How To Fix A Botched Windows 7 Install

[MaskedRiderC]

Hello, all! Let me be clear; I totally botched up my installation of Windows 7, and it's on me. I went to install it on a brand new blank SSD (a SanDisk SSD Plus), and while I was installing it and installing numerous updates, I by accident stopped the C++ part, mistaking it for something else I had going on at the time. Um, whoops!

When I finished with the updates and rebooted, I got into a startup repair infinite loop--as in machine would initially boot, then state "Windows is loading files," then system repair, then a message stating "Windows cannot be repaired." I tried reinstalling, but the same thing happened. I used the info on this link (https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/139576-startup-re...) to try and fix it to no avail, as the registry hive had 0 bytes on it as per step 13 of this process. So, how to completely reformat the new SSD so that i can attempt to do another clean install and get round this madness? Thanks in advance, y'all!

 

[Snick]

Hi MaskedRiderC,

Welcome to SevenForums!

Can you access boot menu? I believe it is the F12 key. Press power button on computer, immediately start pressing either F12 and you should get to the boot menu. Place Win7 DVD in drive. Choose CD/DVD

After revisiting thread, I see you tried reinstalling Win7 and still have loop issue, you need to repair/rebuild the Master Boot Record (MBR) which is located on the first sector of the drive. You should not have to reinstall windows. Reinstalling windows will not correct MBR issues.

How to fix MBR on SSD with AOMEI Partition Assistant

Since you cannot get past loop issue you'll have to install AOMEI Partition Assistant on USB or CD or DVD and boot to it then repair MBR on your SSD.

Backupper and Partition Assistant on same bootable USB

How to create AOMEI Partition Assistant WinPE bootable CD

@mrjimphelps, your thought will work, however, much easier to rebuild MBR.

Nic

 

[mrjimphelps]

I have a similar problem, although not exactly the same -- I somehow messed up a hard drive by erasing some low-level information. A reinstall appears to be successful, and the drive works if it's not the boot drive; but it won't work as a boot drive.

I'm planning on doing a backup of a working install with Clonezilla, so that it is a sector-by-sector, blind backup, rather than the standard image backup; I then plan to do a sector-by-sector, blind restore to the problematic drive.

My thought is that a sector-by-sector blind backup and restore will get ALL of the information off of the good drive and write it to the bad drive. In other words, it will back up the low-level boot information that a normal backup won't get.

If I remember to do so, I'll post back here with the results after I try this.