I've been having this problem for quite a while now. At the moment, I have NO operating system installed. My previous installation of Windows 7 failed on me. I put the disc in and the computer acts as if I never put a disc in. The DVD drive doesn't even whir. The only way I know how to install windows 7 is to install Windows XP first, and then install Windows 7 from within XP. That is my last resort. Can anyone help me?
Try to use the boot selector of your BIOS or go into BIOS' Setup and change the boot order to boot CD/DVD drive first.
Due to the fact that your HDD is empty you can boot from CD, stating Windows 7's Setup and do install procedure quite easily. :)
PS: If the machine you want to install is the HP notebook you have in your profile, probably you can open boot selector pressing Esc key a couple of times while you turns on your laptop. To get into the Setup, do the same but using F10 key.
I've already tried that. It still doesn't do a thing. The computer I'm working on at the moment is no my HP Compaq DESKTOP, it's a ThinkCentre A52. It doesn't seem to work with any Windows 7 CD. I downnloaded a Windows 7 repair disc from a website. It didn't boot into that either. My compute can boot into GParted, Ubuntu Live, Kubuntu Live and memtest 86+
Can you boot a Vista dvd - or the recovery cd? Windows Vista Recovery Disc Download — The NeoSmart Files
If so, boot Vista dvd/cd to the command prompt - remove the Vista dvd/cd put the 7 one in - run setup.exe that is inside the sources folder on the 7 dvd.
It seems the ones you can boot into, do not require user intervention. There has been no mention of the "hit key to boot to DVD" message. You may still not have the DVD set first in the boot priority.
If you burned it, you may have burned the .iso, but not as an image. Where did you get the software and if you burned it, how and with what?
What OS did it come with originally? You can use the Access ThinkPad or Access IBM button during startup to restore the original OS if you have not wiped out the hidden partition according to the manual here:
How to use the pre-boot service partition to recover your software
Maybe once that's done, you could insert the Windows 7 DVD while booted and do an upgrade or clean install?
Emmm... I didn't know that your PC was a Lenovo ThinkCentre A52. I saw your profile's notebook, that's why I've assumed you've an HP. Sorry.
I didn't ever used any of these Lenovo PCs (seems to be that product is not available in Argentina) but it seems that there are lots of different versions of the same ThinkCentre A52, from old Pentium 4 to new dual core processors.
Anyway, remember that you can always create a bootable USB drive. Just see this tutorial here:
USB Windows 7 Installation Key Drive - Create
Hope it helps you. :)
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