Windows 7 repair woes

[Aggrajag]

Hi there,

My copy of Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (upgraded ages ago from Vista - both discs 100% legal) has started to misbehave.

I had a hard disk crash recently shortly after installing SP1. It kept locking up EVERYTHING for 30 seconds every minute. Fortunately I could clone the disc via USB so I cloned it onto a new disk which amazingly seemed to work very well.

However I now discover many small things do not work such as the Task Scheduler won't run anything (I can't even create new tasks), the StartUp group won't run anything and I also cannot get the SearchIndexer service to start so the Find facility doesn't work well. Somehow the remaining 95% of the computer runs perfectly well and I can still do emails, surf and play games etc.

However I would like to mend it.

Since the crash I have no older System Restore options so I need to do an in-place repair or re-install however my discs are for Win7 original so when I run them I get an error saying 'Your computer has a newer version of the O/S already installed' (or words to that effect).

I've tried uninstalling SP1 but it won't let me - just comes up with a failure message.

I'm going to try re-installing SP1 on the off-chance that it repairs whatever is damaged but failing that how do I do an in-place re-install? Do I download a 'dodgy' torrent of Win7 SP1? Will that work with my valid serial number?

What else can I try?

Thanks in advance,

Aggrajag

 

[jpdepucci11]

Hello sir- The best answers I usually have come from experience. And that is to start from scratch. If you have the "upgrade" cd's <WIN 7> then it is imparitive that you re-load vista and all updates prior to running the windows 7 upgrade. That's the only way you are going to get that OS back the way it was.

If that's not an option you might want to look in to purchasing the windows 7 home premium disks which are different from the "upgrade" disks. I know this is not the option you were looking for but many times I have seen simialr circumstances - which is why I never- and I mean NEVER buy upgrade CD's.

Good luck!

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Hello Aggrajag, welcome to Seven Forums!


The best way forward and you would be better off in the long run to do a complete wipe of the Hard Disk Drive and a clean install of Windows 7, have a look through the information presented below before you decide and be sure to post back with any further questions you may have and to keep us informed.

If you can't wipe the entire HDD; you could use the Option Three in this tutorial at the link below to do a partition-specific wipe of the Windows partition to get the best possible space to clean install Windows 7 to.

Partition Wizard : Use the Bootable CD


After you have copied out or made back-ups of the data you need to save to external media, use Step One of this tutorial at the first link below to do a wipe (secure erase) to the entire Hard Disk Drive / Solid State Drive.

• Then if you do not want to create the new Windows 7 "System Reserved" partition use the outline in Step Two #2 to create, format and mark Active a single 100GB partition to do the installation to.
• If you do want to create the "System Reserved" partition use the outline in Step Two #3 to create, format and mark Active the System Reserved partition and then create and format the 100GB partition to do the installation to.

Either way, running the "clean all" then creating and formatting the partition(s) using diskpart will get you the best possible space to do a clean install of Windows 7 to; you can always extend the Windows partition to include the remaining unallocated space on the HDD / SSD or create additional Primary partitions or an Extended partition after the installation completes if you choose.

SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation

DISKPART : At PC Startup

Do a Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version

 

[Bill2]

Hello sir- The best answers I usually have come from experience. And that is to start from scratch. If you have the "upgrade" cd's <WIN 7> then it is imparitive that you re-load vista and all updates prior to running the windows 7 upgrade. That's the only way you are going to get that OS back the way it was.

If that's not an option you might want to look in to purchasing the windows 7 home premium disks which are different from the "upgrade" disks. I know this is not the option you were looking for but many times I have seen simialr circumstances - which is why I never- and I mean NEVER buy upgrade CD's.

Good luck!

1) Upgrade media can be used to clean install windows.

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

2) Upgrade disks work perfectly fine and can be used to do everything a full dvd does. Dont waste money on a full dvd.

 

[jpdepucci11]

I stand corrected

Hello sir- The best answers I usually have come from experience. And that is to start from scratch. If you have the "upgrade" cd's <WIN 7> then it is imparitive that you re-load vista and all updates prior to running the windows 7 upgrade. That's the only way you are going to get that OS back the way it was.

If that's not an option you might want to look in to purchasing the windows 7 home premium disks which are different from the "upgrade" disks. I know this is not the option you were looking for but many times I have seen simialr circumstances - which is why I never- and I mean NEVER buy upgrade CD's.

Good luck!

1) Upgrade media can be used to clean install windows.

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

2) Upgrade disks work perfectly fine and can be used to do everything a full dvd does. Dont waste money on a full dvd.

----------------------

I stand corrected - Thank you for the info. However, this is something I would never do.

 

[gregrocker]

You'd need to wait until retail installers with SP 1 come out to locate one to do a Repair Install unless you can uninstall SP1 - slipstreamed installers will not work.

But since you're running an inferior in-place Upgrade install anyway, why not bite the bullet and clean reinstall following these tips to get a perfect reinstall which you can then image so you never have to reinstall again:

Back up your files externally, make your Recovery Disks or save a Backup Image of the entire HD first so you have a path back to factory condition.

Boot the Windows 7 installer, choose Custom Install, then Drive Options (Advanced) to delete all partitions not needed - save your Recovery partition if you can't make the disks or want to retain the most stable method to run Factory Recovery in the future.

