K55A Deleted all (but recovery) partitions and cannot load anything..

[clearnew]

I get this out of the way first... I'm a dummy...

I got an Asus K55A yesterday, decided I didn't like Windows 8 so I started to install Windows 7 and after deleting partitions realized my Win7 was 32 bit and would not install on the 64 bit K55A. I got this error "window cannot be installed to this disk gpt."

I've tried all kind of stuff and nothing...

The only smart thing I did do was left the Recovery partition intact. I cannot seem to get that partition booted and recovering my laptop though.

Any help will be so greatly appreciated.

[Uncle Ted]

Re: K55A Deleted all (but recovery) partitions and cannot load anything..

I get this out of the way first... I'm a dummy...

I got an Asus K55A yesterday, decided I didn't like Windows 8 so I started to install Windows 7 and after deleting partitions realized my Win7 was 32 bit and would not install on the 64 bit K55A. I got this error "window cannot be installed to this disk gpt."

I've tried all kind of stuff and nothing...

The only smart thing I did do was left the Recovery partition intact. I cannot seem to get that partition booted and recovering my laptop though.

Any help will be so greatly appreciated.

GParted -- About

[parsec]

Re: K55A Deleted all (but recovery) partitions and cannot load anything..

Everything Uncle Ted posted is 100% correct and a great guide, but I'll throw in some additional information in case you're wondering. Also there is a potential problem installing Windows 7 32bit.

You can use a 32bit OS/Windows 7 on a 64bit board/CPU. The 32bit OS was not the reason your installation failed. It was the remaining recovery partition, and likely another you did not see, that were GPT partitioned that caused the failure. A 32bit Windows OS won't work with a GPT/UEFI booting installation.

The recovery partition would only be useful to you if you had created a Windows Recovery Disk.

If your ASUS PC was configured for Secure/UEFI booting Windows 8 at the factory, which are settings that are hopefully available in the BIOS, you'll need to change at least one in order to install Windows 7 32bit. You'll need to find Secure Boot in the BIOS, and if it is enabled, change it to disabled and save and exit the BIOS. The other setting is called CSM, which is not necessarily present, as it can be controlled by the Secure Boot setting.

The worst case scenario is if the PC is configured for Secure booting, and you cannot disable Secure Boot in the BIOS. In that case, you would be stuck using Windows 8.