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Solved: Need help with installing windows 7 after replacing motherboard.

3K views 13 replies 4 participants last post by  crjdriver 
#1 ·
Hello,
I just got a new motherboard and processor on my PC and now when I turn it on it tells me:
"Windows failed to start. A recent hardware change might be the cause. To fix the problem:
1. Insert your windows installation disc and restart your computer.
2. Choose your language settings, and the click "Next."
3. Click "Repair your computer."

Status: 0xc000000e

Info: The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible."

I have my win7 disc, but I am not sure what to do, will all my info be removed if I follow these steps? And I dont understand - will this will re-install windows or just "repair" it? and what does "repair" really mean?

If this will re-install my win7, but I choose not to format my hard drive, will everything be just as it was before?

My main concern is, I just want everything on my PC to be just the way it was before I replaced my motherboard, how do I do that?
Thank you beforehand!
 
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#2 ·
I have an even worse problem now. I tried putting in my disk with windows7 to repair windows, and nothing happens. I choose to boot from CD in the BIOS and it just brings me back to the same "windows has failed to start. Please insert disk to repair it" window... I tried USB too, same thing. :(
 
#3 ·
You didn't say if the motherboard replacement was the exact same model or a different model, and you didn't provide a description.

You didn't say if you have an original Windows 7 disc or a copied disc.

Was there an issue with Windows 7 in the hard drive before you replaced the motherboard?

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#4 ·
The motherboard is completely different now, I went from a Gigabyte mobo to ASUS.
The windows disk is a copy, I have used this same disk 2 years ago when I originally installed win7 on this PC.

There were no previous problems with windows on this computer.
 
#5 ·
The motherboard is completely different now, I went from a Gigabyte mobo to ASUS.
The windows disk is a copy, I have used this same disk 2 years ago when I originally installed win7 on this PC.

There were no previous problems with windows on this computer.
If I'm correct, you need to do a clean reinstall of Windows 7 in that new motherboard, and you may have an activation issue.

I've requested a Moderator/hardware expert to jump in and advise you.

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#6 ·
The thing is, it wont even let me do a clean reinstall, it keeps telling me to "please insert the windows install disk" even though it is already inserted.
When I choose to boot from disk in BIOS, a message shows up like "Press any key to boot from CD" it shows up for 1 second and then the screen changes back to the "Windows failed to start. A recent hardware change might be the cause" screen. If I press a key withing that 1 second timeframe it takes me to the windows 7 install screen, but when I press "Enter" to choose windows 7 on the disk, it takes me back to that same "Windows failed to start" screen.
 
#7 ·
The Press any key to boot from CD or DVD command should display for about 5 seconds - which gives you plenty of time to press any key.

Since it's a copied disc and not an original disc, I'm guessing that's part of the issue.

I requested crjdriver to jump in and advise you, so be patient and wait until he does.

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#9 ·
The Press any key to boot from CD or DVD command should display for about 5 seconds
Yeah, except when it only displays for one or two seconds, which has happened to me on at least two machines. :(

Test that the DVD actually boots on another machine, as it appears to not be booting, as Frank indicated.
 
#10 ·
You cannot change a mb and expect windows to boot; not going to happen unless you follow the procedure outlined at the top of the hw forum.

Next if you have anything important on the drive, I would advise you to pull the drive and connect it to a working system. Copy whatever you need ie docs, pics, etc. Once the data is safe, you can reinstall the disk and clean install windows.

I know you posted you installed an asus board however I need to known your exact system specs; ie exact mb installed, exact cpu installed, exact pw supply, video card, etc, etc.

Next you may not be able to boot from the optical drive IF either fast boot is enabled OR secure boot is enabled. First read your mb manual as to the locations of these options in the bios/uefi.

Asus mb have a quick boot menu that will allow you to choose the boot device ie optical, usb, etc. You use the F8 key to access this menu [again if fast boot is enabled, I do not think you are going to have this option] F8 is also the windows safe mode key so you have to press F8 during POST and prior to windows starting to load or you end up in safe mode. At least gigabyte uses the F12 key rather than F8 :D

Here is what I would do at this point [and in this order]

1 Go to the support page for your new mb. Download the following; chipset driver, sound driver, nic/lan driver and any other things you might need ie asus suite, etc. Save these on a flash drive. Download whatever video driver you need from nvidia or amd; again save it on the flash drive. If your install disk does not have service pack1, go to the MS site and download that as well; again put it on the flash drive. Note you are going to need at least a 4gig flash drive. I know the mb came with a support disk however those drivers are almost always out of date. That is why you download from the support page rather than use the support disk.

2 Once that is done, pull the hd as I outlined above, copy whatever you need. Reinstall the hd.

3 After you have read your mb manual, restart and enter the bios/uefi. Select fast boot to disabled and select secure boot to disabled as well. Set your optical drive as the first boot device [note if you have more than one optical drive, you must specify which one is the boot device] Gigabyte boards do not need this however asus boards do need the optical drive [only if you have more than one] Save your settings and restart with the install disk in the drive.

4 If you do not see the "press any key" msg, then either you did something incorrectly OR the disk is not bootable/damaged. If you do see the "press any key" msg, do so. Delete ALL partitions on your system drive and clean install windows.

5 Install in the following order;
a Instal the os
b Install sp1 [unless your install disk already has sp1]
c Install chipset/mb driver
d Install sound, nic/lan driver
e Install video driver
f If all is well activate windows and do windows update. Install ALL critical updates. Repeat until there are no more critical updates to install.

Done. Now you can copy whatever data files you saved earlier.
 
#11 ·
Ok thank you, I will try following these steps when I get home later tonight. Come to think of it bios was set to fast boot enabled, so I hope that's the reason.

One more question. I have two hard drives:
1. My main hard drive 650GB, ALL information is stored on this hard drive. Windows is also installed on this hd.
2. A 1TB hard drive that is almost completely empty,and has no important data (just one or two games)

Now my question is, what if I just physically remove my main hard drive with all the info, and install windows on the second hard drive? What would happen when I connect the main hard drive back, would the two windows interfere with each other?

I just don't want to go through the whole "saving the info on another computer, formatting main drive, then transferring the info back" so I would like to know if I can avoid that by simply installing the os on the secondary hard drive. Thanks a bunch!
 
#12 ·
Now my question is, what if I just physically remove my main hard drive with all the info, and install windows on the second hard drive? What would happen when I connect the main hard drive back, would the two windows interfere with each other?
Sure, no problem. You do not even have to pull the drive; simply pull the pw connector. Once windows is up and running, connect the pw connector. You may need to take ownership of the files however that is very simple to do.

As a general rule I like to have the system drive connected to the first sata port on the board. You might want to swap sata cables prior to installing windows. Other than that, there should be no problem installing windows on the 1tb drive. This is not even really necessary; just a neater and cleaner way to install. When you do an install of windows, it will install on whatever drive you select however setup will write the boot files to the root of the first drive. If there are no other drives, then no issue. As I said it is just a little neater way to install.

You still need to post all of your exact system specs.
 
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