Vista installer disc shows no volumes available to repair

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michaelper22

michaelper22

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After messing somethign up after running Windows Update and then Auslogics Registry Defrag on Vista Ultimate, I'm trying to fix the problem by running System Restore from the original (full) install disc.

After I click "Repair your computer", I get the dialog in Figure 4 on http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial142.html, just with no drives showing up in the list box. I can click the "Next >" button to proceed to Figure 5, but System Restore will cease to function, throwing an error message which says that I need to specify a volume to run an ofline restore or something of that sort.

I originally installed Vista Ultimate to an eSATA drive with an older SATA drive that already stored XP.

What is preventing me from selecting the Vista partition?
 
all HPs come with a disk(s) and/or recovery partition. same with dell, gateway, etc.

edit: you can call dell to order the recovery disks for any supported model, as long as you pay. i think its $30 + s&h
 
What?
SAVAGExCHAOS said:
all HPs come with a disk(s) and/or recovery partition. same with dell, gateway, etc.

edit: you can call dell to order the recovery disks for any supported model, as long as you pay. i think its $30 + s&h
Click to expand...

Did you mean to confuse this thread with Hp & Dell ?
Not to mention the "Recovery" Disc ! :confused:
michaelper22 said:
I originally installed Vista Ultimate to an eSATA drive with an older SATA drive that already stored XP.
Click to expand...
Anyway, as per my previous reply, "I wonder if HP have a Restore disc for that model" As yet unknown
 
The hard disk that was pre-installed in the machine with XP PRo blown on to it has a recovery partition. I believe they expect you to use that for restoring the computer, but there is also an app that will create a recovery DVD at home.

However, IMHO that is somewhat irrelevant, as I am trying to run System Restore from the Vista Ultimate DVD on a Vista Ultimate partition, unless the recovery partition has the hard disk driverthat I am looking for.

I got on a chat with HP, and the rep said he/she would try to get the driver. As luck would have it, as soon as the rep said he/she would get back in a minute, the rep ended the chat session.
 
I started a new session, and referred the agent to this thread.

The rep, after much begging and pleading, gave me a zip of drivers from Intel. I found a file in the zip by the name of ich6ide.inf that references various Intel components that I found in the System Devices hive of Device Manager. I tried loading that driver in the Vista repair environment, but still no volumes are available to select. The zip can be found at http://downloadmirror.intel.com/16026/a08/infinst_autol.zip.

The following is the text of the conversation.

