Windows 10 install on faulty Windows 7 drive

[Danny111]

So this morning my PC would not boot. Not even F8 and then safe mode worked. Normal it just gets stuck at "Starting Windows" screen.

Last night everything was fine. I have two things in mind, obviously some sort of virus. The other, Nvidia told me last night it had an update, maybe it installed it on it's own and it just doesn't work and makes Windows start up fail.

I don't know. I have a second PC I put my SSD in there, BSOD. Which is ok maybe some hardware there doesn't work. Tonight I will connect it to the second PC as a secondary drive and get all the files off of it (yes I know, from now on I will regularly make backups) so from that perspective I should at least be safe and have my files.

The question now is, is it a smart thing to use:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/media-creation-tool-install?ocid=ms_wol_win10

I.e. to install Windows 10 as a clean install over this potentially corrupt version of Windows 7 or possibly corrupt GPU?

How could I find out if the GPU is the problem here, be it driver or itself is failing?

ps Is there any way to find the Product Key if I use the SSD as a secondary? Because I bought W7 back in the day as a download from a student offer, and have no idea what my key is. I remember I should somewhere have a notepad file w7 key where I noted it down, but potentially I will not be able to find it.

Sorry for the wall of text. I am a bit shocked/desperate.

 

[Shaun o]

Power your system on, and keep tapping your F8 key on your keyboard.
You should get to a menu asking you how you want to boot windows 10.

Choose safe mode.
If windows loads to the deskstop, or login screen through safe mode.
It tells you that the problem lies with what was done with the system last before it was shut down for the night ect.

As you said it could be driver related so if you did install a driver, or a windows update file, or a software program you installed.

Simply go to the back up and restore option of windows 10.
There should be a system restore point or one that was created just before a new driver, or Ms update was applied to windows 10 OS.

Simply click on it if the time and date match the day before it happened.

Let system restore run, and restart the system letting it load in normal windows mode.

Should fix the problem without having to re install windows 10 for you, or needing a licence key to activate windows 10 again.


My best advice is to create a system back up of the OS as it stands, if you have more than one hard drive in your system with enough free space to store the backup image created of your windows 10 os install.

Next create a system restore disk and burn it to a CD, or Dvd via a RW drive if you have one.
Or use a usb pen, storage device.

It saves you a lot of time because it not only keeps the image of windows 10 install, but also any programs you have installed at the same time when you make a backup image.
Saving you lot`s of time, other than installing windows again and all of the extra software you may of installed for work, or games.
Taking up less time for you and making it far more easy.

It also comes in handy if your main boot drive fails and you have to replace it. by using the backup image it`s a quick and painless operation in such a case as a Boot drive you currently have failing, and installing to a fresh new Boot drive bought.

Good solid advice and a time saving tip, plus getting you out of a sticky windows boot problem.

 

[Zyb3r]

Hi

To check if it is your GPU that is failing, I would recommend taking the GPU out and then either using another one, or prefably the onboard graphics card and see if it boots.

As far as installing windows 10 over a potentially corrupt windows 7, I would not recommend this. I have had several problems with upgrading to windows 10 from windows 7 and 8.1. If the operating system was not 100% and up to date when I did the upgrade, the installation just corrupted things even more. If you want to go the format root, I would format the drive, reinstall windows 7, update it completely and then do the upgrade to windows 10 with that tool. If you create a bootable disk for windows 10 and boot from it, it asks you for a cd key for windows 10, which only people that actually bought it has. So your best bet is to recover your windows 7 key. There is software available that can help you get your cd key even if you lost it, as far as I know it basically scans your registery.

Hope this helps

 

[Danny111]

Thanks for the reply.

Maybe I was not clear - I am currently using Windows 7. I want to maybe use the opportunity (or a lack of a Windows 7 iso as well) to install Windows 10.

And currently my Windows 7 will not even start in safe mode. It gets stuck at some .sys (I am not at home anymore and did not note down which .sys it gets stuck at).

But yes, I will most certainly use my secondary HDD from now on to store important files at end of day and a copy of my windows., thank you for that tip. But for now, I guess we are always smarter afterwards.

For now, I will when I get home connect the SSD as a secondary to another PC, save everything. Then connect to it's PC again and see if I can do system restore (I fear without a w7 iso I cannot do a proper repair) and maybe it was a driver and the restore will help. Though if it is a driver, shouldn't safe mode work?

 

[Danny111]

Hi

To check if it is your GPU that is failing, I would recommend taking the GPU out and then either using another one, or prefably the onboard graphics card and see if it boots.

