Software or Hardware - Windows 8 USB installation

[Andeh13]

I recently bought a Wetab, which is basically a zoostorm sl8 in disguise. The hardware is identical, it just comes with a Linux based OS (meego) instead of Windows 7 (from new anyway).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zoostorm-331.../dp/B0049MOLW8

I bought one second hand, and it had dual boot of Windows 7 and Wetab. I wasnt happy with either, so decided to try the Windows 8 dev preview.

I downloaded it, used the Windows 7 USB bootable creator to put windows 8 on a USb stick and put it in the tablet. Just like the Hexus Article instructed.

However, when I try to boot off the USB i get the message;


''Reboot and select proper boot device
or insert boot media in selected boot device and press any key''

Now I have followed the instructions to the letter, after a failed partition resize I can no longer boot into Windows 7 or Wetab OS. As a result I am all out of ideas, could it be software, hardware or a combination of the both that is stopping it from booting to the USB drive?

Can anyone shed any light on how I can fix my currently expensive paper weight?

Many thanks guys

[Pancake]

I think its just not going onto the driver properly

Try using the Windows 7 USB tool it works great and might work with 8

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6017469/Wind...B-DVD-tool.exe

The best option would be to borrow a DVD drive if you can, or if you cant do anything like that

Install a fresh install of 7 with no drivers onto something, image the install

boot to a bootable imaging program and image the OS onto it

[Andeh13]

I used the windows 7 tool to create the windows 8 boots me image.

How could the drivers during the BIOS effect it? I thought all those drivers were effectively firmware/hard encoded?

[Andeh13]

or if you cant do anything like that

Install a fresh install of 7 with no drivers onto something, image the install

boot to a bootable imaging program and image the OS onto it

I dont have any form of borrowable DVD drive, so I am stuck with USB! I have a laptop that has seen better days and i have been meaning to install a fresh windows 7 onto it... so if you could roughly talk me through the procedures i would be grateful! Is it literally install a fresh copy of windows 7, copy & paste it onto a USB stick and try and boot the tablet PC off that?

If that is it, once I am to that stage, how do i install windows 7 or 8 onto the tablet if I am running off the USb stick?

Sorry mate, I am in uncharted technology here, i have always had access to a DVD drive & a ''sod it, re-install windows off the DVD...'' attitude!

[Pancake]

I would try a few more guides on installing windows 8 to the flash drive, and make sure you have the boot order to the flash drive

The imaging would be like this, i would use it as a last resort

1. Install onto laptop
2. Image the install using software like Acronis true image
3. Copy to flash drive
4. Copy bootable media of acronis to a different flash drive, boot to that
5. Image the tablet from the image on the flash drive
6. boot

[Andeh13]

Tried everything to get it to boot from windows 8 on the USB stick. Each time it comes up with the same error message. From looking at the USb drive on my laptop it looks good, has all the files I would expect to see from an installation disc. I may try and install windows 7 on my laptop tomorrow, but again that would have to be off the USB stick as I don't have any DVD with me at my families. I imagine it would be the same procedure I am trying for the tablet PC though.

I am downloading windows 7, so i am going to first try the same process as I have been with windows 8 (above) and see if using W7 improves it. If i can get the the desktop I can go ahead with windows 8.


Had I not had to mess around with partitions I wouldn't have been in this mess. Why don't programs that merge partitions do it without royally screwing the bootmgr up!!??

[Andeh13]

Tried putting windows 7 on a USB stick via the official ''Create portableUSB tool'' provided by microsoft and still nothing, tablet still flicks through;


''loading UHCI driver
SEARCHING ON HOSTS
HOST 1
HOST 2
PORT 1: DEVICE CONNECTED
NO HD
HOST 3
HOSt 4
HOST 5
PORT 1; DEVICE CONNECTED
NO HD
DRIVER REQUIRED
LOADING DHCI DRIVER
SEARCHING ON HOST
DRIVER REMOVED

BOOT ERROR
NO BOOT DEVICE FOUND, PLEASE RETRY IT''

is the message on screen. Could it be the format that has made a mess of the SSD in such a way that the tablet isn't detecting it properly? Partition magic said it all partioned correctly, W7 just wouldnt boot afterwards!

edit; removing the SSD and formatting it externally would be very difficult, from what i can tell it isnt a standard Sata/HDD connector type!

edit 2; I am tempted to just reformat my laptop with Windows 7, then use those files to try and boot the tablet up. If anyone can shed any advice before I go about nuking it all i would be grateful!

[Andeh13]

So hacked off with myself over this, all because of one ''successful'' partition that butchered the boot sector.

1) cant install off USB; ie extracting the .iso onto a USB stick, also tried booting off the .ISO itself on the USB stick.
2) Cant dismantle Wetab to get HDD out
3) formatted laptop, installed windows 7 on it, was 7-8gb so couldnt copy it onto USB stick. tried manually reducing the size of it.
4) Download Vlite to reduce the installed size of windows 7. Didnt work due to missing components, download 1.5gb worth of files trying to get it to work. Didnt work.
5) downloaded old version of Vlite, got it working but then it wouldn't detect the Windows 7 or 8 .ISOs I have downloaded. re-downloaded a new Windows 7, didnt work still.
6) sat on memory stick, breaking it, that didnt help my progress either!

[Andeh13]

right, turns out Vlite needs the extracted files to work.

How is it I should use this now. From what i can tell it strips out all the unneeded files from the windows 7 installer. From this i then reinstalled windows 7 using it, to a blank drive. I then copy the stripped out, installed windows 7 files (?) to a mem stick and try and boot the tablet off of it?

if the tablet boots up to windows 7 off the mem stick, I then copy the files off the mem stick to the tablet HDD and keep everything crossed?

[Andeh13]

Right, cloned one of my fresh partitions with windows 7 installed on and put that on a new 16gb mem stick. When I tried to boot off this it just came up with

''MISSING OPERATING SYSTEM''.

I class that as progress, as something has changed. If anyone recognise this sort of thing, or can offer any tips I would be eternally grateful!



edit:

I am all out of ideas now. I tried cloning and imaging my current working operating system to a USB and boot off that, i also tried creating a recovery USB. Each time I booted to the USB it came up with missing operating system.

Short of replacing the SSD next week I am all out.

[Andeh13]

aaaaah hahaha! I fixed it

I only have a very breif understanding of how, but it was something to go with the ''magic bytes'' that the tablet require to run the USB & whatever is on it. Without these first few of the 512kb the tablet just doesn't run the USB.

I ended up translating half of the wetab forum (German) for booting issues people have had and came across one that talked about USBs failing due to incorrect bytes in their MBR.

I found a tool which auto assigned these ''magic bytes'' to a USB stick containing Windows 7 and then it worked!

[vinnyT]

Good job on finding the solution.