Install Windows on a laptop problem


Ghot

Ghot

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Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26300.9550 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦26H2
Ok, this LAPTOP came with Windows 11.

The owner clicks on everything she sees, so the computer is always messed up.
BUT... when I set it up for her originally, I made an AOMEI full backup.

Restored from the old backup yesterday and all was well. Between then and now she messed it up again.
So, I told AOMEI to restore from the backup again. BUT, it seems MS downloaded a bunch of updates between yesterday and today, and the owner, never restarted the computer.

So... during the restore from backup today... when the comp restarted to do the restore, the updates tried to install/restart.
Ofc, this seriously messed things up.

None of the Recovery tools could do anything either.

Long story short, I figured I'd just reinstall Windows. The installer won't let me. It says the disk is MBR.


Side note: There is also an ASUS recovery partition on the laptop's drive.

Questions:

1. Is there a way to convert the disk to GPT?
2. Should I just call ASUS on Monday and ask them how to do a factory reset?
3. Some kind of BCD edit?



The hardware is fine. I'm just not that good at laptops.
 
Last edited:

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26300.9550 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦26H2AMD Ryzen 7 3700XG.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26300.9550 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦26H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 5302)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1

  • At a glance

    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
Ghot said:
There is also an ASUS recovery partition on the laptop's drive.
Click to expand...
cant you boot that one and restore the computer?
If boot is destroyed and F9/F11 or whatever key it is in Bios to launch OEM recovery dont work...., you can set the OEM recovery partition as active and it should boot the OEM recovery
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Linux: Debian, Kali-linux, Alma, Win:7,10IoT,...i3, i5 and i7 From 2gen to 9th gen... Server ...
    OS
    Linux: Debian, Kali-linux, Alma, Win:7,10IoT,2012R
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Elitebook 840, AsusX53, Aspire E1-572. AsusUX32A, HP Pro3130mt+3010mt, HP Proliant ML150, 3xCustom-PC, i3, i5, i7
    CPU
    i3, i5 and i7 From 2gen to 9th gen... Server dual Xenon
    Hard Drives
    Sata, M.2, SAS

  • At a glance

    Retro: 2003server.XPpro, Win2000, Win98SE, Wi...Oldest intel 8088 up to P4 dual core
    Operating System
    Retro: 2003server.XPpro, Win2000, Win98SE, Win95, Win3.11, MS-DOS, IBM-DOS
    Manufacturer/Model
    Commodore, AST, Fujitsu, Compaq, etc etc. etc Around 15 desktops and 20 laptops in the collection
    CPU
    Oldest intel 8088 up to P4 dual core
    Hard Drives
    MFM, IDE, SCSI
Marie SWE said:
cant you boot that one and restore the computer?
If boot is destroyed and F9/F11 or whatever key it is in Bios to launch OEM recovery dont work...., you can set the OEM recovery partition as active and it should boot the OEM recovery
Click to expand...


I'll put that on my to-do list. :-)
But thanks. I didn't know how to tell the ASUS recovery partition to... do it's thing.


I'm kind of hoping that I can just convert the disk to GPT, and do a clean install of Windows 11.
I don't even understand why it would be MBR.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26300.9550 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦26H2AMD Ryzen 7 3700XG.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26300.9550 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦26H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 5302)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1

  • At a glance

    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
Ghot said:
Is there a way to convert the disk to GPT?
Click to expand...
mbr2gpt.exe in C:\Windows\System32

learn.microsoft.com

MBR2GPT

Use MBR2GPT.EXE to convert a disk from the Master Boot Record (MBR) to the GUID Partition Table (GPT) partition style without modifying or deleting data on the disk.
learn.microsoft.com
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro 26H2
OS
Windows 11 Pro 26H2
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Toshiba
Antivirus
Defender
@Ghot
Is it an ASUS VivoBook?
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
  • ASUS VivoBook 'Lite' ~ Windows 11 Home
Edwin said:
@Ghot
Is it an ASUS VivoBook?
Click to expand...


Yep... ASUS Vivobook F1605VA-ES56 (linked in first post)

I even tried my Macrium bootable rescue USB.
It actually booted, but when I tried the Fix boot problems, there was nothing in the window that popped up, to choose to fix.


I guess I'm just looking for ideas at the moment.
I don't have the laptop with me right now, but can get it tomorrow.

I just took my meds, so I'll be asleep with the half hour.
If anyone thinks of anything, just post it in here. Probably be about 3-4pm NY time before I can get the laptop.
 
Last edited:

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26300.9550 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦26H2AMD Ryzen 7 3700XG.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26300.9550 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦26H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 5302)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1

  • At a glance

    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
Ghot said:
The owner clicks on everything she sees, so the computer is always messed up.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a good use case for a Chromebook...

You might want to have that conversation with her, and see if it would be a good fit.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro 26H2
OS
Windows 11 Pro 26H2
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Toshiba
Antivirus
Defender
The easiest way, at least for most people, is to use the Recovery partition which returns the Laptop to the bought condx. The exact procedures vary a bit depending on manufacturers. Some may need the recovery media to be downloaded from the manufacturer.

Then you start again with all the updates etc.
That worked for me on several brands of Laptops rejected from new due to an array of software/hardware faults. Did this before returning them.
Ghot said:
The owner clicks on everything she sees, so the computer is always messed up.
Click to expand...

Ghot said:
Between then and now she messed it up again.
Click to expand...
A Windows laptop is not suitable in that case as you land yourself with a forever job.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Ghot said:
I'll put that on my to-do list. :-)
But thanks. I didn't know how to tell the ASUS recovery partition to... do it's thing.


I'm kind of hoping that I can just convert the disk to GPT, and do a clean install of Windows 11.
I don't even understand why it would be MBR.
Click to expand...
I have used that trick myself on win7 OEM when i restored a computer after the C: partition was deleted.

There is pros with MBR.. so as long i can run my systems on MBR i will continue to do so :-)
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Linux: Debian, Kali-linux, Alma, Win:7,10IoT,...i3, i5 and i7 From 2gen to 9th gen... Server ...
    OS
    Linux: Debian, Kali-linux, Alma, Win:7,10IoT,2012R
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Elitebook 840, AsusX53, Aspire E1-572. AsusUX32A, HP Pro3130mt+3010mt, HP Proliant ML150, 3xCustom-PC, i3, i5, i7
    CPU
    i3, i5 and i7 From 2gen to 9th gen... Server dual Xenon
    Hard Drives
    Sata, M.2, SAS

  • At a glance

    Retro: 2003server.XPpro, Win2000, Win98SE, Wi...Oldest intel 8088 up to P4 dual core
    Operating System
    Retro: 2003server.XPpro, Win2000, Win98SE, Win95, Win3.11, MS-DOS, IBM-DOS
    Manufacturer/Model
    Commodore, AST, Fujitsu, Compaq, etc etc. etc Around 15 desktops and 20 laptops in the collection
    CPU
    Oldest intel 8088 up to P4 dual core
    Hard Drives
    MFM, IDE, SCSI
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