Windows 7 Recovery Disk: Operating System Isn't Found

Hello TrueRock,

Thank you for your reply.

Going through the issue description and conversation so far I understand that, you are trying to test your recently created Windows 7 recovery disc. In the process of doing so you noticed that, System recovery tool indicates you to select and operating system to proceed with repair, but since there is no operating system listed, you can’t proceed with it, whereas the operating system is fully functional. 

What appears to be the reason for operating system not being listed in system recovery tool is probably the partition contacting system files is not marked Active.

Let’s follow the steps below and Mark the system partition active from command prompt and check if that solves the problem.

To Mark partition Active press Shift F10 (Or the key or set of keys applicable in your computer) at first screen when booting DVD or Repair CD, or choose Command Line from Repair Console's Recovery Tools list.

Type the following command and press ENTER after each command.

DISKPART

LIST DISK

SELECT DISK 0 (confirm from list this is Windows 7 HD Number)

LIST PARTITION

SELECT PARTITION #(replace # with Windows 7 partition Number)

ACTIVE

EXIT

Now return to Recovery Tools and check if Operating system is listed there.

Note: Don't mark a partition as active if it doesn't contain the loader for an operating system. Doing so will cause your computer to stop working.

Hope this helps. Please let us know the status. Feel free to write us back in case you face any other issue with Windows in future, we are here to help.

Mann_Manohar,

I built the computer using an Intel system board.

I'm reasonably ceartain that this is a defect in the Windows 7 Repair Disk process.

Even though the Repair Disk cannot see the OS from the OS select dialog,

bootrec /scanos can detect the OS.

Therefore the Windows 7 Repair Disk process is obviously defective.

The link on UEFI you propose was interesting - thanks. 

Unfortunately it is littered with grammatical errors and does not explain the background of its assertions.  I think it is saying that the Windows 8 and Windows 7 installation process is defective and does not properly determine the status of BIOS versus UEFI installations and that the operator must manipulate the installation process to make it work correctly for some unidentified system boards.  Regardless, I don't think that information applies to my Intel system board.  I correctly performed a legacy-BIOS Windows 7 installation on an Intel UEFI system board.

This is not an issue that applies to me:

"If you install Windows using the wrong mode, you won’t be able to use the features of that firmware mode without reformatting the drive."

I can fully utilize the system board firmware in either UEFI or legacy-BIOS mode.  My Intel system board is currently set to boot using legacy-BIOS mode and the Windows 7 operating system boots correctly.

Hello TrueRock,

Thank you for keeping us updated about the issue.

I really appreciate your efforts towards resolving the issue.

In accordance to your screenshot, the System Recovery options list the operating systems that are to be recovered from the Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or in other way, restored from an image in the HDD.

On the other hand, the recovery disc is used to restore the image of the Operating System when booted from the disc, i.e., in a no boot situation (or in a bootable situation), you have to boot from the disc to recover from the image stored in the disc. So, you won't find the operating system listed in the System Recovery options if you are recovering an image from the disc. Also, when you are restoring the image from the disc, you may have to change the priority order of bootable media to Recovery disc (CD/DVD), so as to boot from the disc.

I hope this information is helpful. Please get back to us if you need further assistance, we will be glad to assist you.

Thank you.

Jayant,

Thanks for your reply.

I have scoured the internet - but, no one knows why the operating system is not in the list box.

Do you know why the operating system is not listed in the list box?

Thanks,

True

Hello,

Thank you for choosing Microsoft Community.

You may click on next and choose the image in order to restore.

Additional Information:

Backup and Restore

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/features/backup-and-restore

Back up and restore: frequently asked questions

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/back-up-restore-faq#1TC=windows-7

Video: Backing up and restoring your computer

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/help/videos/backing-up-and-restoring-your-computer

Please revert back with the status of the issue.

________________

Regards,

Jayant Narang