Windows 7 Boot problems after motherboard replacement

[TumbleweedBiff]

To start with, yeah I know ... clean install is the best way to go ... Please don't go there. This shouldn't be so hard to do:

Am trying to replace a motherboard. I installed (as best I could "install") the drivers of the new motherboard in the previous environment and for those things I couldn't install (gee, that hardware isn't present ... duhhhhhh) I copied the installation files to the hdd and then copied the inf's to the windows\inf directory, just for the halibut.

I removed/disabled all the system devices I could which were specific to the previous motherboard and then shut down.

Reboot to the new and boot fails, momentary blue screen which disappears before it can be read, reboot, and the things displays the startup repair option. I tried to do F8 so I could boot safe mode and install the drivers that way, but fricking Windows won't let me get anything other than startup repair or windows normal.

WHY WONT THE FORNICATING ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN FROM REDMOND LET ME BOOT TO SAFE MODE?!!!!

Startup Repair, of course, fails and tells me to boot from install media, which I do. That repair routine then screws the pooch by assigning the System Reserved partition the letter C, the normal C volume becomes D, and we all know how windows is going to react to that little bit of fun ...

So I go to the command prompt in the system recovery tools, run diskpart, remove the C from system reserved, make it ACTIVE, and assign C to the windows volume.

Damned if the next boot doesn't run through the same line of crap again. And yes, I have tried it running bootrec /fixboot, /fixmbr, and /rebuildbcd, and still it runs me through the same gamut of junk and assigns C to the System Reserved partition which then breaks everything again.

I would appreciate any help. In particular, how can I get windows to give me the normal F8 - Advanced Boot Options menu and how can I get it to stop making the system reserved partition the C drive? I suppose I could possibly assign it a different letter while still being active, I haven't tried that, have just tried leaving it without a letter like it is normally ...

Mike

 

[bassfisher6522]

As you said...don't go there but that's exactly what has to be done. When changing critical hardware....mobo, cpu's....it's a must to to reinstall the OS. This is because of the driver/firmware conflicts from old mobo to new mobo. Even though you have uninstalled all the old drivers, there is always some remnants left over which doesn't play nice with the current hardware as you have found out. Hence the reinstall is always done.

I know you didn't want to here this but the fact remains, a reinstall is required. Just back up and save any and all data you deem viable and then reinstall.

You'll be better off and less aggravation.

Good luck.

 

[gazz9496]

sad truth of it really, reinstall is the only option.

on occasion it is not required but you'd know by now.

 

[oxymoron02]

I did once find out how to swap a hard drive between entirely different systems, involving defaulting all drivers, and I mean all to legacy/generic Windows drivers common between all NT-based versions. It actually worked a treat too, but for the life of me I cannot find the link any more. It seems preposterous to think, but perhaps some things actually do get deleted from the internet from time to time!

That said, now you've already tried it and encountered errors 9which will have altered your MBR anyway), your only way forward is to clean install as Bass says.

 

[gazz9496]

sysprep tool built into windows, but it's too late for the op to take advantage of that tool now.

 

[TumbleweedBiff]

sysprep tool built into windows, but it's too late for the op to take advantage of that tool now.

Actually, it isn't.
I have a full image of the drive, including the system reserve partition, on a separate disk and I have the ability to revert to the other motherboard in fairly short order (albeit with a Phenom 965 instead of my Phenom 955).

So, How would I do this with the sysprep tool?

Second, the really irritating thing is that I do the occasional IT work for a small business. The server they have, one I built, is running Windows 2008 R2. It had the exact same motherboard I do: Asus M4A89GTD PRO/USB3. The board failed - network adapter died, other parts acting flaky, so I replaced it with the exact same board I am putting in my system: Asus Sabertooth 990FX, rev 1.1

That went without a hitch. The only problem was that it made me call a microsmurf and go through their incredibly frustrating voice prompt system which can never seem to understand my voice (native US - about as non-regional accent as you can get) and finally reactivate the blingin' thing. Beyond that, and updating the BIOS/installing the drivers for the MB - it was a total breeze.

