Problem going from Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit to Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit!

James Kendrick

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Aug 1, 2015
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I'm having a SERIOUSLY frustrating yet possibly simple issue. I bought a used Compaq Presario CQ61-411wm laptop. It originally had Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit. I did a clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate shortly after and didn't realize my mistake (that it was the 32 bit version of Ultimate) until it was too late. Now that I've FINALLY got a copy of Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit I get the error message "A required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing".
I don't have a USB flash drive nor does my laptop have an SD card reader. Can someone PLEASE HELP me find a simple way to fix this! I don't mind losing my data because I backed it up on external hard drive, but I get this error and I'm trying to do a clean install. I've Googled for that particular driver and it takes me to those automatic driver finders which I don't need because 1 don't trust them and 2 my laptop works, I just need that ONE driver downloaded! It gives me the option to manually browse for it so I believe if I put it in My Documents and clicked it would begin the installation.
PLEASE AND THANK YOU TO ANYONE WHO CAN HELP!
 

James Kendrick

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Aug 1, 2015
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Alright, I'll start from square one here... I'm currently running Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit, so I put the Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit DVD into my laptop (Compaq Presario CQ61 411wm) with 4 GB RAM. I restart my computer and it says "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD" so I hit enter. It goes to the next screen saying "Windows is loading files..." with the loading bar at the bottom. It finishes and goes to the next screen which says "Starting Windows" with the animated Windows 7 logo thingy. I then get to the screen with the Install Windows with the options of Language to install, Time and currency format, and Keyboard or input method (I leave it all default which is English) then click next. An error message pops up (title at top of box says Load Driver" saying "A required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing. If you have a driver floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB flash drive, please insert it now."

"Note: If the Windows installation media is in the CD/DVD drive, you can safely remove it for this step."
My options are Browse, OK, and Cancel. My CD/DVD drive is [hp dvdram gt20l ata device]I so I browsed for the 32 bit driver in my System 32 folder which is [cdrom.sys] and it is incorrect (obviously because it's asking me for the 64 bit version) so I downloaded both Windows 7 Ultimate 32 and 64 bit driver to my download folder and it won't let me select either of the two. I can see the download folder, but it doesn't allow me to open it. The screen behind this error message has a checkbox that says "Hide drivers that are not compatible with hardware on this computer." I even unchecked the box and it still won't let me chose the drivers in the download folder which are on Drive C.
I keep hitting the re-scan option (even popped the Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit DVD in and it wouldn't load the driver.)
However I ended up doing a clean install of 32 bit which I'm using now and it works perfectly fine, but my laptop is designed and came with 64 bit and I'd like to make the switch back to what it was designed for with a clean install. In the background there step 1: Collecting information which is where I'm stuck. And step 2: Installing Windows which it WILL NOT get to! I'm frustrated, I've tried EVERYTHING I can think of, and am even willing to mail my last six dollars if your advice is relatively simple and helps me get this DONE AND OVER WITH!!!
 

James Kendrick

Reputable
Aug 1, 2015
3
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4,510


Ok, so there is a bit of a difference between my problem and this answer, but it's not quite what I was asking. I'm installing from a Windows 7 Ultimate DVD in my laptops CD/DVD drive and in this video everything is being done from a USB flash drive, yet I don't own a USB drive...
I've never installed any OS from USB before, but if I acquire one I'll definitely give it a shot and let you know if it helps, but it'll be a while before I can afford one.
In the meanwhile I'd like to find a simple solution such as downloading the missing driver to my laptop and clicking browse and choosing (which I've tried but it doesn't show up.)
I have one or two blank DVD's left I could burn the driver onto, but since it's the official copy of Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit from Microsoft right out of the box I shouldn't be having this issue. I've known people to have issues with downloaded/pirated versions of Windows before, but I figured for sure Microsoft would include all their drivers needed on the disc.