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the problem with that guide is the Windows 7 I have is not on a CD, but a cracked torrent. I would imagine it's similar to having Windows 7 downloaded directly from their website.
The problem is that for some reason, Windows 7 USB/DVD Installer tool does not recognize the ISO, for whatever reason.
It's possible the file I downloaded is bad, but there a pages of comments on it as well as the trackers that it works.
I think the big problem is I didnt make the USB drive bootable, but I have no idea how to do that. I've read that guide and there's a key set of instructions:
Next insert your Windows7/Vista DVD into the optical drive and check the drive letter of the DVD drive. In this guide I will assume that your DVD drive letter is “D” and USB drive letter is “H” (open my computer to know about it).
6. Maximize the minimized Command Prompt in the 4th step.Type the following command now:
D: CD BOOT and hit enter.Where “D” is your DVD drive letter.
CD BOOT and hit enter to see the below message.
7. Type another command given below to update the USB drive with BOOTMGR compatible code.
BOOTSECT.EXE /NT60 H:
That I dont know how to get around when I'm using a downloaded version, and not a CD.
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5930 Posts
Not sure why you went that route when Microsoft's Digital River has a direct download file that's basically accessible by everyone. If you're at university, its always a good option to check the computer clubs or IT department because often they give out/sell Windows 7 for like $10. I know my university's computer science club does that.
Anyway, you can try loading the iso to a virtual disk through daemon tools or a similar program and doing the exact same steps. You can check what disk it is in My Computer.
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It was $64 on Digital River, and how am I going to download it to my computer if there's no OS on it anyways.
I have to install via USB. I could 'borrow' my roommates CD drive and install it real quick, but that'd be a pain in the ass. Although I'm actually going to do that now with that torrent, burning the torrent file to a DVD as opposed to USB and see if that works (and hope he stays downstairs getting drunk. I told my girlfriend to keep him distracted anyways).
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5930 Posts
You can download off Digital River, you just don't get a legit Windows 7 key without paying. Here is the link if you ever need to do this again: http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/11/10/windows-7-iso-x86-and-x64-official-direct-download-links-ultimate-professional-and-home-premium/
I know you have to install through USB. What you do is produce a virtual drive (that is emulated through software) through a program like daemon tools and you mount the ISO image with it. It works exactly like a normal optical media drive in basically every way except for the fact its not tangible so the steps required to make the installer boot off a USB driver should still work...a lot of people don't bother with physical media so I can't see why it wouldn't work.
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^ I dont get what exactly I'm getting then. If I don't have a cdkey, won't it shut down every hour until I put one in? Or can I simply load up an Activator/Loader to delete the WAT files so I dont have to put in a key?
Anyways, so I copied the USB files I've been using to a CD, took this/my roommates computer, put it side by side to mine, and hooked up the SATA cable from the optical drive and plugged it into my computer. Instead of a bootmgr issue, it said "Restart computer or load disk into tray" despite one being there.
My roommate has this CD in his optical drive (i know his windows 7 is a cracked pirate too) and I'm not sure what the file is, when you click on it through My Computer it prompts to install Windows 7 but there's no ISO image that I can find and it looks totally different than what I downloaded, and since the CD looks exactly the same as the one I used I thought maybe I switched them up. When I threw in that CD at that "Restart or load disk" prompt, it went to "Windows copying files" and then got stuck afterwards on "Starting Windows" with a few weird glitchly blobbles on the screen, where I assume the logo goes. I did a quick search on my phone and people had issues with that, all sorts of stuff from ASUS + Corsair mobo+psu combos being the problem to, a lot of things.
I just turned them both off before my roommate gets back, and now I'm here. I'll probably just load up Ubuntu, then while I actually have an OS, I'll download Windows 7 and boot from HDD.
Ugh. Not to mention maybe ubuntu will have bootmgr issues too.
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^ I am downloadiang one of those links, x64 Ultimate was down but Home Premium is currently downloading. I have no idea what I'm downloading though.
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who knows if i even burned the cd right, i copied the entire contents of the downloaded file as opposed to just the iso image.
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5930 Posts
If it got to the "Starting Windows" splash screen, it should be fine. It sometimes takes a year to get past it for reasons unknown...for me it took longer to get past the splash screen than it did for me to to buy groceries and make dinner.
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How to make bootable installation windows usb:
download 7-zip: unzip iso to a folder.
download wintoflash:
that's pretty much it.
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also, the free windows versions available you're thinking about are probably windows server for students, which may not be compatible with many programs
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^ if I can get an OS going maybe I can get this pirated windows going once its on the hdd. I don't know why the cd didn't work, and I don't know why that other one did sorta work.
Anyways I just tried ubuntu, and it boots, sort of. At boot it goes right into the Installer Boot Menu, where my choices are Run Ubuntu from this usb, install ubuntu on hdd, boot, options, and help. But my computer freezes right there. My keyboard won't make a selection even though bios is navigatable and displays it and the flash drive, and despite text on the bottom saying 'automatic boot in 5 seconds' its already been half an hour.
I hope my gf didn't break my computer when she got a static shock on the mobo back panel. Ugh I can't believe she did that. But it wouldn't start up if she fried it, right? And static is overblown anyways from what I read.
