Install Windows 7 after Fedora 15

[dmachop]

This may have been answered many times but can anyone suggest a step by step guide on how to install Windows 7 after installing Fedora?
Windows seems to be wiping out the Grub bootloader.

[kkshethin]

This is difficult (to install windows after fedora). Generally you should install fedora after windows.

It is true that windows wipes grub.

solution is to reinstall grub.

steps

1. install windows. boot.
2. put fedora installtion cd/dvd in.
3. use option upgrade fedora. This will resore grub. Windows will show up as other entry while booting.

[zimon]

My Windows7 refused to install on MBR-partitioned disk where I had left 400 GB space as the 1st partition to Win7. Win7 installation claimed it has to have GPT-disk because we are installing in EFI-BIOS-machine (P8P67).

[PabloTwo]

On an ASRock P67 Pro3 EFI mb, setting SATA Mode to AHCI and the individual SATA controllers to Enhanced Mode, allowed installing of 64bit W7 without any issues whatsoever. I did, however, install W7 into the first primary partition on the drive first. I'm assuming your hdd is SATA and new enough to support features like NCQ, etc. The partition I installed W7 to was partitioned and formatted NTFS using gparted Live CD.

[sea]

Another option would be to save current mbr, and replace it afterwards, and/or making it available to the windows boot loader.
Use this option at your own risk, as its untested, and written from memory: (on misuse, or fault usage, you 'risk' to loose all data of your hdd's.)

OPTION A, windows bootloader:
1) save the current mbr with:

dd if=/dev/sda of=/home/$USER/mbr.bin bs=512 count=1

2) copy ~/mbr.bin to an usb stick, flashcard, or where ever you have access to without booting linux.
3) install windows
4) copy mbr.bin to c:/ (or where your boot.ini (hidden) is located).
5) get write access of c:\boot.ini
6) add the line (remember untested, from memory) to c:/boot.ini

c:\mbr.bin="Fedora Linux"

OPTION B, linux boot loader:
Steps 1-3 from above
4) boot from linux live cd/usb
5) save windows mbr with

dd if=/dev/sda of=/boot/winmbr.bin bs=512 count=1

6) over write current mbr with linux mbr:

dd if=/path/to/USBstick/mbr.bin of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=1

7) edit /boot/grub/grub.conf or /boot/grub/menu.lst and add the lins:

title Windows
    rootnoverify (hd0,0)
    chainloader +1

8) reboot and havea look if it works, if not, write back the windows mbr

dd if=/boot/winmbr.bin of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=1

and try option a.

[zimon]

Wow, this is difficult.

Now I partitioned the disk with GParted in the Fedora 15 installation, leaving 500 GB empty partition for Windows7 in the start of the disk. Then marked it as a NTFS-partition and formatted it as such.

Windows 7 installation now complains:
"Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition style. Windows cannot be installed to this hard disk space. The partition was reserved by the computer's Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)."

Before Windows7 was complaining it cannot be installed because the disk was MBR-partitioned and because we are in EFI-BIOS machine we must use GPT.

I start to wonder if they purposely have made it this difficult to install Windows7 along with Linux.

Any ideas how to proceed? I only need Windows7 for games, but still.

[zimon]

Not even Microsoft can't help.
They instructed to make at least 250 MB EFI-partition to the first, then 128 MB MSR-partition, and then the first primary partition as formatted to NTFS. I did these with diskpart with Windows 7 installation media.

Still Windows 7 install cannot install to this disk and does not really give any meaningful reason.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2128104...th/6287532156/

[zimon]

The problem I had is solved.

The problem was, P8P67 allows to boot media both without EFI-support and with EFI-support if media has EFI-support.
Booting Windows 7 installation without EFI-support leads to very un-explanatory error message "Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition style. "
So in EFI-BIOS setup one must re-order the boot medias so it first tries to boot with EFI-support and later without.

Also to install Windows 7 to pre-partitioned GPT-disk, it needs >= 100 MB of EFI-partition and 128 MB MSR-partition. I have these as the 1st and as the 2nd partition.

(edit)
I do not know, if with Gparted it is possible to make satisfactory EFI- and MSR-partitions, but I used MS's diskpart to make these. One can get "DOS" shell in Windows 7 installation by pressing Shift+F10. The Fedora 15's LVM and /boot partitions were located and installed in the latter part of the disk before this.

I made EFI-partition to 500 MB and hopefully I can install grub-boot-files to there also and won't need separate boot-partition for Fedora. Then also I need to make boot menu, but I am not yet sure how it should be made so Windows 7 is happy also and EFI-BIOS is used.