After replacing hard drive, I can't get my system back to Windows 10

I thought about cloning, or using what I have, even though I have never done it at drive scale; but I do not trust the integrity of my Operating system I am using; and a new operating system install, is a necessity of the the refurb here; rebuild and reinstall everything anew. on this computer. I know little about the registry for example; other than it is very character specific, and stay the hell out, if you don't know what you are doing; or have step by step instructions. I can run a utility, to at least check. I am not so comfortable with over 3000 registry entries of concern and errors. Only of which about 500 were cleaned. While it looks like a hard drive failing, it could be operating system corruption as well, perhaps both. A fresh start is really the main goal here. New RAM, New Bios battery as I call it, new hard drives (boot and slave for old terms); and fresh install of everything. A new approach, is the right idea here, thank you; I am not sure that entirely works for me here. Not just trying to get it up and running for now, or emergency; this is the putting it off for a couple years; time to do the once a decade resurrection and refurb. Last stand to obsolecense. Maybe I get another five years out of it, while I can still update, to functionality of WIN10. After this arduous task; I will contemplate, a second more modern machine to learn; and hopefully, not do as much set-up. Great idea and input, so thank you.

I do have the 64 bit machine and OS, and am paying attention to that, across the board I think. I do see the other Windows drive controller; active in device manager; so likely what is actually running my drives. I checked those for updates, and seemed good. I do have legacy bios; so can't boot with a big drive; but I can change the USB drive to the boot drive, and turn off the others, to get Windows10 up; if I ever get a bootable copy of WIN10, that will install to my USB drive. I thought about turning the RAID DRIVER off in Device manager; but thought better of it. I did not want to lock myself out of the drive completely there. Bios I can get back into, or the RAID settings in start-up boot sequence; but get locked out of drive or video after boot and Windows loads, and that seems like big trouble for me, to test something. I tend to doubt raid is my problem, at this point in the deduction; but it was an unknown, so appreciate the input. If anyone knows Bill; I will pay him the 12 bucks, if I know the installer will work, and I can get WIN10 on my new drive. Shouldn't have to, but don't really care at this point. Not a crazy amount to pay. As long as no one is causing the problem, to profit from fixing said problem; I am good with a little operating expense. Problem is; how do I know the installer issue, will run for a paid copy either. I am kinda curious to find out, try it. If it that dastardly install tool suddenly works; I will highly suspect, some element of proprietary handshake, was just turned off.....for digital linking my authenticated user license, no matter what my computer says, or how I try it.

Okay, there are two paradigms here kinda, intersecting just a little bit, confusing some perhaps. My digital link to download windows10, comes from my "Upgrade" DURING THE UPGRADE GRACE PERIOD; from Windows 8, years ago. Which was upgraded from Win7; my original licensed recovery discs....and the Windows product key on my machine.

That upgrade granted you the right to re-install Windows 10, onto the identical hardware. Even further, it allowed you to change disk-drives, without needing to repeat the Microsoft Activation process. That is what it seems that you are trying to do.

Anything referencing Images, or ISO's; that I have gotten, or tried to load on to a drive, are alternative to Microsoft directly.

It does not matter that you are trying to re-install from the current official Microsoft media, rather than the original installation media.

In other words; I could not get the "media creation tool" to run any way

I asked you if you currently are running the 32-bit version of Windows 10, or the 64-bit version. What is your response? What error-messages, including the output from "show more details"are you seeing?

I tried; after downloading it.

What is "it" ? Is it being a successful download of the Media Creation Tool, or the successful output from running that tool?

Only a couple; that went all the way to getting an ISO on the drive.

One was a way to trick the servers, into a download it seemed, and the first image ISO, seemed like a direct download.

I doubt that your "trick" made any difference from using the Media Creation Tool.

Neither of them worked

How can you tell?

Exactly what did you try?

What error-messages did you get?

Fido could not make them executable.

OK. Discard the idea that FIDO is a better path than asking a friend to download & run the Media Creation Tool, and allowing it to correctly write the download to your 8 GB USB memory-stick.

Everything I have tried through Microsoft, has not gotten a single sniff of downloading an ISO, anywhere; because I am cut off by the failure of the media creation tool.

I presume that you have had no problem downloading that tool.

Next question; what error message do I get, when I download the media creation tool. On previous attempts; when I was trying to download it with the new drive with Win7 recovery on it; I got incompatibility message, posted back there some place; quite generic, and no doubt due to the version of Windows.

Previously, I posted that I had NO problem running the tool on an "antique" Windows 7 Professional desktop computer.

So, the tool works, and it correctly filled the USB memory-stick, and worked fine when booting from it.

Is your "old" disk-drive formatted using NTFS (New Technology File System) or the older FAT-32 formatting?

