Cleanly remove Vista before Win7

I have DD 10 very recent build. I did an install a year ago with XP on my system C: and Vista installed on a secondary partition labelled as V: to XP. XP was factory installed by Dell and Vista added later. I recall doing a couple of unusual things to prevent the restore point issues, but exactly what I am not positive of. At boot it loads Acronis loader then gives me a choice of Vista or 'previous version of Windows' so I believe it is probably the Vista Boot manager.

Vista had bluetooth issues and I stopped using it months ago. I now have everything of value out of the Vista partition and I would like to know the best and/or easiest way to lose the Vista install and bootup and then do a fresh secondary partition install of Windows 7 Beta. I have been reading the sticky on the Beta install and I am not sure if at this point I need to untangle Vista and XP via Mudcrab's method first before losing Vista or if there is a quicker way to go if I am totally kicking it goodbye. I am fine with losing the Vista partition and creating a new one with a fresh start for Win 7 but want to make sure that I don't leave boot garbage or do something I will regret.

Thanks,

Gary

 

Addendum additional info:

For some reason in the OSS selector (when run out of Win XP) I do not see the Vista system listed. The version of DD 10 that this was setup with was an earlier version and I have only rebooted once so far since installing the new build. I also have 8 or 9 'Unknown Operating System' entries.

Attaching my bootwiz.

Thanks,

Gary

 

Bootwiz

 

Gary,

Welcome to the forum.

What build of DD are you using?

Is the XP (Media Center) entry in OSS the only one that actually boots to an OS?

Is Vista still installed and bootable?

You shouldn't need to untangle the booting files to get Windows 7 to install to its own partition. However, if you want to reset XP back so it boots normally, you can just follow the XP Repair procedures (Part #4). If you choose to leave Vista's boot manager on the XP partition, you'll probably want to remove Vista's entry so that XP will boot by default. Personally, I'd just do the XP fix.

For all the "Unknown OS" entries in OSS, you should be able to just delete them from the OSS menu. Hopefully, they won't come back.

Before you begin:

• It would be a good idea to create an image backup of the XP partition.
• Make sure that build 2,160 (or later) of OSS is installed.
• Make sure your DD CD contains the latest build of DD (2,160 or later).
• Make sure your DD CD contains the OSS programs.

To install Windows 7:

1. Deactivate OSS (don't uninstall).
2. Boot to the DD CD and start DD (Manual Mode offers more control).
3. Set the Windows 7 partition Active and Hide the XP partition. Apply the changes.
4. Format the Windows 7 partition (NTFS). Apply the change.
5. Boot to the Windows 7 DVD and start the installation process.
6. Select the Windows 7 partition as the destination. Choose the Advanced options and format the partition.
7. Finish the installation.
8. Boot to the DD CD and reactivate OSS.
9. Reboot.
10. Boot into XP.

Now, repost the BOOTWIZ.OSS file and let me know which partition contains Windows 7 and I'll make the change.

 

Hi Mudcrab,

Thanks for the quick reply. I was hoping I would catch you around. I'll finish going through what you posted but I thought I would answer quickly...

>What build of DD are you using?

2160

Is the XP (Media Center) entry in OSS the only one that actually boots to an OS?

It seems to be. It is the only one listed besides the redundant mystery ones. OSS never seems to come into play. I end up directly at the Windows Boot Manager with the defunct Vista as the default. I manually select XP.

Is Vista still installed and bootable?

Yes, installed. Bootable yes as well although I have licensing activation issues I haven't dealt with that have cropped up when it comes up and my bluetooth keyboard doesn't work in it so I haven't gone there for a long time. Can't easily operate in it.

 

Mudcrab,

Went through your comments and instructions and it looks pretty clear. Unfortunately I won't be able to do an image, but I will do a good backup of what I can.

I will just do the XP rebuild and then go ahead with the bootable 2160 DD to follow your steps. I will post back as I get farther and keep an eye on the forum too.

Your response is appreciated as is your vast expertise.

Regards,

Gary

 

Ran into an (not) interesting twist. I assumed using a WinXP Pro Cd should be no problem for doing item #4 to reset the XP Boot options on my Windows Media Edition XP. Unfortunately I am getting a BSOD after the initial bootup off the DVD and just after it starts into the 'starting Windows' section. This is well before any repair or install options appear.

"A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer." Screen goes on to suggest checkdisk, virus issues, etc... Computer is running fine. This is SATA if that could be an issue.

Any ideas? Could this simply be because of the OS mismatches? It will be a day before I can get the proper OS DVD.

Any problem with proceeding on and coming back to straighten out the XP Boot file?

Gary

 

I ended up skipping the repair of the XP boot until I get the correct DVD for that. I'm not positive that was the problem as I had a lot of issues with my SATA/Raid settings in the Bios and did a lot of switching of them as many reboots resulted in no hard drive errors. I will attack that again with the proper one in hand.