Michael Perlman : I am looking for the driver for the hard disk or hard disk controller in my Pavilion a1010y desktop. This driver will be used for System Restore in the Repair Your Computer section on the Windows Vista DVD.
[An agent will be with you shortly.]
[You are now chatting with Anthony A .]
Anthony A : Welcome to HP Total Care for HP Desktops. My name is Anthony A. Please give me a few moments while I review your problem description.
Anthony A : Michael, there are no specific drivers for Hard Disk. When the Hard Disk is connected to the computer, it will be detected by the computer.
Michael Perlman : After I click the Repair YOur Computer option in the Windows Vista DVD, there is a dialog that appears which asks for a partition to run repair tasks on. No disks appear in that list.
Michael Perlman : I have consulted sources on the Internet which say that the repair tool doesn't have a driver for the hard disk or the controller, and I should obtain the driver and load it by clicking the "Load Driver" button in that dialog
Michael Perlman : I am looking for a .inf file for that driver.
Anthony A : Are you trying to install Vista in this computer from a retail CD?
Michael Perlman : I already have Vista installed, and I am trying to run System Restore from the Vista install DVD (full version) to fix an issue.
Michael Perlman : System Restore will not run because the hard disk can't be found.
Michael Perlman : You can read about my problem on https://www.techspot.com/vb/topic117461.html
Anthony A : Thank you for the detailed information.
Michael Perlman : You're welcome.
Anthony A : Michael, are using the Vista DVD to run the system restore at startup ?
Michael Perlman : Yes, that is correct.
Michael Perlman : I booted the computer from the DVD
Anthony A : Alright.
Anthony A : Have you checked in BIOS if the Hard Disk is detected?
Michael Perlman : I know it is detected by the BIOS, because I can boot from the drive (but then once Windows Vista boots I'll get into the problems that I need to fix with System Restore).
Anthony A : Michael, in this case I suggest you to reinstall the operating system from the Vista DVDs.
Michael Perlman : Short of doing that, could you try to find the driver? I already have a restore point on the partition that I am sure I can use.
Anthony A : Michael, I regret to inform you that there is no drivers for Hard Disk, as it will detected by the computer once its connected.
Anthony A : The drivers for the Hard Disk wont be even available in manufacturers site.
Michael Perlman : Is the hard disk *controller* any different?
Anthony A : When you are using a SATA or RAID Hard Disk, the Hard Disk controller is required. However, vista will install only of the Hard Disk controllers are available.
Anthony A : In this case, there is no requirment to install Hard Disk controller in the computer as vista is installed
Michael Perlman : But the repair tools on the DVD apparently can't find drivers for the hard disk controller, which are required to find a partition to run System Restore on.
Anthony A : Okay.
Anthony A : Are you using SATA Hard Disk?
Michael Perlman : Yes.
Anthony A : let me check if the Hard Disk controller for the computer are availbel.
Michael Perlman : Okay, thank you.
Anthony A : Which version of vista is installed in the computer?
Michael Perlman : Vista Ultimate (with servie pack 1)
Anthony A : Michael, checking the specifications for the computer, it shows that the computer is shipped with XP, and the computer is released in 2005. I regret to inform you that the Hard Disk controller for this computer is not available for Vista.
Michael Perlman : Could you provide me with the driver for XP? That might work.
Michael Perlman : I'm looking for one that has an INF file. That is the type of file that the file open dialog for pickign the driver will accept.
Anthony A : You can download the same from the URL below :
Anthony A : http://downloadmirror.intel.com/16026/a08/infinst_autol.zip
Michael Perlman : Which INF file in the zip is for the HD controller?
Michael Perlman : Would it be ich8ide.inf?
Anthony A : I am not sure Michael. As you are using an retail version of operating system, I suggest you to contact Microsoft as they will be able to help you with this regard
Michael Perlman : Okay. Thank you for your help.
Anthony A : Thank you for spending your valuable time with us. It’s been a pleasure assisting you today. Have a Great Day Ahead!
Michael Perlman : Have a nice day.
Click to expand...
 
michaelper22 said:
After I click "Repair your computer", ...
Click to expand...
I have re-read this thread, and advise the easiest solution

Download Gparted Live CD and just remove the Partition in full (if you have a Recovery partition, it is your choice to remove that as well)

You may also use another Boot disc "The Ultimate Boot CD" to back up any user data first

Once the Partition(s) is removed (note: Do NOT manually create a new Partition)
Boot from your Windows version disc (whichever version you want to install)
Then continue setup

Please note the contacting (chat) with Hp was to confirm if a Restore disc was available, obviously not.
 
I think there is a misunderstanding.

On one hard disk, HP preinstalled Windows XP Professional with a recovery partition for that OS. On a second hard disk, I installed Vista Ultimate on my own.

I am looking to run System Restore on the Vista disk, from the Vista DVD. However, the Vista DVD does *not* list any disks to run a recovery tool on.

I was convinced by the second reply to this thread that the Vista repair tool on the DVD can't see the Vista hard disk because it doesn't have a driver for my computer's hard disk controller.

I obtained a zip of Intel drivers from the HP rep who I spoke to (see reply #9). I found what looked like the IDE controller driver for my motherboard's chipset, and tried loading that, but the Vista DVD repair tools still didn't see the drive.

All I want to do is run System Restore restore my Vista instance to a working state. I am willing to go to great legnths to avoid the hassle of re-installing Windows Vista and my applications.

At this point, I am planning to buy a new hard drive controller PCI card, which I hope the Vista repair tool will recognize.

If anyone can provide any other solutions within 45 minutes or so from the time I posted this, I'll follow that before buying the controller card.
 
Can you please detach the Xp drive from the motherboard (ie just the data cable)
Then check to see if the Vista Disc then sees the one HardDrive
 
kimsland said:
Can you please detach the Xp drive from the motherboard (ie just the data cable)
Then check to see if the Vista Disc then sees the one HardDrive
Click to expand...
That didn't work. I'm going to order a PCI-based SATA controller card, and when it arrives, I'll try running System Restore from the Vista DVD again.
 
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