If you delete all partitions to create New ones and format, the installer will issue a 100mb System Reserved boot partition which conveniently places the Repair Console (normally only on the DVD or Repair CD) on the F8 Advanced Boot Tools menu. Partition as you wish and format before install following illustrated steps given here: Clean Install Windows 7

The installer is mostly driver-complete, with newer arriving quickly via optional Windows Updates. Just in case, have your Wireless driver on flash stick or CD so you can get online quickly. Then enable hardware driver auto-updating and check for optional Updates.

Any drivers still missing in Device Manager can be found on the Support Downloads webpage for your model computer or device. Driver Install - Device Manager

Install updates and then programs slowly over time to gauge performance after each. Don't let any programs write themselves into msconfig>Startup as they slow startup, become freeloaders on your RAM/CPU and can spy on you. I only allow AV and gadgets. Startup Programs - Change

Use a lightweight free AV like MS Security Essentials which works perfectly with Windows 7 Firewall. http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

When it is finished, clean and order the HD perfectly using state-of-the-art free CCleaner Disk and Registry tabs, then Puran boot-time defragger after adding it's Intelligent Optimizer on Additional Operations tab.
CCleaner - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com
http://download.cnet.com/Puran-Defrag-Free-Edition/3000-2094_4-11386432.html

Then save a Windows 7 Backup image externally so you never have to reinstall again, just reimage the HD (or replacement) using DVD/Repair CD with the stored image. Backup Complete Computer - Create an Image Backup

 

[Aggrajag]

What a fabulous set of useful and considered replies! Thank you everyone, I'm seriously impressed.

Just for an reference I tried to re-install SP1 but it says it's already installed - so I can't install or uninstall that.

I really am loathed to do a complete reformat & reinstall purely because of all the software I will need to reconfigure. However I am slowly leaning that way so I've started to download everything I'll need at work. You don't realise what a PITA it is living at home with only a 1Mb connection.

I did source an ISO that purports to be full SP1 so I'll give that a bash as a last resort in-place re-install and then failing that (I don't have high expectations) I'll do an install on Monday - I need the PC available this weekend so I'm not going to risk breaking it before then

Thanks again everyone.

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

I did source an ISO that purports to be full SP1 so I'll give that a bash as a last resort in-place re-install and then failing that (I don't have high expectations) I'll do an install on Monday - I need the PC available this weekend so I'm not going to risk breaking it before then

Thanks again everyone.

If you do have this, it may be possible to run a repair install to the installed Windows 7 SP 1, though as you say, I wouldn't hold my breath; of course the ISO would have to be burned to DVD.

Run a malware scan of the ISO first.


How to Do a Repair Install to Fix Windows 7

ImgBurn Free ISO Burning Software burn it at no greater than 4x with a verify

 

[gregrocker]

Here's how to uninstall SP1, even if you can't: How to uninstall Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1)

You can run the extracted or mounted Install ISO w/SP1 from desktop to Repair Install but I'd have your Install DVD or Repair CD standing by for rescue purposes. Back up your files.

 

[Aggrajag]

As a follow-up... I couldn't uninstall SP1 even using the above method so I took the plunge with the SP1 ISO burnt onto DVD. I scanned it at work with Symantec Endpoint Protection and then again at home with Avast. I then ran a full in-place install and it worked a dream.

Now my Windows add/remove components has about 2 pages rather than about 6 entries. Everything seems to work perfectly.

Thank you all for your advice, I appreciate it.

 

[Shootist]

I stand corrected - Thank you for the info. However, this is something I would never do.

And why wouldn't you use a upgrade DVD to install the OS Clean when you have a all right to do so.

 

[gregrocker]

Was this ISO a Win7 installer with SP1 slipstreamed in manually, or one which was provided with SP1 already included?

The reason I ask is because it is believed that slipstreamed Win7 installers cannot run a Repair Install, one must have a Win7 with SP1 installer.

 

[Aggrajag]

I downloaded the ISO via Torrent as I believe I have the legal right to a copy (I do worry about these things but I do have the Vista full license + the Win7 upgrade licence and then had a useless original disc having installed SP1.)

The ISO was listed as SP1 and did not mention slip-streaming.

 

[gregrocker]

Probably a technet or MSDN ISO. I hope you checked the comments to make sure it wasn't cracked or had anything else added, and then rightclick scanned it with your AV and Malwarebytes .

How was it activated?

 

[Aggrajag]

Yes I did mention in the last but one post I'd scanned it with Symantec Endpoint Protection and also Avast. There were no comments that suggested it was anything other than a legit SP1 ISO and indeed it did activate normally with my existing serial (which I didn't need to re-key in.)

Is there anything on the disc I could examine to tell you which model/version/serial/type it actually is?

 

[Bill2]

Check the hash with hashtab or something similar. Then compare to official msdn and technet hashes. Use google.

 

[gregrocker]

How is performance?

If you reinstalled with the Product Key on the COA sticker which came with the computer, at what point did you input the key to activate it? It has to be inputted at some point or it might be a self-activating cracked ISO. We can help you determine this if there is a question about whether you inputted the key or not.

 

[Aggrajag]

Good question. I've been racking my brains as I did it all automatically, brain switched off, but I'm pretty sure on reflection that I did enter the key during install and not 4 days later when it asked me to activate.

I am legal regardless but in any case is there a way for me to tell that the installation is legit?

 

[gregrocker]

Run Belarc Advisor to see if the Product Key it reads from your HD is the same as the one on your COA sticker: Belarc Advisor - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com

Allow Belarc to also fully audit all of your security updates so you know you're complete, and save a copy of it so you have a complete audit of your hardware and all installed software versions and keys for future reference.

 

[Aggrajag]

Nice bit of software, thanks for the heads-up. Yep it all matches. Hurrah!