SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation

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  1. Posts : 22,814
    W 7 64-bit Ultimate
    Thread Starter
       #40

    Hello schandler, welcome to Seven Forums!





    Do you have other Hard Disk Drives (HDD) connected during the Windows 7 install?
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 13
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #41

    Hello, thanks for the welcome! Sorry I forgot to say my name is Stephen.

    Should also have mentioned more detail in my earlier question about the other HDDs, so here is the info:-

    It is an Alienware ALX desktop, all the drives are internal so they were all connected when I tried the W7 install.

    Drive 0 is 2 x 500GB configured as a 1TB RAID - it has Vista Ultimate 32bit installed, that is what the computer currently runs. I haven't touched that as I found the RAID setup on Alienware a bit troublesome so I wanted to leave it alone for now (if possible!)

    Drive 1 is a 1TB Hitachi (which I have just cleaned and partitioned using your very nice tutorial)

    Drive 2 is also a 1TB Hitachi, with a little data on it but could easily be cleaned.


    What I was trying to do was install W7 Ultimate 64bit on Drive 1, so that I could boot from that drive. Then, having safely installed W7 on there, I was was hoping that I could mess around with the other drives with more confidence. I was trying to avoid, at this stage, taking off the Vista from the RAID Drive 0, just in case things went wrong.....

    Is the problem something to do with Drive 0 still being on Vista?

    Any help enormously appreciated!!!

    Kind regards, and thanks again for the good job on the tutorial.

    Stephen
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 22,814
    W 7 64-bit Ultimate
    Thread Starter
       #42

    Hello Stephen, thank you for your kind words.




    Can you still boot into the Windows Vista install on the RAID setup?



    I have to go to work very soon, so I may have to continue this later today.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 13
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #43

    Hello, thanks!

    Your replies much appreciated so I look forward to hearing from you later!!

    Answer is yes, I can still boot on to the original Vista installation on the RAID drive 0.

    Oh, and in case it is relevant, I am trying to install from an original retail Microsoft Windows 7 64bit Ultimate DVD that I purchased specifically for this purpose - so I assume there should be nothing wrong with the DVD :)

    Thanks again for your kind help
    Stephen
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 12,177
    Windows 7 Ult x64 - SP1/ Windows 8 Pro x64
       #44

    Are you planning to dual boot with Vista and Win7?

    Or just run them both for a while, when your comfortable with Win7 then remove Vista?

    That's what most people do.

    How many partitions do you have on the Win7 target HDD?

    Any other OS on any of the hard drives besides Vista?

    Linux is known to be one of the causes of this issue.

    You can disconnect all other HDDs and run the Win7 install.
    If you want to Dual boot with Vista, D/L EasyBCD, boot into Vista and add new entry for Win7.

    If you are going to remove or not use Vista very much, then don't set up dual boot, just select Win7 HDD in Bios as first boot drive and go to BIOS when you want to boot into Vista.
    This will make it easy to remove Vista, as most people do after using Win7 for a while.
    Last edited by Dave76; 02 Sep 2010 at 08:39.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 13
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #45

    Hi, thanks for the good advice, yes that's exactly what I was planning/trying to do.

    Only trouble is, even after following BFK's excellent tutorial and having cleaned and partitioned my disc 1 properly, I still get this error message 0x80300024 when I try to install W7 afterwards. So the outcome is exactly the same as I was describing earlier in the thread.

    I believe that error 0x80300024 may apparently be a partition error, so I'm not sure what to do now as I've successfully partitioned according to BFK's instructions.

    If you have any other ideas that would be great, I think BFK may also be kindly tryiing to think of some other solutions..... so thanks to all in advance for any help!!

    Regards

    Stephen
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 13
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #46

    Hi

    Sorry I just noticed the key information slipped out of my reply. To answer your question -

    All the drives were only running/formatted with Vista 32 bit Ultimare. Drive 0 is a 1TB RAID, Drive 1 is 1TB and so is Drive 2. 1 and 2 were unpartitioned single drives (for data) and worked fine that way under Vista. Drive 0 obviously has the reserved partition for Vista.

    Now, all I have done is follow BFKs instructions in his tutorial. So I've taken Drive 1 (1TB) and cleaned it exactly as per instructions, then made a partition of 40GB exactly as per instrctions. So I guess Drive 1 which is my target for the install, now has a 40GB partition, and about 950GB or so, unallocated> Should I be making other partitions?

    Thanks again!

    Stephen
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 12,177
    Windows 7 Ult x64 - SP1/ Windows 8 Pro x64
       #47

    I have edited my post before your last post.

    If you want to keep the dual boot with Vista and Win7, then follow the steps in my previous post.
    Disconnect all other HDDs and install Win7, use EasyBCD to set up the dual boot.

    Let us know if you have any questions.

    Edit:

    Should be no need for additional partitions at this stage, you can add them after Win7 is installed.

    Just point the installation at the 40GB partition.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 13
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #48

    Hi
    Thanks for the excellent information. Just to say, I really prefer to just install W7 directly without need for dual boot. Only reason I was thinking of dual boot was failsafe (in case I found myself with a non-working machine!). Now after your advice I'm pretty confident to just go ahead with W7. Sorry one more question just to make sure I understand - this may be a dumb question ? do I need to physically disconnect the other drives before installing W7 on my drive 1 ? The reason I ask is, I am already pointing specifically to the clean 40GB partition on my target W7 drive, drive 1. And the W7 installer is giving me the error all the time as I mentioned.... So actually disconnecting the other drives will fix that?

    Sorry for all the basic questions. and thanks again

    Stephen
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 12,177
    Windows 7 Ult x64 - SP1/ Windows 8 Pro x64
       #49

    The last couple of post were overlapping, so a bit confusing.

    This error can be caused by a Linux installation, other Windows installation or an issue with number of partitions.

    I would recommend to physically disconnect all other HDDs except the one you want to install Win7 on.
    Set this HDD as first in the boot order in BIOS. Your computer will boot to Win7 when you start.

    EDIT: Check that AHCI is selected in your BIOS before installation, if you plan to use it.
    You will need to keep the setting in RAID to still be able to boot into Vista, which is on an array. This won't affect the non-RAID HDDs.

    You can keep Vista for as long as you like. To boot to it you will have to select your boot option as the computer starts the booting sequence. F12 for my computer, yours may be different.

    When Win7 is installed and running good. Shut down and re-connect the other HDDs.
    Just be sure the Win7 HDD is first in the boot order and you'll be fine.

    Let us know if there are any questions.
    Last edited by Dave76; 02 Sep 2010 at 10:02.
      My Computer


 
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