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borrow someone's computer with windows.
download 7-zip: unzip installation iso to a folder.
download and run wintoflash:
your usb will be turned into bootable windows installer.
Not sure what is wrong with your ubuntu. Why do you want to install ubuntu first?
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My guess on the ubuntu problem: probably the way you installed ubuntu to the usb. I've always used a program to make it bootable.
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^ I want to install Windows 7. But I was having trouble with that, so I tried Ubuntu.
I downloaded a torrent from piratebay of an Activated windows 7, and had issues where "bootmgr is missing press ctrl alt dlt to restart". Then, I burned that same file to a DVD and (because its impossible to take out his optical drive without dismantling his entire Dell...) took my roommates computer and unhooked his SATA cable and plugged it into my motherboard, where the optical drive was powered by his computer and my computer by... my computer, and it kept saying "Restart or insert disc" instead. Then, because I was kinda confused with which CD was which and I was exasperated, I took the CD that was already in my roommates drive and it actually started installing, but got stuck on the "Starting Windows" screen that occurs after "Loading Files" part (which actually, I've read, can take over an hour so for all I know everything was going a-okay there).
Then I tried Ubuntu, but it freezes on the Installation Boot Menu screen, which is weird, and I haven't read a single forum post or article where someone got stuck at the same place (everyone else, if there's an issue at all, gets stuck way farther in the installation process).
And, I actually tried to install Ubuntu twice. The first time was my girlfriend downloading it on the USB, and it said "bootmgr missing" so I assumed she screwed it up, even though she put Ubuntu on a wiped laptop. Ubuntu was actually very convenient to download, it came with a program that flashes and wipes and format my usb drive to fat32 and puts the program on, specifically, in flash USB format for booting. The 2nd time around though, as I said, it gets frozen at the installation menu.
I'll try what your recommending, but I'm not really sure what you're asking me to do. I'm assuming I must search my roommate's computer files for "7-zip" and then unzip the file called "installation iso" to a folder, and then use with wintoflash...
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Whatever that mystery program the person above told me to download:
You can download off Digital River, you just don't get a legit Windows 7 key without paying. Here is the link if you ever need to do this again: http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/11/10/windows-7-iso-x86-and-x64-official-direct-download-links-ultimate-professional-and-home-premium/I know you have to install through USB. What you do is produce a virtual drive (that is emulated through software) through a program like daemon tools and you mount the ISO image with it. It works exactly like a normal optical media drive in basically every way except for the fact its not tangible so the steps required to make the installer boot off a USB driver should still work...a lot of people don't bother with physical media so I can't see why it wouldn't work.
actually looks the same as the files on the mystery CD my roommate has. That bastard told me he deleted the files, he never told me he booted from CD... ugh, probably just incompetence. I'm gonna try copy and pasting that to the USB drive, then try this 7zip thing.
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z-zip is a program that unzips .iso files into regular folders. If you have another program that does this, then you can use that program instead.
wintoflash just makes the installation files bootable from usb.
The file I was saying to unzip is the single file you downloaded.
wintoflash should be self explanatory. It has onscreen directions.
But if you already tried burning the .iso file to a DVD with an iso burning program, then I don't think wintoflash would work if the DVD didn't work in the first place.
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If you already have the installation cd, you don't need to use 7-zip. 7-Zip is only used to extract .iso files.
Instead, you can just immediately use wintoflash.
Copying the installation files directly from a cd to a usb will not work because it will not boot.
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^so that must be the 'boot mgr is missing' issue? Also, my flash drive broke, kinda funny. I think I was in the process of formatting it again to do this thing, and then my roommate got back and was like "i need the room" so I pulled it out and I think I fucked it up in my haste, although I'm pretty sure the clean was finished. I can just borrow one from the library so no biggie.
Anyways, so i guess my next steps are:
1. take that mystery file I downloaded, apply wintoflash, use with flash drive .
2. Try the CD and wait out that long install process - like I said, it might've been working. This requires a CD drive and a long time, so snagging the roommates computer may or may not be an option, but I'll see if I can borrow one from an apartment mate.
3. Ragequit.
Time for bed. I appreciate everyone's help, this has gone a little OT from Starcraft related subject matter. I'm having a hard time trying to find resources on this and I've gotten more help here then I have at tech forums. If someone knows a good place to register so I'm not blabbering here they may be helpful, but hopefully I wont need that.
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I think I may quit this soon and take it to Best Buy, or a local computer professional. There's also the possibility the motherboard is broken, maybe because my GF static zapped it (i CANNOT believe she seriously did that). If its the mobo I can maybe exchange for shipping cost to newegg (oh wait I'm broke...).
I may try a USB install of ubuntu 32-bit instead of the 64 I tried. I don't know, this really sucks.
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Win7 was never meant to be installed from USB-drives so it's not suprising that you run into some difficulties.
Normal mistakes with this would be putting the 1 .iso file on the USB stick or just copying files from the ISO-file onto the usb-drive. Another bad idea is putting the files on the .iso in a folder on the USB.
If you GF unknowingly touched the computer for some reason I don't see how that could suprise you so much. Sounds more like the computer shocked her than the other way around. Anyway I don't think it should break a motherboard.
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EPT