Got through that and Win 7 is now on my 82 Gig partition that Vista used to be on. It has a fresh format and, although the instructions weren't specific, I have made it inactive so that I could boot back to XP. Took a couple of times there still I think due to the Bios SATA issues.

I am including the bootwiz file here although it may reflect my very aggressive cleaning of the dummy entries from earlier. There are only the Dell Utilities and the XP Partitions showing. The Win7 partition shows as NTFS(E PRI 82.76 GB NTFS in DD and is the 2nd one down in the list. The previous bootwiz will probably show a 2nd drive which is an external SATA/USB/Firewire that I unhooked during the reboot issues and will keep unhooked until I hear back on the file changes.

I have OSS activated, but nothing comes up on boot. The same Windows Boot Manager options I have always had do reappear. Another curiosity is that the reformatted partition with a new drive letter still shows as shared in XP. I didn't expect that when I saw it.

A clean install of Win7 sure boots quickly.

Thanks,

Gary

 

If the OSS menu doesn't come up when you boot the computer, OSS isn't installed or activated properly.

Have you tried reactivating OSS from the DD CD menu? It may work better than doing it from Windows. Until OSS is working, there's not much use in adding Windows 7 to the menu.

If the partition hasn't changed (same disk signature and starting partition sector), Windows will remember the drive letter assignment. This is part of what causes drive letter problems when you don't want Windows to remember.

 

Sorry, my brainfreeze on that one.

The loader is coming up fine. It was just set on the timer so it skipped right by to the Windows Boot Manager. ESC takes me right in to the menu so I would think that Bootwiz file I sent should be the reality of the situation and ready for Windows 7.

Gary

 

Here is the modified file. If you want to hide the OS partitions from each other, change the necessary settings for each OSS menu entry before booting into the OS for the first time.

 

Thanks Mudcrab. You are the man.

Any real downside if I don't hide them? The restore point issues maybe? I would like to be able to access files back and forth.

Gary

 

Generally, it should be okay. That's the standard method Microsoft uses when it sets up a dual-boot system. Personally, I prefer isolated operating systems and using a shared data partition.

 

Hey Mudcrab,

Any idea why OSS keeps overwriting the bootwiz.oss that you sent me? Both in Windows and in boot mode it will overwrite the one you sent with this one.

I saved the one from you in the C:\Bootwiz folder, renamed bootwiz.oss and renamed yours to bootwiz.oss. Does it need to be writeprotected or marked system or anything?

Thanks

Gary

 

OSS will do that when it thinks something is wrong with the file or it detects certain changes. You partition ID values have changed. I'm attaching a new file based on the one you just posted. See if it will work correctly.

 

It still seems to be doing it after replacing the file and opening the Windows OSS. Haven't tried the boot version, but I'm sure that the problem is central to both.

I get a couple of flickering screens on open and then it comes up with 2 Unknowns and the Windows Media Edition and the file is rewritten when I look at it. Providing the latest rewrite.

Should I go ahead and plug my eSATA external back in to the loop now to get it in the bootwiz.oss as long as things are kind of a muddle anyway? I have had it disconnected since the earlier rebooting issues when installing the WIN7.

 

I think you should be okay plugging the eSATA drive back in.

OSS is rewriting the file. Until that problem is fixed, the changes won't hold.

Have you verfied that the build of OSS you're using in Windows is the exact same build installed (check when you boot to the OSS menu -- disable the auto-boot, if necessary)? If the builds aren't the same, it can cause this problem.

If they are the same, can you verify if the BOOTWIZ.OSS file is being changed only when you use the modifed version? In other words, if you boot into OSS, select XP (don't run OSS in Windows), reboot into OSS, select XP (don't run OSS in Windows), etc., does the BOOTWIZ.OSS file remain unchanged? Note that this test can only be run once and you can't use any of the existing files I created. However, you can see if the file being used is changing even without Windows 7 being added.

Are any other changes being made to the system?

Where are the OSS files (on which partition)?

 

The OSS files are on the XP Partition which has always been the original system partition.

Good thoughts on the version. I downloaded the latest build yesterday before embarking on this and while I installed over the original 10 I have a feeling that not uninstalling and reinstalling OSS may leave the original OSS embedded.

I am going to check this on a reboot now. I would assume if they are different that I will need to uninstall OSS and then reinstall it. I created a new boot CD yesterday with the updated build. If you get this in time, is it best to do the reinstall through windows or with the boot CD? I'll check back in a minute here.

Someone on another thread mentioned that they were given a variation of the 2160 build with a '26'?? designator to solve some eSATA problems. Any clue what that may be about? Thinking of my SATA issues.

Gary

 

I checked the Windows version, the boot version and my CD Boot version and they are all showing 2160. I started thinking about my aggressive removal of the phantom unknown systems so I went ahead and did a repair on OSS from the boot CD. It has now generated a .oss version with many more entries.