As far as installing windows 10 over a potentially corrupt windows 7, I would not recommend this. I have had several problems with upgrading to windows 10 from windows 7 and 8.1. If the operating system was not 100% and up to date when I did the upgrade, the installation just corrupted things even more. If you want to go the format root, I would format the drive, reinstall windows 7, update it completely and then do the upgrade to windows 10 with that tool. If you create a bootable disk for windows 10 and boot from it, it asks you for a cd key for windows 10, which only people that actually bought it has. So your best bet is to recover your windows 7 key. There is software available that can help you get your cd key even if you lost it, as far as I know it basically scans your registery.

Hope this helps

Hi, thank you for your help!

1. Ok great, can I just disable GPU in Bios so I don't have to take it out completely? Or I guess unplugging cables is enough, no need to unscrew, right?

2. I severely doubt I have my w7 iso. I had it for a long time but recently I cleaned up my USB drive and everything and I fear in a moment of recklessness thought the huge size was bothering me and removed it...facepalm. Also I did buy it, when there was an offer for students on some website so it was legit that is no problem, but yes, microsoft don't let you download iso's anymore. Can I not just do a windows 10 install on a formatted SDD? It needs to have had a windows 7 pre-installed rather than just needing a w7 product key?

3. Saying I cannot find my notepad file with my key, how can I scan my registry if that windows 7 version doesn't load? Can I do this when it's connected as a secondary drive to another PC? I guess the registry files are still there on the SDD even if it is not running windows at the time, right, in some Windows folder?

 

[Zyb3r]

Hello again

Yes, if it is just a driver your PC should be able to start into safe mode. If you remove the GPU can the PC boot?

 

[Danny111]

Hello again

Yes, if it is just a driver your PC should be able to start into safe mode. If you remove the GPU can the PC boot?

That is rather disheartening, because it couldn't start in safe mode this morning. I need to get back home (at work atm) and try that.

 

[Danny111]

Quick update:
http://www.howtogeek.com/206329/how-to-find-your-lost-windows-or-office-product-keys/

"If you want to recover a key from a dead computer, you can hook up the hard drive to a working PC, and then run ProduKey and use File -> Select Source to point to the external Windows directory. You can then grab the keys from that computer easily."

So at least I will be able to find my product key.

But question remains if no repair/restore works, I will have to install w7 again. Where can I get a w7 ISO from (assuming I don't find mine anymore)? After a lot of googling, Microsoft does not offer a dl of these anymore.

I guess at worst I can get one off a torrent, just install it upgrade everything then to the upgrade to windows 10 and then clean install windows 10 so if any crap was on the torrent w7 version it's totally overwritten. But that's worst case scenario (and surely not something microsoft would want to encourage).

 

[Zyb3r]

According to this http://www.howtogeek.com/224342/how-to-clean-install-windows-10/ you can just download and create a bootable windows 10 flash using the media creation tool and boot from that, you can then skip when they ask for the cd key, which I did not know you can do. This should save you the trouble of having to redownload windows 7 aswell

 

[Danny111]

According to this http://www.howtogeek.com/224342/how-to-clean-install-windows-10/ you can just download and create a bootable windows 10 flash using the media creation tool and boot from that, you can then skip when they ask for the cd key, which I did not know you can do. This should save you the trouble of having to redownload windows 7 aswell

Oh wow great.

"Even if your Windows system has already been upgraded with the “Get Windows 10″ reservation process, you’ll need to download Windows installation media to install Windows 10 from scratch."

Does this apply to me? I have already been prompted several times to start the download of Windows 10, but never actually did that. It talks about my hardware being registered. So does this mean this mine is (it's told me I can dl w10 so it should be) and I can just install w10 and after installing it will check the microsoft servers and somehow recognize my hardware? I guess even if it doesn't do that I can call them and give them my w7 product key and explain and that should sort it out.

This is super. Now just gotta hope I can get all my files off the drive first.

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Zyb3r]

According to this http://www.howtogeek.com/224342/how-to-clean-install-windows-10/ you can just download and create a bootable windows 10 flash using the media creation tool and boot from that, you can then skip when they ask for the cd key, which I did not know you can do. This should save you the trouble of having to redownload windows 7 aswell

Oh wow great.

"Even if your Windows system has already been upgraded with the “Get Windows 10″ reservation process, you’ll need to download Windows installation media to install Windows 10 from scratch."

