Automatic Repair loop on W8.1 with an SSD

[Icycold]

It's fine I just want to get it working again.

So I just do a fresh install from my USB stick on the Ssd? If it ask to format the ssd I say yes?

 

[whs]

Exactly.

 

[Icycold]

Just to be safe I can chose from the following:

Both drive 2 and drive 0 are my SSD they are the ones with 110gb and 100 mb respectively. Do I install it on the 110gb or delete the 100mb or format etc..

 

[whs]

I think your SSD is drive0. The 100MB partition on drive2 is a leftover from an older OS installation. That is useless.

 

[Icycold]

Okay. Is there a need to get rid of that 100mb partition?

Installing now.

 

[Icycold]

Nevermind. I'm in windows. Thanks for all the help everyone I gotta get to installing programs now.

 

[whs]

Good news.

There is no need to tamper with the tiny 100MB partition. It's not worth it. Reclaiming that itty bitty bit of space is not easy and has all kinds of perils if you don't do it right.

 

[Icycold]

Now. Is it possible to save this SSD as an img to recover later in the future. Or is a simple Windows System Restore point? I remember that in the usb stick I had W8 on I was able to enter the Windows System Restore but idk if it lets me select a restore from another drive other than the usb.

Edit any reason why the windows 8.1 install is stuck at setting up 58%?

 

[whs]

Your best bet to backup the system is to make an image. I use free Macrium but any other good imaging program (not Windows imaging) will do.

I have seen installations being stuck several times. It was usually a bad installation file. But there could be other reasons.

 

[Icycold]

All is good now. So in summary:

I image the SSD and its 100mb partition to HDD 1 and then restore it on HDD 2 right?

Also, there was no possible way of recovering this SSD back to bootable state while keeping the data on it? It's done already, but just wanted to know for the future.

 

[whs]

If you install the system a second time on the PC, you need an extra product key. It will run for 30 days but then one of your systems will shut down.

Your SSD was all mucked up. Even Macrium could not deal with it.

 

[Icycold]

Hmm, so if I make the image it will ask for the key on the hard drive I recover the image to.. didn't except that.

 

[whs]

Hmm, so if I make the image it will ask for the key on the hard drive I recover the image to.. didn't except that.

If you only keep 1 system, then no. That is considered a transfer. But if you want to permanently run 2 of the same system on the PC, then you need 2 keys.

It is the same if e.g. you want to run a second same system in virtual or from a USB stick. That is the disadvantage with Windows. With Linux you do not have that problem.

Why would you want this second system anyhow. It will only give you grief.

 

[Icycold]

No what I meant to do is save this IMg for the day my ssd fails and I can just recover it on my hdd and throw away the ssd. So it is just 1 system. Ocz ssds have a high failure rate. Heck, the company even filed for bankruptcy.

Anyways, thanks for everything to you both I'll mark this thread as solved when I get home.

 

[whs]

For your purpose you make images - and make those frequently that you are always up-to-date. A duplicte installation will not help you much in a year from now. This will be all old stuff.

Btw: I have 3 OCZs - the oldest from 2008, the youngest fro 2011 - and they are all still working.