1. You are viewing our forum as a guest. For full access please Register. WindowsBBS.com is completely free, paid for by advertisers and donations.

Resolved Repair install for Win 7?

Discussion in 'Windows 7' started by psaulm119, 2011/11/04.

  1. 2011/11/04
    psaulm119 Lifetime Subscription

    psaulm119 Geek Member Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2003/12/07
    Messages:
    1,424
    Likes Received:
    21
    Is there a way to do a repair install for Windows 7 without an installation disk? For some reason no matter what I've done, I can't get Windows 7 to see the DVD drive, and when it does, it won't recognize a blank disk. System Repair didn't work, uninstalling teh driver and rebooting didn't work, nor did removing media-burning programs that didn't come with the desktop itself--so I'm wondering if a repair installation of Windows will do the job.

    Is there even such a creature available for Windows 7?
     
  2. 2011/11/04
    rsinfo

    rsinfo SuperGeek Alumni

    Joined:
    2005/12/25
    Messages:
    4,076
    Likes Received:
    178
    You would need the DVD to do the repair install.

    First try to clean your drive with CD cleaner disks. They are cheap & could do wonders.

    If that fails, get an external USB DVD drive. Its much slower but much cheaper than replacing a laptop DVD drive.
     

  3. to hide this advert.

  4. 2011/11/04
    psaulm119 Lifetime Subscription

    psaulm119 Geek Member Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2003/12/07
    Messages:
    1,424
    Likes Received:
    21
    OK, the computer I was talking about is a desktop (not the laptop that I have given the specs for)--sorry for the confusion.

    But yes, that's a good point--I'd need the DVD drive working to do that repair install..... Hmmmm

    I'll look into a cleaner; also, I'll configure BIOS to boot to the DVD drive first--as long as the hardware is ok I should be able to still use that drive. The folks who make EasyBCD (Neosmart) sell those repair disks for 10 bucks. I'll pursue that as well as cleaner disks.

    Gonna be busy for the next few days but when I get the time I'll work on this and post back.

    Thanks
     
  5. 2011/11/05
    rsinfo

    rsinfo SuperGeek Alumni

    Joined:
    2005/12/25
    Messages:
    4,076
    Likes Received:
    178
    If its a desktop, get a normal DVD drive. SATA or IDE as per your computer. Much cheaper & faster.
     
  6. 2011/11/05
    psaulm119 Lifetime Subscription

    psaulm119 Geek Member Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2003/12/07
    Messages:
    1,424
    Likes Received:
    21
  7. 2011/11/05
    rsinfo

    rsinfo SuperGeek Alumni

    Joined:
    2005/12/25
    Messages:
    4,076
    Likes Received:
    178
    Yes, something like it.
     
  8. 2011/11/05
    SpywareDr

    SpywareDr SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

    Joined:
    2005/12/31
    Messages:
    3,752
    Likes Received:
    338
  9. 2011/11/05
    psaulm119 Lifetime Subscription

    psaulm119 Geek Member Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2003/12/07
    Messages:
    1,424
    Likes Received:
    21
    This is strange; it will play an audio cd.

    We found a DVD lens cleaner but it never ran through its program/routine. The dvd drive just kicked it out and asked me to insert a blank DVD.

    OK well at least the drive itself isn't totally broken, although only being able to handle CDs isn't much in this day and age.
     
  10. 2011/11/05
    rsinfo

    rsinfo SuperGeek Alumni

    Joined:
    2005/12/25
    Messages:
    4,076
    Likes Received:
    178
    The DVD lens is gone. Replace the drive.
     
  11. 2011/11/06
    psaulm119 Lifetime Subscription

    psaulm119 Geek Member Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2003/12/07
    Messages:
    1,424
    Likes Received:
    21
    OK, I'm looking at a couple of drives and making sure they will fit. I'll also see if the desktop is still under warrantee.

    Thanks. Looks like the most it will cost is 25 including shipping. Folks have paid a lot more to solve their computer problems, and I get new hardware as well.
     
  12. 2011/11/07
    psaulm119 Lifetime Subscription

    psaulm119 Geek Member Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2003/12/07
    Messages:
    1,424
    Likes Received:
    21
    Good news--desktop was still under warranty Bad news I spent an hour to get them to replace it (instead of buying a new one for 25 bucks), plus had to give a cc as collateral in case I didn't send back the old one.

    OK well at least it will get replaced.

    Thanks for the feedback.
     
  13. 2011/11/13
    psaulm119 Lifetime Subscription

    psaulm119 Geek Member Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2003/12/07
    Messages:
    1,424
    Likes Received:
    21
    That was it (it must have been a bad DVD lens, as RSInfo said). I installed the new one last week and its been burning and reading DVDs fine.

    I would have taken the time to clean the old one (and see if that worked), but I didn't want to get stuck doing this every 6-12 months (the desktop is only 11 months old), so I just decided to have it replaced, as it was under warranty.
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.