Another item that may be in play. DD full version will not recognize or find my hard drive. I need to go into Safe Mode DD and then it will.

Also, I renamed the Windows 7 partition to be 'WIN7' and it is showing up in DD in windows with that name as an 'E:' drive now where it used to be NTFS.

Another item is that my eSATA external is not showing up in XP at the moment so I may need to go back and play with the BIOS a bit to get that going. This variation on build 2160 is making me curious now wondering if it may help my situation if it is better with the SATA setups.

 

I have the external SATA drive back in and, although it took toggling settings in BIOS to get it recognized, it seems to be working fine.

After putting that in, I did try and get back into Win7 by activating that partition through the DD boot CD and found that Win7 failed to boot properly. It asked to do a startup repair (nice feature) which it tried but failed on with some messages on probable hardware changes. Wondering if I will need to reformat that partition again and reinstall.

I reset the active partition back and XP is back, the eSATA is recognized again, but I am at a bit of a loss as what to try next. Any ideas?

Latest bootwiz.oss attached

Thanks,

Gary

 

OK. Things have settled down now.

I went back and redid the Win7 install from scratch using MudCrab instructions. OSS off, Formatted partition in DD, hid XP, made active, reinstalled Win7 with a Win7 format and everything went fine.

Win7 boots fine when that partition is active. XP partition boots fine when OSS is back on.

I have made slight tweaks to the bootwiz.oss and I have a stable file that is not getting changed every boot (maybe one tiny exception?) That lists the Win7 install and keeps it in there every time.

Now the remaining problem is that OSS entry states that the boot partition is missing for Win7. Again, it does boot fine when set to active partition without OSS so it is really booting fine. It will not boot from OSS.

The other 'tiny' mystery is a new line that appears in the Win7 entry that is 'locked="1"'. I have taken that out and it seems to put it back in. I am also curious about the write_boot="0" but do see that MudCrab has put that in the other Win7 entries.

Any help or ideas appreciated. Latest bootwiz attached.

Gary

 

Gary,

You just missed the "1" in the boot_partition entry:

Code:

[b]boot_partition="[COLOR="Red"]1[/COLOR]865522098"[/b]

That's the only change I made to the file. You might try making the correction yourself and seeing if it works before you try the attached file. I assume you're using the Widnows Notepad program to make any changes to the BOOTWIZ.OSS file. If you're using a different program, that can cause all sorts of problems.

The write_boot= entry is the option of whether or not to write the boot sector. This isn't usually necessary because the boot sector of the partition doesn't change. Also, though a file is referenced (bootsect.sys), this file may not be present when an entry is manually added. OSS doesn't seem to fuss if it doesn't exist, but I usually just disable the option.

I have noticed the locked= option just recently. I don't know what it does. For now, I'd just fix the booting partition ID and leave the rest as it is. Hopefully, it will work.

 

Thanks and good eye. The missing '1' was the cause of that problem. I manually added that in my existing file (yes, definitely using Notepad) and the missing boot partition cleaned up.

Still not quite there, unfortunately. Now things look good in Windows, with a proper icon with no error 'x' on it. For some reason the Vista icon is missing in the boot mode OSS, but that is sure minor.

When I go to actually do the boot it tries but then comes back saying that "The file system type of the OS is not supported". I will get this message whether trying to initiate through Windows or from the boot menu.

I probably need to confess that at some point I tried pointing the Win7 item to some system files and to the Windows, User and Program folders to see if that would kick start the process which of course it didn't. I wonder if that could be complicating things now if the wrong ones were pointed to? I'll include my context.oss file as that seems to be the ones holding that info.

Any other ideas on the OS type error?

 

So the icon is correct (the Vista icon) in OSS in Windows, but wrong when booted to the OSS menu? If you check the properties of the entry in OSS (when booted into OSS) and select the Vista icon, does it stick?

The context.txt file seems to be all XP files. In any case, I've found that messing with that file can cause many problems, including resets of the OSS files.

I'm not seeing another typo in the Windows 7 entry. In my Vista entry, I have the following under Files:

Code:

C:\bootmgr

...and the following under Folders:

Code:

C:\Windows
C:\Program Files
C:\Users
C:\ProgramData

"C:" is recognized as the drive letter for Vista. Is that what OSS is showing for your Windows 7 entry?

 

I'll have to retry the icon next time I go there which may be later this afternoon.

My File and folders entries do not have a drive letter. They are prefixed with #1-4 which is what I see when I browse. I added all these manually as I think I mentioned.

Files:
#1-4\bootmgr
Folders:
#1-4\Program Files
#1-4\Users
#1-4\Windows
and I just added this one to match yours
#1-4\ProgramData

Thanks for hanging in there with me on this. I would love to get it working correctly as Windows 7 64 seems to run lickety split when I am in there and my BIOS is giving me fits with routinely letting me boot from the CD for some reason.