Windows setup could not configure windows to run on this hardware message during repair install

Anonymous
2018-08-24T03:20:19+00:00

Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 x64

I am trying to do a repair install of Windows 7 Ultimate which came pre-installed on the system, but every time I run windows setup, it gets 99% done, and is at the completing setup phase and suddenly pops up with a message saying windows can not be run on my current hardware. Setup then does a rollback of widows. This is absolutely ridiculous.... I am attempting to reinstall the SAME version of windows that was already on the system! Windows 7 Ultimate has been on the system since the day it rolled off the factory assembly line. I have triple checked to make sure the image I am using to do a repair install is x64. I have checked to make sure the image is not corrupted by doing a test install on a fresh drive in another PC. that time I got as far as asking for the license key before I stopped (because I didn't have a license for that PC).  I did find a support article on the dell support site surprisingly enough (why not the M$ support site too?) that said to press shift+F10 and start c:\windows\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe manually. which I tried, but when I started msoobe manually, I got as far as the screen that askes me about default IE security settings, then the screen went almost black. anyone just seeing the screen might think that the backlight had just turned off. you could dimly see the dialogs on the scree showing, but not well enough to see what you could select. the only thing that was clearly visible, and proved that the backlight for the display was indeed still active, was the mouse cursor was still clear as day. I tried restarting my pc, hoping I could pick up where I left off, but windows setup did a rollback instead. I don't know if a recent update is causing this, or if it is caused by the damage to windows I am trying to repair. I have never ever, in all  my years of using windows encountered this message.  the fact that it appears to not have an error code associated with it makes it all that much harder to diagnose. what can I do?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Install and upgrade

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-08-24T14:12:35+00:00

    Hi,

    The only way to use a different build would be to try the Original Ultimate before SP1... You do realize don't you that some of these cumulative updates do if fact change the build number... There are a lot more numbers after the 7601..

    In Win 8 ad 10 it is much easier to use a different build because there are ISO's available for them..

    Normally what I remember seeing when trying to run Windows from within Windows of the same build, that there was a message that Windows was already installed and something like boot with the media message...

    It is most certainly possible that there is something going on with an Update... I have noticed some different behavior lately, but at the moment I can't recall exactly what...

    I will see if I can test your problem on my machine... I have a lot of backup images already... Don't know exactly when, but hopefully today...

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-08-24T10:35:37+00:00

    different build? isn't there only one build of windows 7? 7601 its not really possible to downgrade to anything since the laptop came with windows 7 ultimate preinstalled. the anytime upgrade features were either never present or were automatically disabled by Microsoft because I have that version of windows 7

    I am only trying to do a normal repair install of windows. it's something I have done millions of time dating back to windows 3.0

    I did some checking, and despite my thinking to the contrary, My system does have a product license key SLIC table embedded in the bios. and according to the key, the only version of windows 7 it will activate, is Windows 7 UIltimate.

    I have never run into this message before. EVER.

    the image of windows setup I am using is for windows 7 ultimate and is an official M$ copy, obtained froman M$ source.

    I  found a copy of and ran the windows 7 upgrade advisor, an hardware wise, it says I am good to go.  there should not be anything keeping me from doing a repair install.

    I could probably get around this weird and probably misleading message, if I could solve the problem of the screen going almost black after I tell the MSOOBE portion of setup to automatically get my updates.I tried turning the screen brightness level to max, but it did not help the read ability of what was on the screen.

    I don't know.... maybe some one could clone an existing Win ultimate environment (complete with the latest updates) and try doing a repair install to see if the error occurs for them too? I almost feel like blaming M$ for this.... I would not put it past them to pull something like this and block repair installs of windows 7 in order to force a move to windows 10. I mean, look how they plastered windowsXP with nagware at the very end.....

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-08-24T08:37:27+00:00

    Hi,

    Have you run this type of Repair Install before ?

    I'm thinking that the only way to run that type of repair install is to use a different build... Like an upgrade, or possibly a Downgrade...

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