Problems with Windows 7 installation

[Semi-Lobster]

With the Windows 7 RC finally ending soon I decided to use my University's MSDN stuff and get Windows 7, I installed it fine on my secondary computer and called it a night. The next day I went to a party and well had a lot of drinks and stumbled home. For some reason I thought 'now would be a good time to install Windows 7 and that new 1.5 TB HDD I was planning to put in' but... I seemed to have messed that up, I think I installed Ubuntu (which I don't know anything about) for some reason at some point, but wither way now I can't open anything up except through BIOS. I tried installing Windows on one of the HDDs from my main computer from my secondary one but it keeps loading Linux instead and when I try to install Windows 7 64-bit from my optical drive it keeps telling me that it can't continue because a 'driver is missing' but it doesn't tell me what driver it need! Can anybody help? Did I just brick 2 perfectly good hard drives? Is there anything I can do to fix this? I don't care about losing anything, I backed up everything already but how can I get the HDDs working with Windows 7?

 

[digibucc]

it doesn't sound like you could have bricked anything. you most likely screwed with your mbrs.

download a live linux disk or the like(Hirens, etc - anything with a partition manager you can run from cd) and delete the partitions on your drives. all data is then lost.

then boot the windows install disk and you can create a partition, format, and install from there.

 

[DirectorC]

Notorious problem in Windows 7 installation. I have heard of numerous causes to the problem. You may actually need a chipset driver on a floppy or USB stick to see the HDs from Win 7 install, or it could be this: "I simply turn off IDE emulation for SATA drives on my motherboard and the problem was solved"

 

[Semi-Lobster]

it doesn't sound like you could have bricked anything. you most likely screwed with your mbrs.

download a live linux disk or the like(Hirens, etc - anything with a partition manager you can run from cd) and delete the partitions on your drives. all data is then lost.

then boot the windows install disk and you can create a partition, format, and install from there.

Yes, I believe in my drunken stupor I fumbled around and deleted my MBRS. I've been using a Linux Live CD on USB (went with Ubuntu like I said) and managed to install it but... I don't really know much about how to work with Linux, so I'm not really sure how to partition stuff through it.

 

[Semi-Lobster]

Notorious problem in Windows 7 installation. I have heard of numerous causes to the problem. You may actually need a chipset driver on a floppy or USB stick to see the HDs from Win 7 install, or it could be this: "I simply turn off IDE emulation for SATA drives on my motherboard and the problem was solved"

Would all the drivers I need be on the chipset drivers or would I need something else? Also I'm pretty sure I turned off IDE emulation but then again I might not have, where in the BIOS would this generally be found?

 

[timta2]

Haha, you reminded me of the last time I was drunk and using the computer. I woke up the next day and couldn't find the rips of my CD collection that I had been working on for two weeks! Somehow I deleted them all. That was the last time I ever used the computer drunk.

I hope your problem gets resolved.

 

[digibucc]

well all you really want to do is delete the existing partitions. then windows install will see it as a fresh disk and you will be able to create partitions there, much easier.

what live disk are you using? what partition software is included?

 

[Semi-Lobster]

well all you really want to do is delete the existing partitions. then windows install will see it as a fresh disk and you will be able to create partitions there, much easier.

what live disk are you using? what partition software is included?

I've been 'trying' to use unetbootin which allows you to turn your USB stick into a recognizable live CD, as for partitioning I've been using gparted but to sum it all up I have nearly 0 experience with Linux and pretty much have 0 idea what I'm doing or even if I'm doing it correctly or not

 

[digibucc]

Ultimate Boot CD from a USB pendrive

UBCD is MUCH easier to work with than whatever that is. it should be able to delete linux partitions no problem. under "Hard Disk Tools" any one of those programs should do it. get more info by looking at the descriptions toward the middle of this page.

 

[Semi-Lobster]

Ok I've run into 2 problems,

1st after installing Linux/Ubuntu the program asked you to reboot, which I do but then it restarts I get a black screen and a flashing underscore that does nothing, it just sits there flashing. I have to reinstall ubuntu every time I turn off the computer.

2ndly when I try to run ultimate boot I get this:

Syslinux 3.72 2008-09-25 BIOS EBIOS Copyright (C) 1994-2008 H. Peter Anvin
could not find kernel image: linux
image:

And I don't know what do do next

Any help? I'm going crazy here, I can't believe I might have ruined $170 worth of HDDs!

 

[Baum]

http://gparted.sourceforge.net/livecd.php

as you are surfing, you have another pc.
just in case u mess with bios reset it to defaul and install the hard drives there then test if windows 7 sees them and deletes all partitions on it.
(seen by the amount of availible space) if not use the above and create a stick/cd and format all HD's to one big fat32 then use windows 7 to install and format to NTFS that might be a bit overhead but safe way i would go..

then please give some details:
Complete PC from HP/dell maybe, or selfbuild?
Mainboard?
HDD SATA and then connected to Mainboard directly? or to an raid/add on card?
How did you install windows in first place? Using a special disk with drivers build in? or just an systembuilder version, bought new no oem crap.