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Reinstalling Windows Problem


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Recently one of my coworkers brought a computer to me with a "Operating System Not Found". So the PC was sent to me to re-install Windows and I'm running into some problems.

I'm using a legal copy of Windows 7 64-bit w/ Service Pack 1

1. Trying to install Windows to the harddisk produces an error "Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk has an MBR partition table. On EFI systems, Windows can only be installed to GPT disks." and then it says "Windows cannot be installed to this disk. This computer's hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk's controller is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu".

2. Formatting the disk does nothing. I deleted the partition and tried to recreate it and it will not create a partition at all (I'm guessing it's related to the first problem)

3. Trying to go into "Repair Your Computer" on the disk produces the following: "This version of System Recovery Options is not compatible with the version of Windows you are trying to repair. Try using a recovery disc that is compatible with this version of Windows."

4. I tried changing settings in the BIOS but to no success. It gives me a Windows 7 option but because the disk is empty, it fails to boot.

I have another computer (the one I'm typing this on) that I can download and install applications to a USB key. Can anyone recommend any programs that I can install to a bootable USB stick to fix the MBR / GPT problem? I'm really lost on this one on how to fix it so I can install Windows again.

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Just a couple of questions I have.

1. So, Windows is saying that you're selecting an MBR partitioned drive, but since you have an EFI BIOS, it needs to be installed on a GPT disk, correct? Was Windows 7 installed on this computer before?

4. When you said you tried changing settings in the BIOS, what exactly did you change?

If you use the Microsoft Windows DVD/USB download tool, you can put Windows image on it and boot to the jump drive and install from there.

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Windows 7 was on it before fully operational.

The only setting changed was boot order and something about SCSI which went from something like ADHP (cant remember the term) to IDE and then I put it back again. This was after the fact that Windows would not install and I was grasping for straws.

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Ok try this:

  1. Delete all partitions or volumes on that disk by downloading and booting up with the latest GParted Live CD - http://gparted.sourceforge.net/download.php/
  2. You could not use the "Repair Your Computer" option because you were most likely using a 64-bit Windows Repair Disc when there was a 32-bit version of Windows 7 installed previously - you need to make a 32-bit version of the disc from a PC running a Windows 7 32-bit OS.
  3. Boot up with the 32-bit disc and go into the Command Prompt (in Advanced Options I believe).
  4. Then go here http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc738416%28WS.10%29.aspx and follow the command line steps to run the Diskpart tool needed to convert the disk to the GPT file system.
  5. If you succeeded in getting this to work, you should then be able to install Windows again without changing any BIOS settings. If you are using a Blue-Ray drive for the install, try switching to a standard DVD-R drive if the install still fails.

"something about SCSI which went from something like ADHP (cant remember the term) to IDE" - by this you probably mean the SATA operation mode being either IDE or AHCI, where this would only cause an issue if Windows 7 was already installed and then you changed that setting causing Windows not to boot.

Hope this all helps!

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