Boot issue

[theschlepp]

Hi All,
I recently purchased a laptop and performed a clean insall of Win7(x64) to get rid of all junkware etc. Everything is working great, however now upon booting I am asked to select which OS to boot: Win7 or Win7. I went into msconfig to check the boot configuration and noticed the following: Windows 7 (c:\Windows): Current OS; Default OS.

I also ran bcdedit, but I am not experienced enough to decipher it. Can anyone provide a permanent fix- meaning not going into msconfig/ boot to change the timeout function etc? I am considering setting up a dual boot system and don't want to have to select between 3 options. I attached a snapshot of my msconfig/boot and bcdedit screen. Any advice is much appreciated, thanks.

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Hello theschlepp.



Those aren't much help; before we make any specific recommendations will you please post a snip/screen-shot of the entire disk management drive map with a full description as to which drive/partition is which, so we can see what you have going on as there may be a fairly simple way to resolve the situation.

In the Windows start menu right click computer and click manage, in the left pane of the "Computer Management" window that opens click disk management and post a snip of that.


How to Upload and Post a Screenshot and File in Seven Forums

 

[theog]

Did you clean the drive first?

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/91339-ssd-hdd-optimize-windows-reinstallation.html

 

[theschlepp]

Barefoot,
Thanks for the quick response. Prior to clean installing, I deleted the OEM partition containing the restore info, then repartitioned the drive into 3 partitions. Win7 is installed on the first partition (40gb). I don't have anything else installed or saved in the other partitions since everything is brand new.

 

[gregrocker]

You may have repartitioned but because you didnt' wipe the HD of all code you have old boot sector information that should have been wiped and is now interfering.

You can install EasyBCD 2.0 to see if the ghost listing can be removed on Edit OS menu, but it would be better to wipe the HD as should have been done in the first place if you want to start clean.

Steps to get a purrfect clean reinstall of factory OEM: http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/125874-re-install-windows-7-a.html#post1086729

 

[theschlepp]

Thanks Gregrocker,
No i didn't wipe drive since it was new. Wiping the entire drive (all partitions) will take some time, wiping the new sys partition should suffice, no?

 

[theog]

If you are going to reinstall, use the clean all command.

 

[theschlepp]

Thanks Theog, looks like this may take some time. I will see if anyone else or bare foot provides an easier fix prior to another clean install.

 

[gregrocker]

Did you try installing EasyBCD 2.0 to see if the ghost listing is present to remove? Check first in msconfig>Boot tab to see if the ghost listing is there to Delete.

I'm not clear why you would want to clean reinstall to overcome factory bloatware but not have the time to wipe your HD of all code to give you the cleanest possible install and eliminate the boot sector corruption?

http://neosmart.net/blog/2010/welcome-to-easybcd-2/

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Hello mate.



Running a "clean all" will overwrite all the data on the entire HDD, I would suggest that after you have copied out or made back-ups of the data you need to save to external media you do the wipe (secure erase) to the HDD booting the Windows 7 installation DVD and the link THEOG posted above.

DISKPART : At PC Startup

 

[theschlepp]

Bare Foot/ Gregrocker/Theog,
Went to tutorial, using diskpart now to clear all. Thanks for the quick responses.

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Be sure to keep us informed.

 

[theschlepp]

Now I have a new problem. The product activation key does not work; after typing and confirming correct I received an error that it is invalid. I unselected auto-activate and continued with install. When complete, I went to computer properties and added the product key and received an error that the version is not valid for clean install (I purchased the student version). What to do?

 

[gregrocker]

Because you wiped the HD (as you should) to get the cleanest reinstall, the installer cannot see a prior OS to allow use of Upgrade version key.

Do the quick registry workaround given in this tutorial to http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/31402-clean-install-upgrade-windows-7-version.html

Set a Restore Point first in case you goof.

Afterwards activate with Key at Computer>Properties activation link.

 

[theschlepp]

gregrocker,
That did the trick, thanks!

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Good to see you got it running and thanks for the update.