So, I switched drives, back to the old one with WIN10, many many times, many downloads; and on the Windows ten drive I am trying to replace here, and has the legit upgrade to WIN10; I get nadda.

Not even any error-message(s)? Really?

I right click, choose administrator, permission to make changes box... then yes; it brings up a white box, like a small banner starting the software, with a blue windows logo in it; and that is it. Banner exits, nothing! There for about seconds, and aborts. No messages at all.

Does your friend (or relative) get the same result, when they run the tool?

Your inquiry question three, about when I download the ISO; you say, when you run the tool, you have three options. No, I don't get anything, not with the Windows Media creation tool. I have never seen those options once,

Strange. I get the same three options, each time that I run the tool.

I want to use that tool, should work, but won't.

Not even on computer belonging to a friend (or relative) ?

If the tool did work, and I got the ISO direct from Microsoft servers; I would likely not have any issues booting it from my USB, to the new drive.

True.

The tool, just won't run anywhere; on either drive, from either drive, to either drive, with either operating system; in safe mode, out of safe mode....

Again, if your copy of Windows is the problem, stop using it.

Get that friend/relative to help you.

The Note: about copying the tool. to my hard drive, then moving it to my USB. While I did try even that; it became quite apparent, as as I suspected; moving an ISO around, like a normal file, is not going to fly.

I got a warning, about leaving behind important properties.

Yeah, not moving ISO files around like JPEG files.

That is what I stated. For an ISO, you need software that knows how to correctly write an ISO to a memory-stick, or to burn to a dual-layer DVD-recordable.

the bootleg attempt ...

That was a waste of your time.

... once I reformated my USB to take the full ISO image; it seemed like I got an ISO to download, about the right time for an operating system to download.

Again, I suspect that you did not use the special software to copy the ISO from the disk-drive onto the USB memory-stick. As I expected, however you copied it, it did not result in a "bootable" system.

Yes, I did mean to say "newer" video card, some kinda of galaxy with a fan on it; okay replacement, when I put it in, not super gamer or anything, works fine.

I doubt that the change in video-adapter, or the installation of the compatible device-drivers, is the "road-block" to the process.

Probably, running Windows in "Safe Mode" disabled those device-drivers.

You have run the media install tool, on a WIN7 machine, of inferior specifications? Now that is useful information.

Correct. On that computer of mine, everything worked as it should

It tells me, even if my WIN10 drive I am on here with, is corrupted; that I should be able to run that media creation tool ...

Incorrect. A corrupted installation may be the cause of the failure.

on the other newer drive, with the fresh install of WIN7SP1....and dowload the ISO, top my USB FLASH DRIVE? That should be a total non corrupted operating system; unless by same remote chance, the Service pack was infected, or the updates to the updater. I installed the SP1 manual way, and then 4 updates to the Windows updater; to get the recovery install of 7, to function well. It is now fully updated, with no updates, all took.

After many years of Windows 7 SP1 being available, it is EXTREMELY unlikely that it is virus-infected. Same thing for all the 200+ updates that you installed.

However, I get similar compatibility error, on that drive environment.

What is the full text of that error-message?

I think on the 7 drive, one error message comes up when I try to run the tool, and another slightly different, when I run troubleshooter. Both quite generic

Rather than "arm-waving" about the error-message, please post EXACTLY what you see.

Hard to believe both operating systems are are corrupted,

I agree.

can't even open that tool; yet works for most other stuff?

This discussion thread is NOT about your problems with "other stuff".

You are seeking help for one specific app.

To compare, most of the time, when I drive my automobile, I do not crash it. That does not imply that I will NEVER crash it.

Oddly, I see a reference at very bottom, for a KB5058481 update; that did install.

That is no "odd" at all. The "Update History" records the results of every update, whether it is "successful" or if it has "failed".

Unless it is two parts or something?

Not possible.

I don't read these that much, so will let someone who does, tell me if it is important. Only this one update seems stuck. I hope this is what you are looking for? If not I will try again. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/may-28-2025-kb5058481-os-build-19045-5917-preview-7698d6e7-dd65-494d-b523-aa4c6aa913a2

Note the word "preview". It means that the update was issued in one month, and the "official" version of the same update was released in the next month. Therefore, it is never necessary to install the "preview" version.

But, the layout of the file(s) written to the memory-stick needs to be in a special format, to make it a "bootable" device. Question? Does the "Win media install tool" do that upon successful install of the ISO to the drive;

The tool downloads a file to your disk-drive, not to your USB stick.

Then, the tool has the three previously-mentioned options:

1. stop right there, leaving the ISO on your disk-drive;
2. reformat the ISO to write it to an empty 8 GB USB memory-stick;
3. "burn" the ISO to the dual-layer DVD media.

Then, the tool can be declared to be "successful".

Does the tool,

1. download an ISO;
2. then that ISO needs burned to DVD,
3. oor converted in some way, to install to a drive.

