Long time since I installed BIBM so want to be sure...

[computrdummy]

Reporting back now late. I decided not to even try to restore the old corrupted win7 image and just go on to win8.1. Still have no usb 3.0 ports working on this new win7.

Can I kindly ask a couple more questions. I don't want any more problems with win 8.1 install

I already have the ntfs partition primary waiting.

Since I keep getting "cannot write to disk" everytime I try to add an OS to the regular boot menu and nobody can tell me why? nothing online about it either. I am guesssing I have to be satisfied with the direct boot menu.

The manual says to try to add to regular boot menu the new os BEFORE installing it.

I have the win 8.1 install on a bootable USB iso file.

Tell me if this makes sense:

Try to add win8.1 to the regular boot menu-I will likely get the same unexplained error: cannot write to disk.

check direct boot if i can find it under settings.

Boot from usb 8.1 install win8.1 and install. WILL WINDOWS ASK ME FOR THE PARTITION?? CUZ I don't want it overwriting the win7 partition.

Install on the new blank ntfs partition.

I am guessing win 8.1 will issue several reboots duriing install so I just choose the 8.1 in the direct boot menu or will windows automatically go to that?

I am really paranoid now about the whole bootitbm program-so I want to be sure i am doing things right. Thanks to Brian, Bob for the replies and any others I may have forgotten.

[Bob Coleman]

Completely off the subject and maybe unwelcome, I know, but, at this point, why deal with Win 8.1 rather than Win 10?

[Bob Coleman]

I confess to not remembering everything that's been addressed here, so this reply might not be appropriate, but ...

Given the number of things causing problems here, I'd be tempted to format the disk and install both BIBM and Windows from scratch (you seem to have already resigned yourself to doing that with windows).

However, if I had ANY OS running successfully on the system, I might want to create a full disk backup/image before doing that. Or did you already tell me you have no available storage for a full disk backup?

If you could do a full disk backup you should be able to restore any currently working OS after completing a new install of BIBM and Windows.

[computrdummy]

Thanks for the replies from Bob. But the question still remains unanswered: why am I getting cannot write to disk error when following BITM instructions to create an entry in boot edit.

And I still am awaiting an answer on my last question: if I install 8.1 on the newly created ntfs partition, will windows allow me to choose the right partition for the install.

Re Bob's questions simple answer is that win10 has that hardware restriction that also id's you definitively. Also it is too resource hungry for my laptop.
I am trying to limit my exposure to Microsoft until I can learn linux.

Given I am stuck in a 3rd world County until such time as the corona scam is over with, I am limiting my expenditures due to banking problems. SO I am not going to buy a 2TB disk for a laptop that might die any minute, so no room for full disk backup but I agree that would solve a lot of problems IF BIBM is a reliable backup software. Given the highly technical interface and lack of answers in the knowledge base and here, i am not so sure it is.

[computrdummy]

I searched extensivly for the reason for the "cannot write to disk" error but came up empty.

[computrdummy]

There is a "cannot write to file" when trying to backup an image but no cannot write to disk. I took a look at the EMBR and there is plenty of room on it.

Since no one answered my question whether windows install usb allows you to choose the install partition I went back and read the Bootitbm manual again.

Following the boot edit procedure in the manual just gets u back to "cannot write data to disk"

U cannot use the "next bios device" because lenovo does not list the usb in the bios but you have to boot using a separate boot menu which boots the usb directly from bios. who knows what this leads too. If windows does not allow you to select your partition then you will overwrite the other windows partition on install. boot it bm manual is no help here either.

Manual says that the program will say no OS installed if you try to boot from the blank partition AND that it gives you an option to install from the Floppy-sorry no floppy here, also no dvd/cd-usb only. Does bootit bm even allow you to install an os from usb?

Question questions, unanswered. Anyone?

[computrdummy]

found the disable fast boot under partition properties.

Still not good replies.

Started a new thread cuz bootitbm cannot install two versions of OS without confllicts and nothing in the manual about that.

[CyberSimian]

computrdummy wrote:
> I have been unable to get the usb 3.0 ports on my Lenovo
> laptop to work under the new win7 which I am now using to
> write this.
> They were working under the old win7 that got nuked with the
> accidental format.
> I have tried several driver packages from lenovo, amd and
> intel.None worked. Had to restore image once due to this.
> Lenovo says go to microsoft for the driver but tried that and
> they do not work either.

I have a Lenovo laptop, and I am running Windows 7 on it, with working USB sockets. However, my laptop has an Intel Sky Lake processor (6th generation processor). Sky Lake was the last generation for which Microsoft, Intel, and Lenovo support Windows 7.

If you have a Sky Lake or even older processor, go to the Lenovo Support page for your laptop, and download the relevant EXE file that will install the USB drivers.

If you have a Kaby Lake processor (7th generation), you MAY be able to get the drivers to install, but I think that you have to edit the INF file (or other files). You probably need to search the web for info on how to do this.

If you have an 8th generation or more recent processor, I think that Microsoft and/or Intel have changed the drivers so that they definitely will not work on Windows 7.

The problem that I had when I installed Windows 7 from the DVD was that Windows 7 could not communicate with the outside world, because Windows 7 did not have any drivers for the relevant devices:

- USB2
- USB3
- Wi-fi
- Bluetooth
- Cabled network

The challenge is to place the drivers somewhere where Windows 7 can access them so that it can install them. The one device type that does work after installation of Windows 7 is a SATA disk. So you need to do this:

(1) Create a "D:" drive on the internal SATA disk and format it as FAT32.
(2) Create a "live Linux" distribution on a USB memory stick. A "live Linux" distribution is one that can boot and run from the memory stick, without having to install it on your hard disk.
(3) Download the drivers onto a data memory stick formatted as FAT32.
(4) Boot the live Linux, and copy the drivers from the data memory stick to the "D:" drive. This works because the live Linux has the drivers needed to operate the USB sockets.
(5) Boot Windows 7 and install the drivers from the "D:" drive.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

[computrdummy]

Thanks for your reply but it is of no help.

I already tried many driver packages and even matched them to the amd chipset in my laptop.

When installing new drivers windows asks for their location and you simply tell them the path to the driver files. I have never had to use the method you suggest with any other driver packages-video etc. Why would i think I would need to do that with usb drivers?

None of the drivers worked. One package required me to restore my boot image as I could not longer even use the usb 2.0 remaining port.

I spent days on this. Lenovo tells you to get the drivers from microsuck but even the ones from microSUCK do not work either.

I have no idea how the previous owner got the usb 3.0 drivers working on win7. He had previously been using win 8.1 but I think updated back to win7, not sure how he did that.

Anyways win7 is useless cuz I have two usb 3.0 drivers that do not work under it.

[computrdummy]

Please supply the name and download location of the linux drivers you claim can be used to restore 3.0 usb on win7 machines. I have an amd processor.