Does this apply to me? I have already been prompted several times to start the download of Windows 10, but never actually did that. It talks about my hardware being registered. So does this mean this mine is (it's told me I can dl w10 so it should be) and I can just install w10 and after installing it will check the microsoft servers and somehow recognize my hardware? I guess even if it doesn't do that I can call them and give them my w7 product key and explain and that should sort it out.

This is super. Now just gotta hope I can get all my files off the drive first.

Thank you so much for your help!

I think it should work, since anyone should technically be able to download and install windows 10 while it is free to use for 1 year. If you want to be 100% sure, you can go the long root and install windows 7, register and then upgrade. So I think your right, it should work with just a fresh windows 10 install, since you were eligible for the upgrade.

Let me know how it goes and its a pleasure

 

[Danny111]

According to this http://www.howtogeek.com/224342/how-to-clean-install-windows-10/ you can just download and create a bootable windows 10 flash using the media creation tool and boot from that, you can then skip when they ask for the cd key, which I did not know you can do. This should save you the trouble of having to redownload windows 7 aswell

Oh wow great.

"Even if your Windows system has already been upgraded with the “Get Windows 10″ reservation process, you’ll need to download Windows installation media to install Windows 10 from scratch."

Does this apply to me? I have already been prompted several times to start the download of Windows 10, but never actually did that. It talks about my hardware being registered. So does this mean this mine is (it's told me I can dl w10 so it should be) and I can just install w10 and after installing it will check the microsoft servers and somehow recognize my hardware? I guess even if it doesn't do that I can call them and give them my w7 product key and explain and that should sort it out.

This is super. Now just gotta hope I can get all my files off the drive first.

Thank you so much for your help!

I think it should work, since anyone should technically be able to download and install windows 10 while it is free to use for 1 year. If you want to be 100% sure, you can go the long root and install windows 7, register and then upgrade. So I think your right, it should work with just a fresh windows 10 install, since you were eligible for the upgrade.

Let me know how it goes and its a pleasure

Well the bottom line is good news, I hooked up the SSD to my father's PC - I can access it no problem. Saving all the files now. After that is done I will hook it up again to my PC do some checks e.g. disable GPU. I don't know. But at least it's not totally gone

 

[Danny111]

Ok so at first I of course messed up. I changed my BIOS to onboard graphics - I don't have onboard graphics.

I spent half an hour googling til I found the manual and blindly set BIOS to PCI...how that worked I am real proud. I then saved and Exit BIOS, PC now restarts and after BIOS screen almost immediately tells me that "Your computer was unable to start".

And now it is attempting repairs. Not sure if that will work out or whatever, but at least some things seem to be working.

Update - repairs were fast. At first I was like FUUUU because it said "Windows could not automatically repair". Then I just pressed repair anyway, it did some testing, I viewed the log and all tests were no errors except the last one which just read "Unspecified changes to system configuration might have caused the problem"
Repair action: Failed. Error Code = 0x490

ps maybe, maybe it was my 2nd HDD in my PC, I took it out and after I got all the data of my SSD onto second PC

 

[Zyb3r]

Sounds like progress, after you removed the second HDD could you boot? That would be kinda weird, since it should not be dependent on the second drive. At least it would seem that at a worst case your looking at a format, not having to replace parts saves a lot of money.

 

[orlbuckeye]

I'm late to this conversation but Windows 10 is only free for an upgrade. What happens during the upgrade is the upgrade checks if Win 7 or 8.1 are activated and if so it reactivates Windows 10. Windows 10 doesn't have a Key like previous OS's. During the reactivation Win 10 creates HASH number based on your hardware and stores it on a MS server and does the upgrade. So when you use the clean install DVD or USB Flash drive you create from the ISO it verifies you hash number and installs. No key is need although you make get prompted. If you didn't do the upgrade on that machine then the hash number was never created and Windows 10 will not activate using the clean install.

 

[Danny111]

Sounds like progress, after you removed the second HDD could you boot? That would be kinda weird, since it should not be dependent on the second drive. At least it would seem that at a worst case your looking at a format, not having to replace parts saves a lot of money.

It was indeed my 2nd HDD. Weekend now so I thought I would put it back in close the case again. Nothing. PC again gets stuck at "Starting Windows". I don't understand. I even went into BIOS and disabled the 2nd HDD as a boot option.

Well I guess for now I don't need it. Sadly I am moving atm and my external SATA power cable is already in some box, so I cannot try plugging it in externally after I started windows.

But even so. The two drive setup has worked for two years now. I see no reason why suddenly it changed :S