6 replies to this topic

[sambul61]

Well, when you work on PC intense enough, one day you may find, the critical mass of irreversible changes accumulated just enough to do a fresh start - Repair Install (or in-place OS Upgrade with all apps, docs and settings preserved).

I was trying to Repair Install Windows 7 SP1 from Setup ISO mounted from a non-system drive with ImDisk, and stumble upon a problem: the install was canceled in 40 min with an error:



Well, guess what - upon reboot the same process started all over again - endless loop.

So, my question: is it possible to Repair Install Win 7 SP1 from ISO? Or, what is the exact cause of that error? The problem is, Win Setup must be started from ISO from within running Win7 to be repaired.

Any solution will make a good Tutorial.

[sambul61]

Apparently, the error wasn't caused by performing the Repair Install from Setup ISO instead of DVD, but rather because of too many drives and USB devices connected to the PC. Once all drives and devices were disconnected except one (though multiboot formatted), the Repair Install was able to reboot Windows to Grub4DOS Menu, from their I started Win Setup ISO again, and the Repair Install proceeded. It rebooted the PC 2 more times.

Eventually it almost finished copying the installed apps into updated Windows, but... it was probably too much staff to migrate easily. It's given up at 60% programs & settings migrated, and started Restoring previous Win install. Now I wonder, what can possibly caused that? Of course, the process is probably designed for basic consumer migration tasks. On the other hand, restoring an archived backup instead of Win Repair Install isn't always an option, since OS damages once happen gradually proliferate into backups, eventually making them not much better than the backup source.

So, the question is now transformed to:

What's the best tool for apps & settings migration from one OS install to another similar?

[amalux]

What's the best tool for apps & settings migration from one OS install to another similar?

I have never found this type of repair option to be reliable though Win 7 does it better than previous versions. Why not create a pristine backup image, including all your favorite programs and customizations and restore this when trouble comes? With Users/My Documents setup on separate partition, all saved data is where it was prior to restore including Desktop, Favorites, Music, Pictures etc. and the restore time is measured in minutes instead of hours

One of many advantages to this approach is that no existing install is required, even if the physical hard drive fails, restoration is no problem. Of course, all data needs to be backed up to separate, safe location but this is true of any repair/restore scheme. If moving to different hardware altogether, universal images are easy nowadays.

[sambul61]

Thanks,

Yes, you're right. The problem is, it depends on PC usage pattern. Lets take a Technician PC as an example. There is no such thing as "Pristine Ongoing Backup Image" for that role, since the scope of tested apps is being continuously changed.

I was actually able to successfully use Win7 Repair Install before, since couldn't upgrade to SP1 without it. Still didn't catch, what tool can migrate installed apps from one Win7 to another? It looks like USMT can't:

What Does USMT Migrate?

Apparently, PickMeApp and PCMover promise something in that department.

[amalux]

Yes, you're right. The problem is, it depends on PC usage tasks. Lets take a Technician PC as an example. There is no such thing as "Pristine Backup Image" for that role, since the scope of tested apps is being continuously changed.

Well, you're talking to someone who lives on a 'Technician PC' (actually several) and I never said you wouldn't need more than one backup (I average one per week, used to be more) but this is easily automated and you can always go back to any point needed; even to the original setup (if required).

It looks like PickMeApp and PCMover promise something in that department.

Yup, many ways to do it; whatever works best for ya

[davlak]

Apparently, the error wasn't caused by performing the Repair Install from Setup ISO instead of DVD, but rather because of too many drives and USB devices connected to the PC. Once all drives and devices were disconnected except one (though multiboot formatted), the Repair Install was able to reboot Windows to Grub4DOS Menu, from their I started Win Setup ISO again, and the Repair Install proceeded. It rebooted the PC 2 more times.

Eventually it almost finished copying the installed apps into updated Windows, but... it was probably too much staff to migrate easily. It's given up at 60% programs & settings migrated, and started Restoring previous Win install. Now I wonder, what can possibly caused that? Of course, the process is probably designed for basic migration tasks. On the other hand, restoring an archived backup instead of Win Repair Install isn't always an option, since OS damages once happen are gradually accumulated into backups, eventually making them not much better than the backup source.

So, the question is now transformed to:

What's the best tool for apps & settings migration from one OS install to another similar?

in my experience two conditions are needed for the win7 repair installation.

1. same service pack as the win7 to repair (sp0>iso sp0)
2. there must be only one internal HD, with a primary active boot partition and a OS partition OR a primary active partition containing boot files and OS

but I seem to remember that even in those conditions I've had problems winth an ISO on USB.

[sambul61]

Hmmm... After Repair Install went unsuccessful, I got 2 choices - restore OS from an older backup image, or install brand new Win7 SP1, and transfer only really used apps with the above migration programs. Exploiting the later route, transferred some apps and am trying to reboot. To my amusement, Win7 can now only boot with SATA drive support switched ON in BIOS. When switching IDE Emulation ON to boot from the same disk (since I've some older IDE drives needed to be hooked at times), I got BSOD every time with 07B. Checked IDE drivers (all present) and set Reg settings: Start =0 for all IDE incarnations. Usually Win7 boots to IDE and SATA without any such manipulations AFAIK, installing required drivers on its own.

Any suggestions? Do I need to add IDE disk now to Critical Device Database? But the same boot disk is already added their as SATA drive. And I didn't do it first time around, yet both IDE and SATA worked (unless SATA was added later with F6 - don't recall).