Okay I really REALLY need help here guys. Over the course of the last week I have spent my waking hours trying to figure out a solution to the problems that my laptop had been experiencing. First, let me give you a rundown of the laptop:
Sony Vaio E-Series (VPCEG25EG)
Intel Core i3 Processor
2 GB RAM
320 GB SATA HDD
The laptop came pre-installed with Windows 7 Home Basic and when Windows 8 came out, I upgraded the laptop. Upon the upgrade, it was working fine, however as months went by, the performance became slower and slower. It all came to a head when last week, upon restarting the laptop, it showed me an “Operating System not detected” error and doesn’t progress past that. Luckily, I was able to salvage my files through a solution I found in the internet.
The next step I decided would be to re-install windows 8 using a new installation CD I purchased. When I booted up to the CD, I chose the “Custom Installation” as it allowed me to overwrite the main HDD that I could no longer get into. However, the installation got stuck on the “Installing Features” portion so I decided to force shut down the laptop. Upon retrying the installation, I noticed that it was now giving me a prompt that I could not install windows on the hard disk (the one that had previously worked), instead it was telling me that:
"Windows cannot be installed to this disk, the computer's hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk's controller is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu."
The problem is the BIOS of my laptop is InsydeH20, which is EXTREMELY LIMITED in the options that I could modify, the only meaningful one under the boot tab is the boot startup priorities. I can’t even mod or unlock the advanced settings of the BIOS because the laptop doesn’t boot to Windows. (Upon running normally, it gives me the system recovery error message and then I can’t progress past that)
After which, I tried taking the HDD out of the laptop and placing it within an enclosure so that I can format the drive from a secondary computer (I succeeded in formatting it as NTFS). However, upon placing it back, I discovered that not only was I unable to install windows on the hard drive still, the installation itself couldn’t recognize the HDD. The installation menu DOES NOT show any drives that I could install Windows 8 to. I tried downloading the SATA drivers from the internet and then choosing to “Load Drivers” via the installation menu but when it tries installing them, all I get is another prompt that says:
“To continue installing Windows, use the Load Driver option to install 32-bit and signed 64-bit drivers. Installing an unsigned 64-bit device driver isn’t supported, and Windows might not work if you install it.”
This brings me to my present situation, I HONESTLY DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO ANYMORE. I fear that it’s the BIOS settings that may have changed (something about the SATA ports not being properly set) Is there a way to unlock the InsydeH20 BIOS advanced settings on a non-booting computer? I have access to the command prompt from the installation CD but that’s about it. Also, if I buy a new SATA HDD and place it within the laptop, will the problem persist? Will the laptop keep on not recognizing ANY HDD at all? If it’s not the BIOS, could it be that I’m doing something wrong with downloading and selecting the SATA drivers?
The most frustrating part is that I can’t even view if the SATA ports are enabled or set to AHCI or IDE or whatever it should be, I’m not really a techie so all the knowledge I’ve learned from trying to solve the problem are self-taught or that which I read and understood from the internet, which makes it incredibly difficult for me to pursue highly technical solutions.
Simply put, I just want a fresh install of Windows on the laptop, but the problems that I’m encountering make it seem like I should just give up on the endeavor altogether as I am really exhausted from trying to figure out how to make it work.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Sony Vaio E-Series (VPCEG25EG)
Intel Core i3 Processor
2 GB RAM
320 GB SATA HDD
The laptop came pre-installed with Windows 7 Home Basic and when Windows 8 came out, I upgraded the laptop. Upon the upgrade, it was working fine, however as months went by, the performance became slower and slower. It all came to a head when last week, upon restarting the laptop, it showed me an “Operating System not detected” error and doesn’t progress past that. Luckily, I was able to salvage my files through a solution I found in the internet.
The next step I decided would be to re-install windows 8 using a new installation CD I purchased. When I booted up to the CD, I chose the “Custom Installation” as it allowed me to overwrite the main HDD that I could no longer get into. However, the installation got stuck on the “Installing Features” portion so I decided to force shut down the laptop. Upon retrying the installation, I noticed that it was now giving me a prompt that I could not install windows on the hard disk (the one that had previously worked), instead it was telling me that:
"Windows cannot be installed to this disk, the computer's hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk's controller is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu."
The problem is the BIOS of my laptop is InsydeH20, which is EXTREMELY LIMITED in the options that I could modify, the only meaningful one under the boot tab is the boot startup priorities. I can’t even mod or unlock the advanced settings of the BIOS because the laptop doesn’t boot to Windows. (Upon running normally, it gives me the system recovery error message and then I can’t progress past that)
After which, I tried taking the HDD out of the laptop and placing it within an enclosure so that I can format the drive from a secondary computer (I succeeded in formatting it as NTFS). However, upon placing it back, I discovered that not only was I unable to install windows on the hard drive still, the installation itself couldn’t recognize the HDD. The installation menu DOES NOT show any drives that I could install Windows 8 to. I tried downloading the SATA drivers from the internet and then choosing to “Load Drivers” via the installation menu but when it tries installing them, all I get is another prompt that says:
“To continue installing Windows, use the Load Driver option to install 32-bit and signed 64-bit drivers. Installing an unsigned 64-bit device driver isn’t supported, and Windows might not work if you install it.”
This brings me to my present situation, I HONESTLY DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO ANYMORE. I fear that it’s the BIOS settings that may have changed (something about the SATA ports not being properly set) Is there a way to unlock the InsydeH20 BIOS advanced settings on a non-booting computer? I have access to the command prompt from the installation CD but that’s about it. Also, if I buy a new SATA HDD and place it within the laptop, will the problem persist? Will the laptop keep on not recognizing ANY HDD at all? If it’s not the BIOS, could it be that I’m doing something wrong with downloading and selecting the SATA drivers?
The most frustrating part is that I can’t even view if the SATA ports are enabled or set to AHCI or IDE or whatever it should be, I’m not really a techie so all the knowledge I’ve learned from trying to solve the problem are self-taught or that which I read and understood from the internet, which makes it incredibly difficult for me to pursue highly technical solutions.
Simply put, I just want a fresh install of Windows on the laptop, but the problems that I’m encountering make it seem like I should just give up on the endeavor altogether as I am really exhausted from trying to figure out how to make it work.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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