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After spending the last week mucking about with an install of Windows 7 x64 SP1 that I really need to do a repair install on (vs doing a clean install), I'm stumped as to how to get around this problem of the "not enough disk space" that occurs at the 74% mark during the transfer of files and settings.
What I've figured out
- For some reason the 100 MB System Reserved Partition is missing
- I can create the System Reserved Partition using the Windows 7 manage feature.
But regardless of whether I make it 100 MB or 256 MB I get the same error. - The actual hard drive itself is 1.5 TB with 1.2 TB free space.
So there is plenty of room on C: for what the repair install has to do - Using EASEUS Partition Manager isn't recommended, so the 100MB partition has to end up after C: instead of before. Not sure if this is the issue.
I followed the instructions I found elsewhere
- making the partition NTFS
- no drive letter assignment
- NTFS format, full format (not quick)
- named as System Reserved
The issue might has to do with the attributes being given to the System Reserved Partition. I'm not able to mark the partition with the right attributes.
The info I've found suggests that the System Reserved partition should have system, active and primary as it's attributes. But the one I create only gets marked as as primary. I tried marking it as active. But that took the active status off C: drive (and when the repair install failed the rollback failed too as a result).
I could use a partition manager program via the UBCD to mark the System Reserved Partition appropriately. What do you think? Is there something else I'm missing?
Peter
Posted 2012-12-31T02:51:27.160
Reputation: 21
Do you have a memory card or USB pendrive plugged in during the installation. I asked because there have been issues where windows outsmarted itself by unpacking stuff in 'the most empty location'. And a fully empty 256MB pen drive (100% free space) is preferred over a 99% free partition (even if those 99% are on a huge multi-TB drive) – Hennes – 2012-12-31T02:54:03.020
No, no USB drive or any other similar dev plugged in. I did a startup repair this afternoon just on a whim, and it seemd to need it for some reason (this was after I created the System Reserved partition again). I noted that the W7 install DVD when doing the startup repair treated C: drive as D:, and D: drive as E: - not sure that I've noticed that before on other systems, so not sure if that's significant or not. Perhaps it might explain why it's popping out the error message? And if yes, how do I fix that? – Peter – 2012-12-31T03:46:13.890
Since you do a repair installation you re-use the existing partition of your HDD, right? You didn't create new partitions. Thats most likely the reason why you won't have a normal 100 MB System Reserved Partition. Please check this site and scroll down to Method 1: Use Existing Partition or Partitioning Scheme
– nixda – 2012-12-31T06:52:26.860The system I'm working on has a dual-boot to Windows 8. I'm pretty sure that the system originally had the 100MB partition (since I originally did a standard clean install in Jan of this year), so possibly the dual boot, however that was done, has tweaked the system? It's not my computer even though I did the original install for a friend, so I don't know how he sorted the dual boot. Even so, I would have thought that the repair install would still work regardless. Any other thoughts? – Peter – 2012-12-31T07:36:08.703
Also, I checked the link that nixda provided - it doesn't appear applicable to my situation, as I'm doing a repair install not a fresh install, and the repair install HAS to be launched from within W7 in order to work. Also, the W7 install is W7 Pro 64-bit with SP1 (I downloaded the appropriate ISO from the Dell tech website so that the install DVD I have for the repair matches the actual install) – Peter – 2012-12-31T07:38:25.680
I doubt you know that this 100 MB partition also contains the Master Boot Record. There was a Win8 installation after your initial Win7 installation in Jan. That is an important notice. That will affect this partition since the MBR gets updated for the second OS. I'm still trying to find the connection between the missing partition and your 74% not enough disc space error – nixda – 2012-12-31T08:13:58.300
There seems to be a lot of conflicting opinion about the system reserved partition. The link you gave me says that the system can run without it. Indeed, my own PC that has W7 32-bit, upgraded from Vista, doesn't have the 100MB part since it was an upgrade in-place job, not a clean install. Therefore I can't figure out why having the system reserved partition there or not affects the repair install. My only guess is that somehow W7 "remembers" how it was originally installed, and when it comes to a repair install expects the partition layout to be identical. What do you think? – Peter – 2012-12-31T08:31:51.770
Another thought. The thing that really has me keen on doing this repair install, and that started this whole process running, is that there are 4 Windows updates that refuse to install. After much fiddling about trying to get around this, I found that the sfc /scannow would quit @ 57% no matter how many times I ran it. I checked the log - too many errors to even consider manually extracting all the "damaged" files it was reporting. Hence, I ended up deciding that a repair install would sort both problems at the same time. Is there a way to FORCE sfc to replace files off the DVD like XP does? – Peter – 2012-12-31T08:37:30.843
1If you have that many errors in the OS drives filesystem: reformat. (aka, do a full reinstall after you have made a good backup). As for the 100MB partition: win7 runs fine without it, as long as you do not use bitlocker for full disk encryption. (The OS needs some place to start from before it can start decoding an encrypted FS). – Hennes – 2012-12-31T14:23:10.000
I'd still like to find a way to do the repair install, as W7 still, despite all the noted problems, runs fine (who would've thought?). Not only that, but it's going to be a HUGE job to reinstall all the many progs that the owner of the PC has installed & is testing / evaluating. Were it not for this, I'd quite happily go with a clean install. Any other thoughts? – Peter – 2012-12-31T21:55:00.630
Well, I gave up. Sadly, I've had to go for the reinstall from scratch. A shame, really, as I felt sure there would be a way to get around the problem somehow. Ah for the good old days of the XP repair install... – Peter – 2013-01-03T00:53:56.930