Linux Help

[#1]

@MisterW 

It would appear the Win7 install problems on a Gigabyte 100 series motherboard with M.2 ensures that the Windows System Repair disk, the WindowsSystemImage or replacing the current setup with a cloned copy will not work (the clone would need the drive it was writing to).

I have one free option left in trying to create the "bodged" Win7 install disk which is needed to do a fresh install. This might just enable System Repair to function. Funnily enough I need a Win7 machine to do this (see below).

The nuclear option is to spend £120 on a second M.2 SSD and an external enclosure. This would enable me to transfer the "clone" I already have (on a HDD) of the M.2 SSD and then physically replace the old one with the new one with the old one becoming a backup. While not cheap I would at least be secure in the knowledge that if anything happened to either the drive or the Win7 install I could relatively easily recover to my last clone. I guess it's better to find this out now rather than if the system went pear shaped.

@shutter 

Given the need for a Win7 computer (see above) I downloaded the VirtualBox from the Oracle site as recommended. On install it told me it already existed so it may well be the same as the one included with Mint. Downloaded the Extensions pack as well. With the Win7 ISO on a USB I fired up VB, created a "new" machine and installed Win7 before spending the rest of the afternoon running updates (the first pass had 171 updates at 1439mb!!!). I think I'm now up to date with a running machine but haven't had time to look any further.

Thanks for all your help.

Brian

[#2]

@bmc  You got-it ! ! ... You could be working on V5.2   which is the previous version installed with Mint... 

Yeah.. 117 updates seems to be about right... same here... a real pain when you want to get other things done...but now its all there... it will be a simple click on the desktop icon to access it, and use it... for five minutes or whatever, and then just go on to the Linux operating system by clicking something else.  leave Virtual Box running, ...

One thing...  Make sure you use the correct "X" to close things on the Windows screen... the one at the top will want you to close Windows .. whereas the one below that will be for the "page" / "program" you are working with .

If you do close with the top one... next time you open Windows you will be presented with the "start windows normally" screen .

It does tend to boot up a lot quicker on the VIrtual Box, than in the HDD version, I found... 

[#3]

@MisterW  Sorted - other than losing a few e-mails because I forgot to copy my mail program (the clone I had was from 6 days ago). Boy am I happy I took both a SystemImage and a Clone of my operating drive before I started messing about with Linux. Took about 15 minutes in the end which included both adding and then removing a HDD from the PC.

Once I'd figured out that the Windows repair tools wouldn't work because the M.2 SSD didn't play with Win7 I got in touch with the PC manufacturer (life time technical support!!!) about suitable M.2 SSD's to replace my current one (no longer available). During an e-mail exchange I remembered how I'd sorted the PC last time using an ordinary SSD. It just so happened I had a spare SSD in the machine (it held a clone/ copy of the SSD with Win10 on it).

So, after making sure I knew which SSD was which in the Boot Menu I got started

Cloned the HDD to the spare SSD and shut down.

Removed the HDD and re-started, going into the Boot Menu to pick the spare SSD.

It booted as expected straight into the dual boot of Win7/Win10 and then by default into Win7 itself (no Grub2 anywhere).

Cloned the SSD to the M.2 SSD and shut down.

Re-started to check things were still working as expected and then shut down again.

Removed the SSD from the machine and restarted - which functioned as expected.

All that remains is to format the spare SSD so I don't get confused.

And not a penny spent (yet!!!). I will get yet another SSD (from a different manufacturer) to hold a regular clone of the C drive.

Brian

[#4]

@bmc  glad you managed to sort it. It was getting a bit out of my comfort zone. Its some time since I had to fix Windows boot.

[#5]

@shutter 

OK, how do I maximise the Windows "window" so I have a decent area to work with?

The VM Box window is nicely sized and retains its shape between sessions. However, The Win7 Linux box doesn't and when I try to enlarge it it moves but the Win7 window retains its size.

Brian

[#6]

I can`t remember how I got mine to size !    Somebody else will probably advise ...but

Open Virutal box... to the  Oracle VM Virtual Box Manager (to open WIndows in the VIrtual Box)

Click on Tools > Preferences > Display... ( mine is showing Automatic )   Click OK

click on Settings on the Virtual Box Manager  then click on the down arrow next to view.   tick all the menu items on the drop down.  click OK .

Start the Windows Virtual Box proper..

enter your password and get to the "desktop".

click on View in the top menu bar... and play around with the different options..  you will get an options message to tell you what will happen... 

the "Host C" key is the CTRL key to the right of the space bar ...

[#7]

@bmc See my previous post... you might also try looking at the actual Display settings on  windows