I've done BAD!

[mikeormary]

Hope this isn't to long. New computer, windows 7 installed on a 128 gig SSD. The shop told me to install all my programs on my H/D NOT the SSD. After I had installed a few programs I realised they are all pre-set to install on the C drive, which is the name of the SSD. I thought BUGGER!
I didn't want to delete the programs via "Add/Remove software, as that always leaves bits on the machine.
So I thought I format the drives and start out fresh. HOWEVER the disk will not install any of the drives listed which by the way total 5, more confusion. and now nothing will install or go back to how it was. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Mike.

 

[Boozad]

HOWEVER the disk will not install any of the drives listed which by the way total 5, more confusion. and now nothing will install or go back to how it was.

Can you elaborate on this part please? Are you trying to install the OS from a DVD? And do you mean it doesn't see your hard drives during the install process or it fails to install? Please be thorough with explaining what you have tried so far to ensure you will receive pinpoint help.

 

[mikeormary]

As part of the process I am asked to pick which drive or partition I would like to install on and no matter which one I chose it tell me that windows cannot be installed there.

 

[Boozad]

I'm back and forth at the moment so apologies for not getting back right away. Do you have an EFI BIOS and is your SATA controller set to AHCI?

 

[WiiSky70]

I suggest you update the BIOS to the latest version available

 

[Ztruker]

Is this a brand name computer like Dell, HP, Samsung, etc? If so, it should have come with a recovery partition you can access via a Fn key at boot time.

Also, I disagree on not installing programs on the SSD. They will launch faster and run better from there than from a HDD. I can see moving the Users folder to the HDD if the space is needed, otherwise leave that there too.

 

[strollin]

Since you wish to install the OS on the ssd, I would first remove all of the drives except for the ssd, then install Win 7. Once you get the OS installed, then add the other drives and install the rest of your software. If you don't want your programs to be installed on the C: drive, make sure you select "Custom" install so that you can change the install location to the D: drive or whatever drive you want to install on.

When you do the install on the ssd, make sure you delete the existing partitions and start out with a clean disk, that will hopefully eliminate the error you are seeing that is telling you that the OS can't be installed on that disk.

Good luck!

 

[gregrocker]

What shop would tell you not to install programs on a 128gb SSD which has plenty of space and provides the SSD speed for programs only if the programs are installed upon it! Only if the drive gets cramped do you need to consider moving User files off of it onto the HD to link via Library - Include a Folder - Windows 7 Forums or User Folders - Change Default Location .

But a Clean Reinstall is always a good thing so enter BIOS setup to adjust your UEFI, CSM or Legacy BIOS settings to Bypass UEFI to Install WIn7 to avoid the UEFI crapware which offers no benefits but plenty of headaches. This is what is likely generating the error since you're attempting to reinstall on a GPT formatted hard drive.

Then unplug all other hard drives, during the install delete all partitions on the target hard drive to clear the GPT partitioning and proceed with install.

Other tips here to get and keep a perfect Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7