Windows Loader: Unsupported Partition Table Part 2

Discussion in 'Windows 7' started by elula, Feb 5, 2013.

  1. nguoidungnq

    nguoidungnq MDL Novice

    Aug 3, 2009
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    First of all, Thanks.
    I have read it, with my orginal harddisk, I did (i CONVERTED TO MBR). I knew it's supposed to have MBR
    However, this new disk DUAL (128G ssd + 1TB normal, two in one). As my understanding, converting to MBR requiring the merging of 128g SSD & 1Tb together.... I don't know what happen then
    Therefore, I aksed, so some who experienced can englighten me what I should do in order to have my Win7 activated, and not disturbing much the 128 SSD disk.
    Thanks & Regards,
     
  2. ReesK

    ReesK MDL Novice

    Nov 28, 2014
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    #102 ReesK, Nov 30, 2014
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2014
    Hey guys , i've got a new ASUS R510JK with FreeDOS and i'm having the same issue when i try to use the loader.I tried the "convert to mbr" solution and it didnt seem to work for me , probably it's still booting with UEFI but i don't know why.I don't have any UEFI or Legacy boot options in my BIOS , i only have Fast Boot and Secure boot.Secure boot seems to be disabled , it is greyed out.

    I also tried to make a bootable USB stick with the WIN7_USB-DVD tool.After i made it , i deleted the bootmgr.efi file (i can't post pictures cause im a new user , but on the USB i had a bootmgr.efi and a bootmgr with no extension , i only deleted the .efi one).This caused the Windows install to begin immediatly after restarting , did not get the "Press any key to boot from.." message , it just started automatically.However after the initial load it generated an error screen saying "A required CD/DVD driver device is missing.If you have a driver CD/DVD , USB of floppy disk , please insert it now" , and then it gave me a browse button to search for the drive.

    Does the Windows 8.1 loader have the same issue ? I'd install 8.1 if it doesn't have this problem even if i don't like W8 so much.Also i think i recalled Daz saying that W7 Professional can be activated with another loader to bypass this ? W7 Professional is fine by me , can someone please confirm that works ?

    I have little experience with BIOS-es , i never had issues installing licences using daz loader before , i guess my old laptops and desktop are in MBR by default.With my low experience i'm not sure i'd want to mod my BIOS , i saw some SLIC solutions , but i'm afraid i'll mess up or worse , loose my warranty.What is my best solution all things considered ?
     
  3. Carlos Detweiller

    Carlos Detweiller Emperor of Ice-Cream
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    Dec 21, 2012
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    In the BIOS/UEFI menu, look for CSM. Fast Boot must be off for Legacy I think (it's an UEFI thingy).

    There is no Windows 8.1 Loader, all 8.x solutions are KMS based. Thus BIOS or UEFI doesn't matter. All 8.x Editions are compatible with the KMS emulators provided here. Additionally, Vista Business+Enterprise and Win7 Professional+Enterprise can be activated by KMS (main product line, there are the N counterparts also capable, and Embedded versions).
     
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  4. ReesK

    ReesK MDL Novice

    Nov 28, 2014
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    I see.Thanks for the info.I'll try the KMS since it's a better solution for me.

    I saw a Windows 8 Loader on a few websites, 2.3.0 , claimed to be Daz version , maybe they were fake , but that's why i was under the impression that there's a Win8 Loader.
     
  5. Mr.X

    Mr.X MDL Guru

    Jul 14, 2013
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    It's a fake, absolutely. Windows Loader current version is 2.2.2 and doesn't support Win8.x
     
  6. _Emile_

    _Emile_ MDL Novice

    Feb 7, 2015
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    Hello,


    I have an "Unsupported partition table" problem with the 2.2.2 version.


    I installed years ago, an older version of win loader on a SSD after a fresh install of windows 7 64 bits (7601.win7sp1_gdr.141211-1742). It was on a HP pavilion. All was fine.


    Today, I changed the motherbord (MSI B75MA-P45) and graphic card. The system succeeded in starting Windows without reinstalling the OS. But Windows is no longer activated and I get the error mentionned above when I run windows loader.


    I'm not accustomed to these "new" types of BIOS and partition. The SSD has a partition of 100 Mio tagged "EFI".


    In bios settings, the boot mode select is set to "Legacy+UEFI" (the only other option is "UEFI"). The boot order #1 is "UEFI Hard disk: windows boot manager". When I switch this #1 to "Hard disk ssd..." (I expected it boots in legacy mode), it does not boot at all ("press a key...").


    What can I try now? Where to search? I'm seriously lost.
     
  7. DioNZB

    DioNZB MDL Member

    Jun 23, 2013
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    Use Win7 Enterprise or Professional
    You can activate then by KMS activation (example: KMSpico or MTK)

    Or Install Win81 and activate with KMS :D


     
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  8. _Emile_

    _Emile_ MDL Novice

    Feb 7, 2015
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    Thanks a lot for this answer. I plan to use Windows 7 entreprise downgrader to switch to professional edition and then try MTK (as I can't download KMSpico which seems to have been corrupted).


