Odd Re-Installation Issue

[thetinysambo]

Ok guys - I'm back!

Did the whole boot from DVD thing, went into the repair my computer console and it told me this:

Windows 7 - 117047 D: OS
Windows 7 - 14999 C: Recovery

Btw - it's 'she'

 

[thetinysambo]

Also - current install appears to be fine - USB ports are now recognised, which was my main worry, owing to just about everything requiring access via USB these days!

 

[thetinysambo]

Questions - what do EISA and MBR stand for?

I'm an engineer, but I'm not a software engineer!

Also, when booting up my laptop, I'm always given 2 options for Windows 7 to boot from. I can choose either option and both will work fine.

 

[Jonathan_King]

Great, she.

Anything else you need help with?

 

[thetinysambo]

Well, yeah. Greg said to post the results of me booting from the DVD, and I have. So waiting on a response. I still need to delete the D partition.

I am somewhat terrified of screwing this up btw.

 

[gregrocker]

Ok guys - I'm back!

Did the whole boot from DVD thing, went into the repair my computer console and it told me this:

Windows 7 - 117047 D: OS
Windows 7 - 14999 C: Recovery

Btw - it's 'she'

Sorry bout that. This is good news. You have a bootable Win7 DVD installer, which is a valuable addition nowadays when buying a computer.

This gives you the freedom to clean reinstall. I know you said you ran the installer from your old Win7 without the ability to format. Are you happy with keeping that installation now, or do you want to boot from the DVD and reinstall to use the Drive Tools to delete all partitions, create New one(s) as you wish, then format before reinstalling Win7 to first partition?

Just askin, for you to decide which route you want to take now. I'm still here to help you (we just opened presents here).

 

[gregrocker]

Questions - what do EISA and MBR stand for?

I'm an engineer, but I'm not a software engineer!

Also, when booting up my laptop, I'm always given 2 options for Windows 7 to boot from. I can choose either option and both will work fine.

You can remove the dual boot menu later using EasyBCD or deleting the extra one on msconfig>startup tab.

MBR is the master boot record which is now embedded in the Recovery Partition ("System active" tells us that). It can be rewritten to the Win7 partition by running Startup Repair 3 times from the booted Win7 DVD, which would be your last step if you choose not to clean reinstall but to delete partitions and expand your WIn7 into the space.

EISA is a system reserved partition put there by manufacturer mostly for their tools which come with the installed OS. This is why I asked you to tap F8 at bootup so we can see if there is still a working "Repair my Computer" link in the menu there.

Those are the same Repair tools that are on your DVD Repair console however, so you may want to delete the EISA.

Here is more about the EISA including the commands Jon gave earlier to delete it:

Delete and Remove to Unlock EISA Hidden Recovery or Diagnostic Partition in Vista My Digital Life

 

[thetinysambo]

Ah right - so if I boot from the DVD, it'll give me the option to delete partitions this time?

When I ran the installation DVD when still in Windows it didn't even give me an option to do anything about the partitions, except to choose which one to install over!

Nice one about the presents, it's now technically boxing day here!

 

[Jonathan_King]

That is quite normal behavior. In order to make changes to partitions, you need to boot from the DVD.

 

[thetinysambo]

Thanks Jonathon - I did not realise that, I'll give it a go in the morning, when I'm less likely to do something twice as stupid! Cheers!

 

[gregrocker]

I think a formatted clean install from boot is a great idea so you know you have it as clean as it gets.

Here is what I would do:

Back up all of your files, Boot into the Win7 DVD Repair console, from the list of recovery tools open a Command Line and type:

DISKPART
LIST DISK
SELECT DISK # (for Windows 7 hard drive, probably 0)
clean
create partition primary
select partition 1
assign letter=c:
active
format
exit

If EISA partition refuses to delete, then type Exit and start again with Command Line:

DISKPART
LIST DISK
SELECT DISK # (for Windows 7 hard drive, probably 0)
LIST PARTITION
SELECT PARTITION # (for EISA partition)
delete partition override
exit

Now start over to complete Commands given at top.

Now boot back into the Win7 DVD and select Install Now, plug ethernet and select "Connect to Internet during Install" to get latest drivers/updates into installer during install, then Custom install.

On the Custom drives screen the one big C: partition which was formatted using DISKPART commands should appear correctly. If it somehow says Unallocated space, then use the Drive Tools there to Create New Partition(s) and format before install.

Afterward check your Device manager for any missing drivers, browsing from Device's Driver tab>Update Drivers to your Drivers CD, where you should also find any favorite apps. Otherwise check the Support Downloads web page for your model computer.

 

[thetinysambo]

Thank you very much for all your help! Laptop is now as it should be!! Fantastic stuff