Solved Trouble installing windows 7 to new hdd using recovery disk

[binky83]

I have been trying to find a thread that could help me with my problem but have not had much luck yet. So I wanted to start my own thread to try to solve my problem. Please bare with me as this is my first time doing this. My hard dive on my HP computer recently failed. I had been receiving a message about a "hard drive failure is imminent" for a while and had done a backup of my system and system image. I also have my recovery disks that I made when I first got my computer. I did not receive any disk with my computer. Anyway, my hard drive failed and I was no longer able to get into windows, so I bought a new HDD the same size as the old one and installed it into my computer. I then put in my recovery disk thinking that this would format my new drive and reinstall windows 7. After about thirty minutes a message popped up on the screen which read:
Recovery Manager could not restore your computer using image.
Please contact HP support. Error code: 0xe0ef000e
I have tried this several times with the same result. I made sure that nothing was connected to my computer except the keyboard, monitor and mouse. I went into the bios and did the F5 reset factory settings. I have taken the battery out and put it back in. My new hard drive does show up in the setup window. I can't get to a command prompt or boot without the windows recovery disk in. But nothing has worked so far. I have just enough computer knowlege to want to try things on my own and learn more rather than wanting to take it to someone else to fix it. Unfortunately, I really don't know enough to know what else to do. Thank you for any insight into this problem.

 

[theog]

How to use HP Recovery:
Recover Windows 7 Operating System Using HP Recovery - HP Customer Care (United States - English)
Performing an HP System Recovery in Windows 7 - HP Customer Care (United States - English)


You can Order HP Recovery Disks from here:
Compaq Mini CQ10-500 PC series -  HP Notebook PCs - Order Recovery Discs for Windows 7, Vista, or XP - c00810334 - HP Business Support Center

 

[gregrocker]

Does the HD register correctly in BIOS setup?

You said you backed up a System Image. Can you boot the Win7 Repair CD or Intsallation DVD Repair Console now to "Recover Using a System Image" and browse to the stored image file to reimage your new HD? System Image Recovery
System Repair Disc - Create

Do you have access to a Win7 installation DVD to try a clean reinstall using the Product Key on COA sticker? The steps are all here: Reinstalling Windows 7

 

[binky83]

I can't boot the system repair disk since windows 7 is not currently on the HDD. I don't have a windows 7 instalation disk, only the recovery disks. I had backed up the system image backup to an external hard drive but can't get the computer to boot to it. It says bootmgr is missing if I try to boot to anything other than the recovery disk.

 

[gregrocker]

You need a System Repair Disk to boot into to choose Recover Using A system image, which will detect the Windows Image Backup in the root of the external and reimage the HD.

You should have been given the chance to make the disk when you backed up the image if you used Win7 backup imaging? You'll need to find a Win7 computer of your bit version to make one,

or find a Win7 installation DVD to use it's Repair console on second screen after booting. You can borrow the DVD from a friend or download a safe "Official Win7 ISO download" from My Digital Life via a google search.

 

[binky83]

I do have a system repair disk. I guess I wasn't sure how to use it. I have been able to use it now and have gotten to the system recovery options windows. When I go to the System Image Recovery, it tells me that windows cannot find a system image on this computer even after I have attached my external hard drive. I hit cancel and then Select a system image which leads me to another window to select the location of the backup, but there are none listed. So I clicked on Advanced and tried to search for a system image on the network. I tried connecting my external hd to one of my other computers and then sharing it but I still can't get to it. I also selected the option to install a driver but I haven't been able to find my WD free agent desk driver. I haven't had much time to work on it lately, but will be trying again later today. Thanks.

 

[gregrocker]

Did you change the image file's name or move it, as it must be changed back to exactly WindowsImageBackup and placed in the root of the external which is where it should have been placed by the backup utility?

 

[binky83]

I didn't change the name. It still says WindowsImageBackup. Right now it is in another folder called Image under the root directory, but I only put it in another folder because of reading that because I had received an error message that said "An Internal error occurred while enumerating backup sets.

 

[gregrocker]

That's why it isn't being detected. It must be out in the root of the external where it was saved.

 

[binky83]

I have my external HDD connected to my internet and shared on the network since I could still not get it to show up on the computer that I am trying to fix. When specifying the network location, I logged onto the network and did not receive an error message this time, but nothing else happened either.

 

[gregrocker]

Just put the file in the root of the external, plug it into the target machine, boot the DVD/Repair CD and follow these steps: System Image Recovery

 

[binky83]

Under the System Image Recovery selection it tells me that Windows cannot find a system image on this computer. I have my external hard drive with the WindowsImageBackup file in the root directory attached to the computer. It still does not give me that option. So I tried the Select a system image option, but my backup is still not listed.

 

[gregrocker]

You've done everything you can then, unless you have Acronis True Image home edition which can convert Win7 backup images to Acronis format then you have much more flexibility to work with image.

Otherwise boot the HP Recovery Disks you've made or order from Tech Support, or find a Win7 DVD to clean reinstall following these steps to get it perfect: Reinstalling Windows 7

 

[binky83]

Thanks for your help. I have already tried my recovery disks several times, so I guess I will just have to order a set from HP.

 

[gregrocker]

Actually if you can find a Win7 intallation DVD it is a much cleaner reinstall without the factory bloatware and useless factory utilities which have better versions built into Win7.

You can borrow one from a friend or download from the web to reinstall using the Product Key on COA sticker on your machine. Be sure to get a safe copy by googling "official Win7 download at My Digital Life."

Then folllow the steps I linked above to get a perfect reinstall.

 

[binky83]

I didn't know that you could do that. I am trying to download it right now although it is going very slow. My only concern is what to do once it is downloaded. I am using my laptop. I guess I will need to install it onto disks and then try installing on my now HDD. I will let you know how it goes. Thank you.

 

[gregrocker]

Let me try a third time. :shock:

Click this link and it explains exactly how to clean reinstall factory OEM: Reinstalling Windows 7

 

[binky83]

Sorry if it took a while for me to "get it". My problem is solved. After downloading Windows 7 from Mydigitallife.com. I was able to burn it to dvd and load it onto my new HD. It worked great, and I am back up and running. Thanks for much for your time.

 

[gregrocker]

Thanks for reporting back. Let us know if anything else comes up.

You can mark the thread Solved at the top.