Why is Window 7 having such a fit? This makes no sense at all!!

One piece I have stumbled upon which may well be a factor is the fact that the M4A89 uses a traditional BIOS where the Sabertooth uses UEFI. But again, Win Server 2008 which seems to have a great deal in common with Windows 7, didn't have the slightest problem with it.

The issues seems to be a function of the bloody bootloader and nothing more. If I could just get it to leave the system reserved partition as a non-lettered drive and keep c as c, I think it would boot fine.

 

[TVeblen]

Some folks have had good luck in your situation running Windows 7 Repair install from the Installation DVD to get the system up and going after changing a motherboard.

I personally do not like this solution because it leaves "phantom devices" and drivers on the system, but it is a viable "quick fix" until you have time to prepare for and do a clean install.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html

 

[TumbleweedBiff]

TVeblen, I don't see how I could run a "repair install". With Windows 7, that can only be done by running setup.exe from within Windows, as I understand it. Pretty stupid, I think. If I can get into Windows to run setup.exe, then I wouldn't have much need of a repair install ... Also, I had removed/uninstalled the m/b specific devices in the previous install before making the switch. That should eliminate the "ghost" items you reference above, along with running two or three different registry repair tools two or three times each once the new board is installed and running.

After much frustration and agony ... and about a day and a half of my life --- I had been booting from a few different tools to try to fix things: Windows 7 Ultimate image on USB (original installation media), PartMagic, Windows PE (Macrium Reflect rescue Cd), and one or two other things.

I found a Windows Recovery disk and booted from that. For the first time, I am offered an advanced startup screen (like you normally see when pressing F8). Choosing safe mode, I was able to boot. Again for the first time, at the screen which comes up when you choose "repair my computer", it displayed the windows install. It also ran the automatic process which it had been doing from other boots where it says that "startup repair has made changes and has to reboot." Viewing the details there also said that it had set the windows boot info in bootmgr to d:\windows ... etc. This time it said c:\windows ... Going to the command prompt and running bcdedit /enum (or is it bootrec? I forget, I have been back and forth so much ...) it actually displayed the original boot record this time of c:\windows, etc., instead of saying that the store could not be found or opened. Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition! Reboot, goes to startup repair, but the normal startup repair this time, instead of telling me to reboot from the install media. Startup repair ran, rebooted (after checking to make certain it hadn't again changed the system reserved partition to c:, etc.) and it actually booted to Windows.

Somewhere in that process I also booted safe mode, actually got into windows, and legitimately installed some of the drivers (not everything could be installed in safe mode, but enough it seems ...).

Other actions/changes which occurred at the end which may or may not have been a factor:
Although previously done, I changed the BIOS setting for the SATA to IDE instead of AHCI.
I updated the UEFI BIOS to the latest version (and again changed from AHCI to IDE ...).

Unfortunately, having done so many things, so many times, I am not clear on the exact order of actions which brought about success. But it is finally up and running and all the drivers successfully loaded at this point.

 

[MrShaky]

Simple Fix!

Thanks for posting what you did to get up & running again. I tried the simplest thing first--changing the SATA mode to IDE. That worked like a charm!

Thanks again!

 

[matts6887]

As a avid computer geek; I for one agree with most all of the above members; the only way to go is to start fresh and do a complete clean install of windows again from the start. That way you hopefully wont encounter any glitches.

 

[heaven]

After looking at these posts I've realised - and tried... with success - that another forums thread had the answer that also worked for me....simple but extremely effective...

Just by jumping into the bios and changing the SATA Controller mode from AHCI to IDE allowed the system to boot to Win 7 and then it was all happy days....

Thank you all for your suggestions but wiping and clean slating was not an option for me.

Check out the link:

http://www.dowdandassociates.com/bl...indows-7-install-after-replacing-motherboard/

 

[doctore]

Were you able to change back to AHCI afterwards?

Changing mobo and not doing clean install is a recipe for disaster. I am sure we will be hearing from you in the near future