Broke my Windows installation by installing Ubuntu, now can't reinstall Windows for some reason!

Hey guys,

So i was dumb and must have messed something up when i was installing ubuntu 12.10 because after the installation was complete and i tried to boot up windows it just showed a screen that said "A drisk read error occured, press Cntrl Alt Del to restart."

After some research i think i may have destroyed the MBR for windows but nothing seems to fix it.

I inserted a windows 7 Ultimate disc and pressed "repair my computer" and under the screen where it lists which installation of windows you need to repair it doesn't list any and then gives an option to load drivers.

Secondly when i just try to do an entire install and i hit Custom (instead of upgrade) it does not list any hard drives for me to install it onto.

Luckily I have not lost any data because it was all backed up and I can even access my files through ubuntu because when i boot ubuntu up (which works fine, btw), it lists a hard drive in /media which is called OS_Install and when I access it it turns out to be the entirety of the data on my windows installation.

My computer is a MSI GT683-R and it has two 500 GB hard drives in raid 0 to make a 1 TB hard drive. I read somewhere about needing a raid driver for the windows installation to see my hard drives. What can i do in order to repair or reinstall windows?

How do i get it to recognize my hard drives so i can repair/re-install?

Thanks for the advice! I am new to these forums but i sure hope you guys can help!

Hello silman, to Windows 7 Forums,

Have a look here, see if they may help, you'll note the 2nd link also mentions the installation of EasyBCD, which I would have suggested;

Can't boot Windows 7 after installing Ubuntu 12.04 LTS - Ask Ubuntu

How to dual-boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu 11.04

Keep us posted

Don

Installing Ubuntu after Windows can cause certain problems, depending on how you installed it. Normally it just overwrites the MBR and puts a Linux boot (Grub) in it place. The way to get rid of that is to use the bootsect.exe /nt60 command. You will need to boot to the Install DVD and use the Command Option. The suggestion by Adamsappleone suggests repairing Grub then using it to fix the Windows partition. Hopefully that will help, but I have no experince with it.

Bootsect Command-Line Options

If you do the Repair your Computer options from the install DVD, even if it does not show the Windows OS, try it anyway. Many times it will pop up a screen that just says fix it before you even get to the options. Let that proceed, then go back and run Startup Repair, probably 3 or 4 times. If you overwrote your Windows 7 install, of course it will not help.

If all else fails, you may need to use Diskpart, from the Install DVD command prompt, to clean the drive and start over.

Edit: If you are running Ubuntu now, you might use GParted to show a picture of the drive partitions and then take a picture and attach. if you use the Ubuntu capture utility, change the name to something simple or Windows will not be able to use it.

An option for this is to download and burn Partition Wizard, the home bootable version, and take a picture of that. Cameras also work well for this purpose.

Sorry I am a little slow on picking up the RAID question. Since the Array is set up during the boot, you may need to add drivers for Windows to see it. You should be able to get those from the Manufacturer, or a drivers disk that came with your computer. Put them on a flash drive, maybe use the drivers CD to load them when asked.

It is just hard to say if the RAID is involved, since I don't have that much experience with it.

Originally Posted by Saltgrass

Installing Ubuntu after Windows can cause certain problems, depending on how you installed it. Normally it just overwrites the MBR and puts a Linux boot (Grub) in it place. The way to get rid of that is to use the bootsect.exe /nt60 command. You will need to boot to the Install DVD and use the Command Option. The suggestion by Adamsappleone suggests repairing Grub then using it to fix the Windows partition. Hopefully that will help, but I have no experince with it.

Bootsect Command-Line Options

If you do the Repair your Computer options from the install DVD, even if it does not show the Windows OS, try it anyway. Many times it will pop up a screen that just says fix it before you even get to the options. Let that proceed, then go back and run Startup Repair, probably 3 or 4 times. If you overwrote your Windows 7 install, of course it will not help.

If all else fails, you may need to use Diskpart, from the Install DVD command prompt, to clean the drive and start over.

Edit: If you are running Ubuntu now, you might use GParted to show a picture of the drive partitions and then take a picture and attach. if you use the Ubuntu capture utility, change the name to something simple or Windows will not be able to use it.

An option for this is to download and burn Partition Wizard, the home bootable version, and take a picture of that. Cameras also work well for this purpose.

Here is a picture from Gparted in linux. Which method of repairing the boot do you recommend first? And what exactly does Diskpart do and how do i use it from the command prompt?

Originally Posted by Saltgrass

Sorry I am a little slow on picking up the RAID question. Since the Array is set up during the boot, you may need to add drivers for Windows to see it. You should be able to get those from the Manufacturer, or a drivers disk that came with your computer. Put them on a flash drive, maybe use the drivers CD to load them when asked.

It is just hard to say if the RAID is involved, since I don't have that much experience with it.

I don't know where to obtain these drivers, i have scoured MSI's website for them to no avail.

The drivers may be at the link. This is a GT683-DXR since I cannot find the model you listed. Check to make sure they are the correct ones. Should be the Intel Rapid Storage, and when you download those, you may have to open them to get the RAID drivers. If you unzip it, it might be a utility to make a cd, or at least it appears to be. You might not be able to see those drivers because it appears the default OS on the download page is Windows 8, and it doesn't have many drivers, so you need to make sure it says Windows 7.

MSI Global ? Notebook - GT683DX(GT683DXR)

But your partition display looks a little different than I am used to. I have not seen a Bios backup partiton before, but you seem to have one. Using Diskpart will wipe the drive and remove those partitions, If you are not sure if you need the data in the partitions, do not use diskpart.

Try to get the RAID drivers, maybe it will help. I have to load USB 3.0 drivers for my external drive when I restore an image....

Originally Posted by Saltgrass

The drivers may be at the link. This is a GT683-DXR since I cannot find the model you listed. Check to make sure they are the correct ones. Should be the Intel Rapid Storage, and when you download those, you may have to open them to get the RAID drivers. If you unzip it, it might be a utility to make a cd, or at least it appears to be. You might not be able to see those drivers because it appears the default OS on the download page is Windows 8, and it doesn't have many drivers, so you need to make sure it says Windows 7.

MSI Global ? Notebook - GT683DX(GT683DXR)

But your partition display looks a little different than I am used to. I have not seen a Bios backup partiton before, but you seem to have one. Using Diskpart will wipe the drive and remove those partitions, If you are not sure if you need the data in the partitions, do not use diskpart.

Try to get the RAID drivers, maybe it will help. I have to load USB 3.0 drivers for my external drive when I restore an image....

I found a similar page for my laptop on the msi website but when i click on drivers it doesn't mention anything about RAID drivers.

Also all my data is backed up externally, so i can wipe the entire system if need be.

I found this, maybe it will help.

MSI Global ? FAQ

Originally Posted by Saltgrass

I found this, maybe it will help.

MSI Global ? FAQ

I tried this link. I downloaded the drivers that the page links to and put them on a usb but when i plugged the usb into the install disc and it was recognized but it didn't see any file inside the usb.

At this point i just want to format the entire disc and get a fresh install of windows. How can I get windows to see my hard drives so i can format them and install windows again!?