    I don't know whether Windows 7 entreprise downgrader will work or not. If not, I'll do a fresh install of pro edition.
     
  9. Mr.X

    Mr.X MDL Guru

    Jul 14, 2013
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    If your SSD is smaller than 2TB you might make use of legacy BIOS. Enter the BIOS Setup and I believe there's an EFI Shell settings where you can switch that back.
    If you can achieve that I am pretty sure you'll be able to use MBR partitioning scheme again then you can use Windows Loader again.
     
  10. _Emile_

    _Emile_ MDL Novice

    Feb 7, 2015
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    That's the case, it's only a 128 GB size ssd. But I can't figure out how to make it boot in legacy mode. Didn't find anything that works in both bios settings and internet.
     
  11. Carlos Detweiller

    Carlos Detweiller Emperor of Ice-Cream
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    Dec 21, 2012
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    MBR vs. GPT are completely different partition styles. That means, without complete wiping and re-partitioning of your SSD (or conversion with some tools) you will not get the OS to boot with the other style.
    The EFI partition hints on GPT. Simply switching to MBR will not let the OS boot (completely different boot manager). You need to wipe or convert.
     
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  12. _Emile_

    _Emile_ MDL Novice

    Feb 7, 2015
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    #112 _Emile_, Feb 8, 2015
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2015
    I discovered that my system disk is a GPT. This is the reason why, I think, it doesn't boot in legacy mode. So, it's not really a problem of bios settings.

    The question is: why is it a GPT disk? Knowing that, the whole data on disk comes from a previous motherbord install (well, which has UEFI capabilities), but windows loader worked like a charm.
    Did my motherboard or Windows convert it to GPT when I boot the first time with the new hardware? This has no sense for me...


    I try to find an utility with GPT to MBR conversion without loss of data but the only one I found isn't freeware (AOMEI Partition Assistant).
     
  13. Aninvitedsoul

    Aninvitedsoul MDL Senior Member

    Sep 14, 2012
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    @ Emile It your decision whether to buy the tool or to do a clean install.
     
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  14. _Emile_

    _Emile_ MDL Novice

    Feb 7, 2015
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    #114 _Emile_, Feb 8, 2015
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2015
    I finally managed to reinstall windows 7-64 ultimate. I set the BIOS to start on the ssd in legacy mode and deleted all ssd partitions just before Windows installation.
    After that, Windows loader has worked fine.

    But a question remains: how my previous system worked with Windows loader, given that it was installed on a GPT disk?

    Anyway, thanks to all guys.
     
  15. Aninvitedsoul

    Aninvitedsoul MDL Senior Member

    Sep 14, 2012
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    urie,Daz,Tito;It's nice to see all in one thread.I hope you keep participating in future threads.:)
     
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  16. Aninvitedsoul

    Aninvitedsoul MDL Senior Member

    Sep 14, 2012
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    You did the right thing.Regarding your question,I would confirm that Daz loader doesn't support GPT partitions.
     
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  17. Mr.X

    Mr.X MDL Guru

    Jul 14, 2013
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    Here's your definitive answer: Windows Loader can't or couldn't anytime in the past to work on a GPT disk, period.
    There's a confusion on you about what you did with your system in the past, you just simply don't remember correctly. ;)
     
  18. Carlos Detweiller

    Carlos Detweiller Emperor of Ice-Cream
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    Dec 21, 2012
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    Wasn't BootCamp on Mac an exception? It could also be he used WindSLIC and not Loader.
     
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  19. _Emile_

    _Emile_ MDL Novice

    Feb 7, 2015
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    Don't want to make you loose time on that subject. But I'm pretty sure I never used other software than Daz loader to activate Windows. And I'm almost certain that it activated W7-64 ultimate on a HP pavilion p6-2033fr. I didn't pay much attention about the disk type after or before installation as I wasn't even aware of GPT existence. It simply worked.


    I wonder if some Windows updates or weird software once converted my disk. But this seems as absurd as all I can imagine to explain what occurred.

    I think I need to study what happened in PC since BIOS, MBR disks and CPU real mode. :biggrin:
     
  20. xoxide

    xoxide MDL Novice

    Mar 29, 2010
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    #120 xoxide, Mar 24, 2015
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2015
    Basically i'm having a UEFI issue

    but

    2 systems.. one all i did was enable raid.. it worked

    this one.. first time it installed.. on this box i got the UEFI or invalid blah blah

    i did research.. can't get it to work yet

    i'm using RUFUS 2.1.649 to create my boot usb

    i have killed the raid on my 3rd and 4th attempts.. unable to see raid now..

    especially if i say Legacy OPROM

    PS: this is in raid 5 mode .. so i'm not able to get raid drivers to init without the UEFI or after deleting the bootmgr.