Ok, so here's a two part question:1. Just say something has gone terribly wrong and I cannot boot into Windows.Some corrupt Windows file - Im thinking important things like winload.exe and some vital dll's - or maybe something has gone wrong in the registry.How do I do a repair install to fix the problem without deleting all of my programs, current registry etc?I know in XP you could just boot off the disk and do a repair install, but I can't seem to find a similar function with 7.2. Here is a situation that has led me to be in the above situation many times. You have a perfectly operating Windows 7 installation (and assume this would apply to Vista too) and you go and do something like: change a motherboard, move the HDD from one computer to another... or in some way or another CHANGE THE STORAGE CONTROLLER that the HDD has to boot from.This results in a BSOD on boot. I would assume this is because the installation doesnt have the driver for the controller, and if it does - it isnt installed, and set to boot from that controller (bad wording there, but I am guessing that there is some way that the windows install is set to boot from only the specified storage controller/driver)Again, in XP, I would just do a repair install booting to CD with the correct storage controller driver. This was tedious, but the only way I knew of to get the HDD booting again.So, as I cannot seem to find a way of repair installing with 7/Vista (and even if I did find a way, I hope there is some easier thing I can do), what can I do to stop this problem from occurring when the storage controller is changed? Can I pre-install the driver? How do I set it to use that driver to boot? (again, assuming something like this happens)Sorry for the long winded question(s), I hope you guys can help me out! :)jt

JT...It's simple.. Boot from the DVD and go through the installation wizard. When it asks you if you want to do a clean install or an upgrade, select the Upgrade option. This will do what is called an "in place upgrade" of the OS. This will also work for Vista. The installer for Windows 6.x (both Vista and 7) are almost identical in this regard.When you finish, you will need to re-activate Win 7 and you will likely want to run Windows Update to make sure you've got all of the latest updates from there, but your installed apps will still be there.

"2. Here is a situation that has led me to be in the above situation many times. You have a perfectly operating Windows 7 installation (and assume this would apply to Vista too) and you go and do something like: change a motherboard, move the HDD from one computer to another... or in some way or another CHANGE THE STORAGE CONTROLLER that the HDD has to boot from." That, my friend, is your problem. Unlike older Win9x and some current Linux operating systems, you just cant arbitrarily change key hardware components. Yes, there are situations in which you can do that; replace a bad motherboard with a replacement that is an exact matchat least has the same chipset and controllers; However, you cant remove an Abit motherboard, install a Gigabyte replacement and expect everything to be okay. Moving one boot/system hard drive from one system to another with differing hardware is just the same as the replacement motherboard example. There are a couple of reasons for this. One is to help reduce the instances of piracy. The other, more important reason is for system stability. Bad hardware, computer configurations, and device drivers are responsible for a good majority of blue screen errors. Replacing key hardware components only undermines Windows stability. What can you do to prevent this problem from occurring when the storage controller is changed? Nothing. If you need to change a storage controller that will be connected to the boot/system drive, then you will need to make preparations and such accordantly. Outside of the rant . . . Like Wolfie said, you should be able to boot with the Windows 7 DVD, do an in-place-reinstall. That should fix your boot problem and provide you with a somewhat stable system. In my opinion, a better option is to do a clean reload so you have no remaining migration artifacts looming in the background.

And what happens if you boot from the DVD to do an in-place upgrade and it tells you that you need to boot to the OS on the hard drive. However, that will not boot and has a blue screen 7b stop error which you cannot fix no matter what approach you took? Is there a way to force the upgrade to occur with a setup switch? Trying to find anything to save installation of hundreds of applications.

JT... It's simple.. Boot from the DVD and go through the installation wizard. When it asks you if you want to do a clean install or an upgrade, select the Upgrade option. This will do what is called an "in place upgrade" of the OS. This will also work for Vista. The installer for Windows 6.x (both Vista and 7) are almost identical in this regard. When you finish, you will need to re-activate Win 7 and you will likely want to run Windows Update to make sure you've got all of the latest updates from there, but your installed apps will still be there. Doesnt work... it says you have to run the upgrade from inside windows... your only choice is a clean install at that point. Unless I am doing something wrong.

JT... It's simple.. Boot from the DVD and go through the installation wizard. When it asks you if you want to do a clean install or an upgrade, select the Upgrade option. This will do what is called an "in place upgrade" of the OS. This will also work for Vista. The installer for Windows 6.x (both Vista and 7) are almost identical in this regard. When you finish, you will need to re-activate Win 7 and you will likely want to run Windows Update to make sure you've got all of the latest updates from there, but your installed apps will still be there. Doesnt work... it says you have to run the upgrade from inside windows... your only choice is a clean install at that point. Unless I am doing something wrong. You need to discover what is telling the DVD that it started the PC. It is reading information from your system boot drive, most likely from a combination of files and/or folders and definitely the registry -- I have already experimented with the environment, and changing that to reflect that the hard disk booted, failed. If the information the DVD reads tells it that it was launched from the Windows 7 desktop, then you can do an in-place upgrade, directly from the booted DVD, without ever booting to the desktop.