Solved MBR error on reinstalling Win7 to clean HD

[Beanster]

Boot\Boot menu after selecting >Hard Drive BBS Priorities.

 

[Slartybart]

One last post!

Can you click on each of the Boot Options, one at a time, and post what the available picks for each Boot Option?

Thanks,

Bill
.

 

[Britton30]

I don't have a "Boot>Boot" screen. To get the image from BIOS, I explained before. Put in a USB flash drive stick, boot into BIOS, pressing F12 will ask you where to save, it should show the USB stick, click it and OK, it will say the screenshot has been saved. Booting bavck to Windows and opening the USB stick will show the captures.

 

[gregrocker]

Boot\Boot menu after selecting >Hard Drive BBS Priorities.

It's for choosing which device of that type (HD) to boot first.

 

[gregrocker]

Boot\Boot menu after selecting >Hard Drive BBS Priorities.

It's for choosing which device of that type (HD) to boot first.

By now its pretty clear UEFI vs Legacy is chosen solely in Boot Device 1,2,3... But it doesn't explain the error during UEFI install for which every other thing was tried.

Still not clear on difference between Boot Device 1,2,3 and Boot Override menu though. Anyone? Don't you have this board Gary?

 

[Britton30]

Boot device 1, 2, 3, etc will boot the first bootable device it comes too. Example, you have a bootable CD/DVD in the tray, that will boot before the hard drive. If the tray is empty it will then go to the next in line, e.g. the HDD.

Boot override allows you to set what device you want to boot at only the next boot up, for example if USB is in P3 and you want it to boot, bypassing the HDD.

 

[Slartybart]

Back by request:

Beanster, I'm not familiar with the AMI BIOS, so please bear with me.

In an early post you gave the following information as it relates to Boot:

P3: ASUS DRW-24B1ST
JetFlashTranscend 4GB 1100
P2: M4-CT256M4SSD2
P1: WDC WD1002FAEX-00Z3AO
UEFI: JetFlashTranscend 4GB 1100​

I don't know what P1, P2 and P3 signify or how they get assigned, so here's my question.

If P# get assigned by physical connection (the port the drive is connected to on the Mobo) then
I'd say that you should swap the SATA ports that the WD and Crucial drives are connected.

If you can assign the P# in the BIOS, then I think this is the order you want
P1: M4-CT256M4SSD2
P2: WDC WD1002FAEX-00Z3AO

In either case, I believe you want P1: M4 and P2:WD

I've lost track of the current objective, but at some point... NOT NOW ... it might be advisable to hit that F5 key ... but not just yet.

Let Greg and Bitton30 think about setting defaults - besides yourself, they have invested the most time.

I'm offering it as something for everyone to consider, not an action item.

 

[Britton30]

The P is for boot priority Position. P1 first in boot order, P2 second, etc. I find the best configuration is as follows:
P1 CD/DVD drive
P2 USB if the option is available.
P3 Drive with the OS

That allows any bootable media to boot before the OS, say a Linux Live CD.

 

[Slartybart]

Thanks Gary,

So you're saying that the Priority can be set in BIOS. Good.

Boot Priority has long been a subject for debate. For "security" purposes and installation reasons, many professionals call for the HD to be first, followed by the OD, and then the flash. Using the Priority nomenclature:
P1: OS
P2: Optical Drive
P3: USB

I don't buy the security reasons (someone can always hit the Fkey and get to the Boot Order menu), but installation reasons makes sense. P2 and P3 could be switched around, it depends on the media you use most.

@Beanster: any chance you could comply with post# 82? I think it got buried along the way, but I'd still like to see what's under the covers on the screen in post# 81. Thanks.

Bill
.

 

[gregrocker]

Boot device 1, 2, 3, etc will boot the first bootable device it comes too. Example, you have a bootable CD/DVD in the tray, that will boot before the hard drive. If the tray is empty it will then go to the next in line, e.g. the HDD.

Boot override allows you to set what device you want to boot at only the next boot up, for example if USB is in P3 and you want it to boot, bypassing the HDD.

Is there a one-time BIOS Boot Menu key? Doesn't it show every bootable device? Why the override then? Just askin.

