say you have figured out how to set the stick first to boot in BIOS. So what is the problem with doing the Clean Install Windows 7?

If the stick is showing up under HD's in BIOS boot order that normally means its going to boot. But if not I'd rewrite it using UltraISO Software To Create Bootable USB Flash Drive
which always works when the others don't as long as the ISO is intact.

Like I said, the problem is that I can't get past the "Where do you want to install Windows?" screen. No matter what I do when I click Next I always get the message "Setup was unable to create a new system partition or locate an existing system partition. See the Setup log files for more information." .

Alright then retry the steps in Post #5 but use the Clean All command to wipe the HD more thoroughly.

Test the HD with maker's HD Diagnostic extended CD scan, followed by Disk Check from the installer's Command Line on the full disk partition you've created.

Are you able to use a DVD to compare it for install?

Are you using the latest official Installer from Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7?

Go back over all steps if these fail to make sure everything has been tried at least twice. If this still ends in failure we will help you install to another PC and transfer the OS by image to the laptop while adjusting it to boot on changed hardware.

As I have already said, my only other computer is a netbook which means I can't use the CD scan HD diagnostic or do a DVD install. If I could I wouldn't be trying to use a USB stick. I have as I already said already tried the Clean All command which made no difference. For my last attempt I used the most recent Home Premium ISO copied using UltraISO which was less successful and errored before even getting to the "Which Drive to Install on?" screen with a message saying a driver was missing. I then tried to use the Windows USB Tool again as at least it created a USB that was a partial success but now it seems not to work either saying that it can't install anything on the USB stick or that the downloaded ISO file is not valid. I did manage to use Disk Check and it seemed to think everything was fine.

There's something wrong with the installers you're creating, either the ISO is not complete or you are not writing them correctly to stick. UltraISO has never been reported not to work that I have seen. It's the one I use when the others fail. Did you leave all of the settings at default, load the ISO, click the Format and then Write buttons? I'd try another flash stick.

I'm sorry but I can't find where you said that you did the Diskpart CLean All command. The original steps had the Clean command.

If you have another Win7 install for your licensed version we can help you image it over to the problem netbook using an imaging app and then boot Paragon Adaptive Restore CD to adjust it to boot on different hardware. This is how I often apply installs to other PC's.

I was trying to install from the netbook to a laptop not the other way round. As such I have decided to give up on the usb install and use someone else's pc to make an install dvd. Can you make an install disk using a rw dvd or does it have to be a regular dvd?