Laptop won't format

MumboJumbo · 29 Jan 2011 at 12:09

Hello, well my laptop has been blue screening like crazy and slowing down terribly in games and I've stress tested it and everything and it seems its not a hardware problem but is in fact a software problem. Thus I am trying to format my laptop. However when I boot from the w7 disk and try to format my hard drive nothing happens. It acts like its going to start formatting and then just continues as if I never asked it to do anything. I've now got w7 installing again as I wondered if maybe the formatting was part of the installation but I'm thinking its not so I want to format it after its finished reinstalling. I figured it was best not to quit the installation once it had started.

Any ideas? I'm wondering if it is infact the disk I am using. Unfortunately I only own the w7 upgrade disk from dell, which is of no use to me so I had to borrow a friends disk to format it and its a pirated one. I'm wondering if for some reason the pirated ones can't format? Tis a long shot. I am not pirating windows as I do own a key, it's just I only have the upgrade disk not the retail one as dell are cheap and want me to install vista and upgrade to windows 7 in order to install it again.

Maybe I could use my vista disk to format and then put the w7 disk in? Failing that am I to presume it is infact a hard drive problem?

MumboJumbo · 29 Jan 2011 at 12:23

am I right in thinking it formated as part of the install? as it looks that way to me.

Now my laptop can't connect to the wireless, its got full signal but doesn't connect.

Buchanan0204 · 29 Jan 2011 at 12:30

8igdave said:
am I right in thinking it formated as part of the install? as it looks that way to me.

If you deleted the partition and created a new one during the install of windows 7, then it will have formatted it for you.

If it was blue screening and the hard drive is playing up formatting etc in the setup, this does indicate a corrupt hard disk... you can check this by booting into a live cd of ubuntu, which you can download for free.

The pirated discs will allow you to format, there's no real difference between the originals unless it has been modified.

If you wan't to be 100% sure your drive is formatted... take it out the laptop and connect it to your computer, if it's a laptop less than three years old it should have a sata hard disk, which if that's the case just connects directly your desktop.

Then just go to my computer, right click the drive and select format. You can also do a CHKDSK command on the drive in question from windows, if you don't fancy the ubuntu method.

I also use a live cd, Hirens boot cd... to test failing hard drives, it done a 10 minute test for random read and writes etc... it will tell you if it has errors... it's also free to download.

MumboJumbo · 29 Jan 2011 at 12:35

Well its definitly being very strange. Annoyingly I've left my dell disk back up at uni which has some things on it which dell don't put online, or at least they didn't last time I istalled windows. I'm wondering if my wireless is playing up because of this.,

Anyway I'm going to delete the partition and make a new one and install.

MumboJumbo · 29 Jan 2011 at 12:36

Dell has things on the hard drive that im not sure should be deleted. It has 2 partitions, one is a recovery. You reckon I should just get rid of all of it?

j.col · 29 Jan 2011 at 12:38

can it boot into safe mode options.?
did you not use the recovery partition,

usually on a win 7 pc.
its f8 at startup.
in the list iirc its advanced boot options.
then repair computer/ system image recovery
then repair from image, there will be a system image on the hard drive. select it and run the recovery.

(i am probably wrong in some of the ways above, but you can do it that way,)
here are a few other ways, including using another persons disc.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/668-system-recovery-options.html
or
here are the default recovery options for different laptops.
http://www.w7forums.com/windows-7-recovery-partition-t4534.html

j.col · 29 Jan 2011 at 12:39

8igdave said:
Dell has things on the hard drive that im not sure should be deleted. It has 2 partitions, one is a recovery. You reckon I should just get rid of all of it?

i wouldn't at first, as this will be an activated windows7, and also any drivers etc... needed on that recovery partition

MumboJumbo · 29 Jan 2011 at 12:39

j.col said:
can it boot into safe mode options.?
did you not use the recovery partition,

usually on a win 7 pc.
its f8 at startup.
in the list iirc its advanced boot options.
then repair pc
then repair from image, there will be a system image on the hard drive. select it and run the recovery.

(i am probably wrong in some of the ways above, but you can do it that way,)
here are a few other ways, including using another persons disc.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/668-system-recovery-options.html
or
here are the default recovery options for different laptops.
http://www.w7forums.com/windows-7-recovery-partition-t4534.html

I'm not quite sure as to what this is of referance to in my posts. I don't want to repair and I know how to get into the boot options, I just want to completely format. I have all sorts of problems with my os at the moment and have a nasty virus I can't get rid of.

MumboJumbo · 29 Jan 2011 at 12:41

Ok then so I deleted the partition and then remade it and it all happened instantly. I then clicked format and that happened instantly.

What does this mean? I'm thinking its not actually doing anything?

:EDIT:

Also I don't want to take the hard drive out because if this isn't what is wrong with my pc then its a hardware problem and has to be sent back to dell to be fixed and I don't want to void my warranty. I'm presuming they have security tape over the hard drive?

MumboJumbo · 29 Jan 2011 at 12:53

Intresting, i canceled a windows install before it had actually got to the installing part. Now I canot format or delete the partition.

j.col · 29 Jan 2011 at 12:54

misunderstood you above

usually when you format the hard drive, the window will change to "where do you want to install windows" and it will show any partitions on the drive, then you install on the one you want

i am guessing this is not happening with you?
sorry mate, you will need some one who knows more than i do (which is not much

)

have some patience

i just did an upgrade to win 64bit so it was a fresh install.
windows took nearly 30 mins to just show the install options.
it took nearly 1 1/2 hours in total before it loaded to the desktop

MumboJumbo · 29 Jan 2011 at 12:58

j.col said:
misunderstood you above

usually when you format the hard drive, the window will change to "where do you want to install windows" and it will show any partitions on the drive, then you install on the one you want

i am guessing this is not happening with you?
sorry mate, you will need some one who knows more than i do (which is not much )

I am on the "where do you want to install windows?" screen. I have three partitions:

Disk 0 Partition 1 39MB OEM (Reserved)

Disk 0 Partition 2: system reserved 100MB system

Disk 0 partition 3 465.6GB Primary

Partition 3 is the one I'm trying to install on. But I've never formated before, I thought it took like 40 minutes but on this it is happening instantly.

I just restarted the laptop and now I can once again delete and format the 3rd partition.

cammy5477 · 29 Jan 2011 at 13:05

i would delete them all and let windows installer create its own 100mb system reserved partiton for the new install.... then you know that everythings fresh and new
so delete it all till you have one drive then choose to install on it...this will give you 100mbr partition and the rest as a c drive.... just what id do...