Asus UX32VD doesn't boot after Recovery

Hi everybody,

I'm new here, although I have been reading in this forum for a while and am especially grateful for the "Bloatware" thread and the manual to install the OS on the UX32's SSD. Thanks.

Unfortunately what made me register here is a problem. While deinstalling some of the bloatware and subsequent powering down Windows got stuck on a message that it was still configuring something and I shouldn't shut off the computer. This went on for about an hour with no progress, so finally I DID shut the computer down. When I restarted it went into a loop of starting up, trying to install something, immediately telling me that there was an error and shutting down again. This went on for quite a while and I let it go on, since I met someone to dinner. When I came back the computer was still at it so I tried a complete recovery.

The recovery went on ok. I pressed F9 while starting and within about 45 minutes everything should have been back to normal.
However it seems there is a problem with the drives. I had that once on my PC. I get a black screen with some info that Windows couln't correctly start due to some problem. With my PC I simply insert my Windows CD go to the repair options and everythings ok.

Now with the ASUS notebook I don't have a Win 7 CD. I downloaded an ISO for a Win 7 HP 64 DVD and installed it on my USB stick. It ran perfectly but I'm being told it was the wrong version so it couln't repair my system.

Now I'm up the proverbial creek without adequate means of transportation and could need some advice, please.

BTW: I'm using a German Windows 7 Home Premium 64 on my Asus.

Thanks
best regards
Woof

 

I've seen the boot loop happen in Vista - it was a known issue with a particular Windows update, which is probably what you ran into as well.

If was a Windows 8 machine originally, then Asus probably inserted the Windows 8 product key into the firmware (OA 3.0), which would explain "wrong version" message, as the pre-loaded key would be strictly for Windows 8.

On the other hand, if you opted for Windows 7 when you purchased it, then the "wrong version" message is probably due to you using a HP OEM .iso on a Asus machine.

 

Hi Prostar,

Thanks for your reply. By now I tried several different Windows 7 ISOs via USB stick (none of which an HP iso). All with the same result. I also retried the recovery several times. Nothing.

Every time the Windows Start Manager shows up on its black screen and tells me there was a problem starting Windows and I should insert the Windows DVD, select a language and click on "repair computer"
Status: 0xc0000225
Info: Error with start selection. Access to a required device not possible

(loosely translated from German)

 

Did your laptop originally come with Windows 8? Asus jumped on board the bandwagon with the whole OA 3.0 lock, so it's very likely you're receiving said message due to that. The key is embedded in BIOS from factory.

There is a thread outlining how to re-install Windows 8 with some advice on installing Windows 7 onto a Windows 8 machine with OA 3.0, but I don't see that anyone has tested it (or at least, they haven't contributed their results yet). You can give that a shot.

 

Hi. No it came with Windows 7. at least when I first started it. But since it was a used one from amazon warehouse deals, it may have had Win 8 originally and may have been reset as Windows 7 though I doubt it. Might be worth a try since I've got a Windows 8 DVD as well. Thx.

 

I doubt that as well.

A BIOS update may or may not help you out, but I think this is going to take some trial and error. Just make sure that the key you're entering matches the edition of Windows you're installing (Home Premium, Pro, Ultimate, etc.). That may sound asinine, but honestly, mistakes like that happen all the time. Just had a customer that couldn't perform an upgrade because he couldn't activate his Windows 7 product key. When we looked it over and relayed it back to him, he was off by one character! So double check; sometimes a z could look like a 2, or a L may look like a 1, etc.

 

Since I cannot even re-install Windows 7 from scratch at the moment because the HDD is in GPT mode, and Windows refuses to be installed on that, a false activation key is the least of my problems The repair console does not even require an activation key.

The only options I can see at the moment is either
1. finding a Windows DVD whose repair console is compatible to my recovered Asus Windows 7 on the notebook or
2. take the HDD out of the notebook, and plug it into my PC, delete all partitions (including the recovery), change it to MBR mode and reinstall Windows completely from scratch.

Since option 1 is not likely ( I tried 5 different Windows 7 ISOs x64 and x86 as well as a Windows 8 ISO) and since I'm not too keen on all the Asus Bloatware option 2 seems to be the best course of action

 

*facepalm*

Not sure why I forgot to mention this, but have you tried using diskpart? All you need to do is pop in your Windows 7 installation media, boot from it; at the Install Windows screen, press Shift + F10 (or boot into the Recovery Options and select Command Prompt), and then follow the directions in that link to convert the drive. Make sure you know which disk it is - assuming you have any other drives installed at the time.

 

Thanks. That at least saves me from plugging the HDD into my PC. But it will also wipe the whole disk including the Recovery partition.

 

True. Sorry MrWoof! That's all I can think to recommend off the top of my head, at the moment. Let us know how things go, and/or if you come across another alternative.

 

Hi. I took your advice. Thanks. This post is being sent from the Asus. Works fine now

 

Great! Did you use diskpart? Glad you're all up and running. :thumbsup:

 

Hi. Yes I used diskpart. I remember using it several years ago in Windows 2000 but completely forgot that its still there since all the easy-to-use applications came up thanks for the tip. Brought back some fond memories of using fdisk in DOS and early Windows best wishes from Bavaria