My understanding, is that the tool, can do either; make a bootable USB by itself, or download the ISO, to burn a DVD. Likely selectable

Correct. The tool has those 3 options. Just select one option.

if I could ever get the tool to run.

Get your friend/relative to run the tool on their computer, and allow the tool to write to your 8 GB USB stick.

More windows open, worse it was. One time I thought I was never coming back up; but a couple boots later an automatic disc repair started finally; and I went from a black screen and stationary cursor, no action on the computer lights, for five ten minutes; to working much better. Always seemed to work better, after one of those disc repairs. Some were short, some were longer, near an hour. During the backup time, the computer was crashing a lot; several disc repairs; maybe five or six total. Sometimes it crashed on start up, very shortly after booting; acted really bad for a short time; and why I decided time to back-up while I can. A couple times, it crashed right after the Operating system loaded. I started it up, and it crashed, before I came back into the room.

This is evidence that you have a significant problem with your old computer-hardware. Perhaps, your friend/relative has a computer without those issues.

SOMETHING ELSE, when this started; it has been extremely slow to boot up and load the operating system; which made the crashes really fun.

That is a symptom of a disk-drive that is failing, making it slow to restart Windows (which reads many files from the disk-drive).

There was definitely a tendency to crash, and slow; with more windows open, and more drives hooked up.

If it crashes when NOT running the Media Creation Tool, then the problem cannot be blamed on that tool.

It was also crashing a lot, annoyingly; while I was trying to open navigate my Outlook account; and is very slow to open the internet sights [sites?] and get them going. Even Firefox slow to load;

More symptoms of a computer with some problems, even when NOT running the tool.

The browsers are still slow to load

It seems that reading the disk-drive is an issue. Eventuallly, when the web-browser app has been loaded in the RAM, then it will run fine.

Oddly, I see a 4th partition, on my failing drive here. The oddball, is a small partition marked recovery about 512 MB I think. I did not put it there, so where did it come from

On every computer, a similar partition is present after installing Windows 10 or 11. Stop looking for irrelevant information.

However, this screenshot is from today now, showing my current drive as disc 1, and the other new bootable 2TB drive as disc0.

Both disk-drives are connected to SATA sockets on the motherboard.

You have connected your new disk-drive to the 1st SATA socket, and your current disk-drive is connected to the 2nd SATA socket.

Windows starts counting at "zero", not "one", resulting in the "disk0" and "disk1" labels. No big deal.

where did the 511MB healthy recovery partition come from?

Alien invasion from outer space? :-)

that 386 MB unallocated space, was there yesterday?

It is a small number of Megabytes -- 38% of 1 GB on your 4000 GB disk-drive. Don't worry.

I am on now. Yesterday it was disc zero; because I am swapping drives around a lot; but that recovery partition is suspicious to me.

So, those labels ("disk0" & "disk1") change every time you change the connections to the two disk-drives. Not suspicious at all. Stop looking for irrelevant information.

There should only be 3 partitions here, much as the disk zero has. Partitioned by the same recovery discs years apart, as well.

Stop looking for irrelevant information.

Did you have SP1, installed

Yes, before my Windows 7 computer was "retired", it was fully updated, via Windows Update. Stop looking for irrelevant information.

One last thing; I have had a piece of software lodged, half installed, on my machine for a couple years. I mistook it for a helpful utility; and downloaded it. Then realized it was security of course, I don't need finish initiating it. It was a windows security app; that of course is hard to remove, because it is security; nothing worked on line I tried; and I got use to working around it. It basically set up a log in screen; so I had to log into my computer, each time I booted it. If, I had completely activated its final set-up. That software by Windows; would remind me about every ten days or boots, to finish activating it, and setting it up, to run on a password. I never did, and did not want it on my computer at all; it slowed the boot process, and once in a while would stop the boot, and demand a log in password; stuck on an interum screen till I did. I would reboot it, and not see it for a couple weeks.

Open a new discussion thread on this forum, if you want help with this issue.

Another reason, I wanted to start from scratch. Also the reason, I started with a new drive, fresh install of the 7 operating system; totally separate.

Windows 7 is not currently installed on your Windows 10 computer.

Stop looking for irrelevant information.

Over ten fifteen years; a computer has a lot of glitches

Ouch.

if you can get the nemesis tool, to run on an inferior 7 machine; why can't I?

There must be some reason. My Windows 7 computer was NOT manufactured by HP, unlike yours. That's just one difference. Right click the downloaded tool icon, select run as administrator; permission the program to make changes when the box pops up as usual...and something should run, open, download, or something. On one of the set up drives, you would think.

None of the instructions on the official Microsoft web-page state any requirement to "Run As Administrator". Somebody gave you a useless suggestion. As you have tried it, and it made no difference, discard that suggestion.