 

[Britton30]

Boot device 1, 2, 3, etc will boot the first bootable device it comes too. Example, you have a bootable CD/DVD in the tray, that will boot before the hard drive. If the tray is empty it will then go to the next in line, e.g. the HDD.

Boot override allows you to set what device you want to boot at only the next boot up, for example if USB is in P3 and you want it to boot, bypassing the HDD.

Is there a one-time BIOS Boot Menu key? Doesn't it show every bootable advice? Why the override then? Just askin.

Yes there is a button, in this case it is F8 (F5 to get to Advanced options) and is another choice is all. I think all retail motherboards offer both.

 

[gregrocker]

Yes from what I've seen most all retail mobo's offer a one-time BIOS Boot menu key, and also setting in BIOS setup to prioritize the boot devices.

What I don't understand is the need for the Boot Override settings at all if you already have separate settings in Setup for Boot order priority, and a one-time BIOS Boot menu key which gives all choices.

 

[Britton30]

The key is a lot easier to use than drilling down through a lot of BIOS menus, I guess? I have no good answer for why both though, it is what it is, as they say.

 

[gregrocker]

Does anyone else know? I don't have a mobo like that so can't test the difference.

Override must have some ancillary function rather than just duplicating the Boot Priority on the same page.

 

[gregrocker]

This page seems to cover everything, and just came up for the first time searching Asus BIOS UEFI and Boot Override jointly. I think it is new ("Under Development") since I've been looking for a page this explanatory for years and just checked last week: Architecture Intel Sandy Bridge -- Info-Coach

 

[Slartybart]

That's a great reference Greg.

My question now is, does Beanster reset BIOS and make changes as required or does he try to unravel what was done before and then make changes as required?

My take is a reset and using the page you found along with your and Gary's knowledge to make changes to the optimized settings. It's entirely possible that the reset will be sufficient. The screens I looked at show F5 as the reset key.

Any thoughts?

 

[gregrocker]

He got it installed. If performance is OK he should leave it.

If he wants to troubleshoot a UEFI install he could use another HD plugged in alone. If he really wants UEFI then he can save an image and try troubleshooting one on SSD.

But he said early on he didn't even want UEFI so we can wait for someone else with identical issue to find this thread as often happens.

 

[Slartybart]

He got it installed. If performance is OK he should leave it.

If he wants to troubleshoot a UEFI install he could use another HD plugged in alone. If he really wants UEFI then he can save an image and try troubleshooting one on SSD.

But he said early on he didn't even want UEFI so we can wait for someone else with identical issue to find this thread as often happens.

Agreed.

I was wondering about the Fat32 considerations for USB installs and UEFI. I think it might be easier to direct members to use a DVD instead of a USB drive when UEFI is involved. It simplifies things for everyone.

• In order to be detected as “UEFI bootable” a device needs to have a specific EFI file in a specific location. For example if you place a Windows 7 X64 DVD installation disk in your DVD drive it will be recognized as an UEFI boot device and you will be able to perform the Windows installation in UEFI mode. In contrast a Windows 7 X86 DVD installation disk does not have the appropriate efi file and therefore in that case the DVD will not be displayed as an UEFI boot device.
  
  
• Beware that you cannot boot in UEFI mode from an USB stick formatted in NTFS (UEFI do not handle NTFS partitions). For example a Windows 7 X64 Installation USB Stick created using the “Windows USB DVD Download” tool provided by Microsoft will not boot in UEFI (but work well in BIOS legacy mode). Therefore you have to format the USB stick in FAT32, make it bootable, and copy the proper files in the proper location (see references at the end) so you can successfully install Windows 7 X64 in UEFI mode from it.

 

[Slartybart]

Bean,

If things are running well after a few days, please mark your thread as solved - thanks.

I learned a lot in this thread - thanks everyone.

Bill
.

 

[Beanster]

Gentlemen,
I am now communicating from the desktop and not the iPad. After resolving the password issue, and the network driver issue, I followed the instructions from post # 42, then began the Updates. I'm experiencing the same problem that started this whole mess: Important updates failing repeatedly to install. I cannot get a screen shot from here. F12, Print Screen, Alt-PrintScreen --- no captures. I will try manually installing each update to see if that will work. Back later...