Can't repair windows install?

[1DMF]

Hi,

I seem to be going round in circles unable to repair a Windows Pro install.

SFC finds corruption but can't fix the problem.
Mr Fixit Portable finds problems but can't fix them

So I try a repair install (AKA Upgrade?)...

It runs fine, no compatibility issues, no errors, all looks good, only at the point of finalising the install, it pops up a message "Windows setup could not configure to run on this computer's hardware".

What is it talking about? it came with Windows 7, it's ran windows 7 for years.

The computer then reboots and rolls back the entire install/upgrade.

I have tried c:\windows\system32\oobe\Msoobe , but that only appears to work, but when you reboot, the rollback just runs again.

How can I fix this install without wiping the HDD?

Thanks,
1DMF





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[ArizonaGeek]

Check to see whether you have 32 bit or 64 bit Windows installed and are trying to repair using the opposite. So if you have 32 bit installed and are trying to repair with a 64 bit disk or vice versa. This won't work and it will require a wipe of the hard drive and might throw the error you're experiencing.

The answer is always "PEBKAC!

 

[cdogg]

What's the make/model of the computer?

Are you running the Windows DVD from a built-in DVD-ROM drive, or are you using a USB DVD-ROM?

Windows 7 32-bit or 64-bit?



-Carl
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[1DMF]

It's a Toshiba Satellite Pro C660

It's Windows 7 Pro 64bit

I was using the DVD I purchased, but gave up and torrented the Retail version as I had read that the OEM DVD can't perform a proper repair but the retail version can against OEM.

Also the laptop originally came with Windows 7 Home and had been upgraded to Pro with an upgrade key by our IT support company, but it seems badly as the OS was corrupt, hence me having to sort it out!

However, the bootable USB stick I created with Windows 7 Pro 64bit Retail, failed with the same error.

Then I found this MSKB :

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2466753

Which has resolved the problem. (Method 2)

It was the BIOS setting with the HDD on AHCI, I put it on [Compatibility] (which is IDE/ATA), and it has repair/upgrade installed fine.

It has accepted my Win 7 Pro upgrade key and is now fixing .NET as a message when logging on to the users desktop showed

Set up has detected that the .NET framework 4.5 needs to be repaired

I can only assume the upgrade from Home to Pro by the support company had a load of errors and didn't work properly due to the BIOS HDD setting and they just ignored them.

Also this Laptop doesn't have RAID, so the MSKB is a little misguided, and last but not least it also claims that this issue doesn't affect Windows 7 with SP1 which is complete and utter rubbish, as both the DVD and USB versions were Win7 with SP1.

Took most of the day and will take some of this morning to finish off and was very frustrating indeed, but got their in the end, so hope it helps other with the same problem!



"In complete darkness we are all the same, it is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"
Free Electronic Dance Music

 

[cdogg]

Were you able to set the hard drive back to AHCI afterwards?

Instead of changing it to IDE mode, the preferred option would have been to download the proper Intel Rapid Storage driver for the laptop from Toshiba's website and load the driver before running the repair. That way, you wouldn't risk anchoring the Windows installation to IDE mode.

-Carl
"The glass is neither half-full nor half-empty: it's twice as big as it needs to be."

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[1DMF]

I left it, got to the point "If it aint broke!".

Why does it matter?

"In complete darkness we are all the same, it is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"
Free Electronic Dance Music

 

[cdogg]

AHCI can make a huge difference overall. It brings extra features to the table, such as Native Command Queueing (NCQ), which help improve the hard drive's read/write performance. The biggest impact occurs with SSDs and multiple HDDs, but even on a single drive, the performance difference will likely be noticeable.

Not a major concern leaving it in IDE mode, but for future reference, it's always best to leave AHCI intact when possible. It doesn't cost anything to squeeze the extra potential out of the HDD.

-Carl
"The glass is neither half-full nor half-empty: it's twice as big as it needs to be."

[tab][navy]For this site's posting policies, click [/navy]here.

 

[eburks]

Windows 7 is not like XP, you can change from IDE to AHCI after install

I would install the latest drivers for my boot drive controller and make a system restore point first



You start with step 1 while you are still in IDE mode.

1) Run the Registry Editor (regedit.exe)
2) Navigate to Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci
3) Set the "Start" value to 0 (zero)
4) Navigate to Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Pciide
5) Set the "Start" value to 0 (zero)
6) Shut down
7) Start up again, BEFORE Windows boots go into the BIOS configuration screens and change the disk mode to "AHCI". Save the new BIOS configuration and restart so that Windows boots.

When Windows starts, it will detect the change, load new disk drivers, and do one more reboot to start up with them.

 

[cdogg]

eburks, thanks for the info. There are a number of ways to force Windows to switch from IDE compatibility mode to AHCI, but that way sounds like the easiest I've ever heard of. I'll have to try it sometime.

I suspect, however, if you've NEVER had AHCI turned on in the current Windows install, then installing the latest AHCI driver is not as simple as running the driver's setup.exe. The reason is when the SATA controller is running in IDE mode, the driver setup won't detect a compatible AHCI controller and will exit without installing. This happens with Intel's Rapid Storage Controller driver, for example. Now if the system was built before 2012, then it might work fine. Windows 7 has built-in drivers that will handle most older AHCI controllers. But if it's a newer system, you're out of luck unless you can force the driver to install prior to the reboot.



-Carl
"The glass is neither half-full nor half-empty: it's twice as big as it needs to be."

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[dilettante]

If you have Windows 7 SP1 you need a Windows 7 SP1 DVD, i.e. one that has SP1 "slipstreamed" into it.