Optiplex 9010 SFF O/S reinstallation problem with 1TB drive.

Question

Have the above machine which shipped with Win7Pro/32 and 250G HDD, but some well-intentioned person "upgraded" to Win10. Trying to reinstate the original Win7 and having issues. (Please don't waste time asking why or singing the virtues of Win10). Recovery partition is gone. Dell site offers the expected O/S download option but it isn't there. Something ~7GB is d/l-ed but errors as not having the O/S. Dell support state that the Win7 option was pulled as the O/S is no longer supported. Didn't care that it IS supported until Jan2020. Suggested "try retail O/S, all the drivers etc for your tag are still here".

Retail version installs OK on the original 250G drive but I need at least 500G. Get a 1TB drive - the smallest available here now - and try onto that. No joy, the install gets to the last stage and then messages something like "Installation failed. Unable to install on this hardware configuration".

The above is very repeatable, also a separate O/S copy d/l-ed ex Microsoft does the same. Having had the same O/S running fine on a 500G drive in another machine and thinking maybe the HDD size is an issue, reformatted the 1TB to 400+rest and tried that. Nope, same resulting message.

I'd probably go 2x 250G drives if the SFF case could handle them, but it can't. Not interested in SSD's.

Any ideas why it baulks at the 1TB drive?

savvy2 · Answer

buy w7 install media , fresh off ebay.(some sell it as COA + links to CLOUD) and 5 second email delivery .

no store sells (brick ) w7, nor does MS. (nor can DELL, I think, MS tells Dell NO !)

that leaves what?. 1 place on earth, (ebay) (or begging on craigs list WTB?)

with a unused COA if you lost yours. the COA you have if OEM only will only work OEM disks, not retail

so what COA you have I could never guess.

I'll not tell you why not to buck the W10 trend, no me.

but ever heard of classic shell.???? there I lied, bucked.

savvy2 · Answer

never skip running S.M.A.R.Ts on any new to hands HDD. ok? or you can install windows whatever 10000 times and fails. if using some old DVD-r to install w7 , say so.?

savvy2 · Answer

post 2

Go a 1TB drive

what drive is , make and model # and is it used, or new, or NOS

did you first run smart tests in any drive you found first.? if the drive fails smart installs fail,.

no install media stated, what was it, w7 I guess, but what is it exactly. w7 comes on vast forms.
USB stick? from whom and how.?
DVD from dell DVD from HP (oops), DVD from H3LL OR Worse Torrents.?
from ISO, if yes who's ISO, and also how did you make the install media using said ISO.
no key facts stated, just can't install to some 1TB drive, have many here all bad. (in the to be crushed box)

skyline2000 · Answer

Not sure what you didn't get from my post, but I'll spell it out real simple..

Media: all Win7Pro/32.

A. From previous machine.

B. From MS download links, DVD using the MS media creation tool.

Dell support stated use retail version and add drivers etc from the dell.com website. Also stated original COA would be fine.

Both DVD's install OK several times on two different 250G HDDs (Seagate and Hitachi Deskstar).

Both DVDs fail to install every time on NEW WD 1TB (WD10EZEK).

Any other questions?

Optiplex Desktops

Optiplex 9010 SFF O/S reinstallation problem with 1TB drive.

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