WIndows 7 issues

[nichiyanani]

Hello Everyone, I am a novice at computers hence pardon my ignorance on the most obvious.

I recently bought a gateway laptop with Windows 7 home premium. Everything was working fine, till I decided to partition my drive. I started the process and returned after a couple of hours to find the laptop totally "dead". I tried to reboot it and it keeps asking me to insert a recovery CD. Nowadays, the recovery CDs are not sold along with the laptops.

Hence, I downloaded the .iso file for Windows 7 54 bit from microsoft's website and burnt it on the CD and tried to boot the machine from there. But, no success. On some further investigation, I got this message:

pxe-e61: media test failure, operating system not found windows 7.

How bad is this? and what is the fix, if any?

Thanks a ton, in advance.

 

[whs]

Not sure what you did for the partitioning. That should have only taken a few minutes - not hours. It looks like you wiped the MBR (master boot record). Here is how you can rebuild the MBR, but for that you need the installation disk (which you should have burnt from the recovery partition. That is always first order of the day). Maybe where you bought the PC they can help you out with an installation CD. Else call Gateway. They will ship you one for a S&H charge.
For further discussions it would help if you exlained how you were trying to partition the disk. Here is my video tutorial that explains how it should have been done. Is that the way you did it?

 

[not so gray matter]

There is a way to create a recovery cd via downloads from Microsoft, but it is very complicated and long winded.

How to Create a Device Recovery CD by Using Windows PE and SDI

 

[hubris]

Hi,

have you tried this.

The way to restore Gateways is to hold down the ALT Key and by hitting f10 repeatedly, then it should bring you to a boot sequence screen then choose the HDD and then hold down ALT and repeatedly hit f10 again that should promt the restore feature for gateway.

Of course it may be f11 or f8.

Gateway manual should tell you.

A restore disk is the first thing to create before doing anything else to
you computer.

Mind you, I would miss out on some work if people did that all the time. LOL.

 

[nichiyanani]

Thanks for the quick response, WHS. Actually, what happened (I think) is that during the partition process, the computer restarted itself because the automatic updates were also scheduled at the same time (at least this is the most plausible explanation I can think of).

I did not do what you have recommended re: partitioning a disk (should have, it is a lot more intuitive). I was using one of the free commercially available softwares to partition the drive (I am trying to find the software I used. Also must admit that I got complacent and made the elementary mistake of not making an installation disk). I will try and get in touch with Gateway to get an installation disk.

Thanks.

 

[gregrocker]

Boot into the DVD Repair console or Repair CD, see if it finds an installation to repair.

If not, you can further check by downloading and burning free Partition Wizard bootable CD, booting it to explore any partitions which remain. If there is still a Windows 7, then check to see if it is marked Active, which it will need to be before Startup Repair can repair it's MBR from the DVD/Repair CD.

If not, then you can either attempt to boot the Recovery Partition, or contact your Tech Support if necessary which can also forward you Recovery Disks (the same ones you can burn off of the partition). But this method restores all of the factory bloatware which is corrupting in itself.

Since you have a Win7 installer, consider booting it to Custom clean install, using Drive tools to Delete all, create new partition(s) as you wish, then format before installing to first partition. The installer is nearly driver-complete, with newer quickly arriving in Optional Windows Updates. Any missing drivers in Device Mgr. or favorite apps can be found on the Support Downloads webpage for your model computer or Device.

As long as you install the same version as on your COA license sticker, the Product Key there will work after requiring a quick robocall to MS to sort out the exact key from batch.

 

[whs]

Thanks for the quick response, WHS. Actually, what happened (I think) is that during the partition process, the computer restarted itself because the automatic updates were also scheduled at the same time (at least this is the most plausible explanation I can think of).

I did not do what you have recommended re: partitioning a disk (should have, it is a lot more intuitive). I was using one of the free commercially available softwares to partition the drive (I am trying to find the software I used. Also must admit that I got complacent and made the elementary mistake of not making an installation disk). I will try and get in touch with Gateway to get an installation disk.

Thanks.

Hmm, here is, of course, the brutal way - that is to reinstall your system. Since it is pretty new, you should not have a lot of data on it. But you could recover it with this Linux live CD. Then you have to follow the Gateway procedure using your recovery partition.

 

[nichiyanani]

Thanks a lot, everyone, for the quick and intellectual comments. I have just ordered the disks from Gateway (I don't have the aptitude or inclination to spend any more time on troubleshooting this) and will take it from there.
Have learnt a lot with this experience!!!

 

[not so gray matter]

Sorry for the delay, but I wasn't sure whether the files I wanted to show you were legal or not. They are atleast allowed on the forums since Brink links to them in his tutorial on system recovery.

In the quote below you'll find a link to a website that has hosted System Recovery disks for Windows 7. You'll need a program such as uTorrent to download them, but once you do you can follow the tutorial to create a disk from them and restore your computer.

Create One with a Download

NOTE: This option is perfect if you do not have a retail Windows 7 installation DVD and only have a OEM Windows 7 recovery DVD or partition.

1. Download the same 32 bit (x86) or 64 bit ISO file from the link below for your 32-bit ot 64-bit Windows 7 version.
NOTE: This will be a torrent download. Be sure to read the instructions on how to download and use the torrent file at the site below.

Download Windows 7 System Recovery Discs — The NeoSmart Files

2. Follow the instructions at the site above to burn the ISO to a DVD disc.

3. Remove and label your new Windows 7 System Repair Disc from the CD/DVD drive.

Original Tutorial: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2083-system-repair-disc-create.html

 

[gregrocker]

You have a WIndows 7 installer for your version but you are going to use the Recovery Disks with all of the factory bloatware to reinstall?

Consider instead extracting favorite apps from your Gateway apps CD and adding to a superior clean install using the clean-copy installer, which is already driver-complete although any missing drivers should also be on the Gateway CD or at their website.

Personally I prefer the car I drive around town to not be loaded down inside and out with a half ton of vacation apparatus. Clean install is the way to get the bloat out without corruption - or use free Revo Uninstaller to remove as best you can.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/31402-clean-install-upgrade-windows-7-version.html