Windows Vista forum: Windows Vista will NOT let me format my hard drive

Logically Vista shouldn't be doing that, but to be sure it's not an incompatability somewhere with the HP recovery system I'd suggest downloading the free program DBAN. You can burn the ISO to CD/DVD or save it to a floppy of flash drive. Either way, boot to DBAN instead of the HP recovery system and use it to reformat your hard drive. That will leave it in like-new condition, meaning you should have no problem using the recovery system to reinstall XP Media Center edition. Just be sure to backup all of your files first as there will be no turning back.

John

After downloading DBAN you either need to burn the ISO to CD/DVD or copy the executable to a floppy, reboot your computer, and launch the utility from outside Windows. You can click here to review the README file, detailing various FAQs concerning its installation and use. If there is any particular part you are stuck on let us know.

John

DBAN is designed to work on just about any computer you can throw at it, so no worries.

John

I have a Dell Dimension E520, I'm trying to install XP as nothing works with Vista!!!

I have used DBAN, it runs fine booting from USB and appears to work, but when I try to boot from XP disc, Vista come back on!!!

Any ideas?

I think the hangup is that you need to launch the executable from within Windows to create a bootable floppy/flash drive, not just copy the downloaded EXE to disc. The installer will erase the contents of the flash drive (necessary in order to boot from it reliably) and extract the necessary files to it. You can then reboot your computer, with the flash drive connected, and boot to it, provided your system ha the ability to boot from a flash drive. If not, you can do the same procedure using a floppy or download the ISO version of DBAN and use your preferred burning software to burn it to CD.

Hope this helps,
John

Windows doesn't let you format the drive it runs from. Nothing wrong with that.

Failure to boot from a CD/DVD can have 3 causes:
1. The BIOS isn't set to boot from the CD/DVD-drive. Go into the BIOS setup during the boot, and check that setting.
2. The disk isn't bootable. That's unlikely in this case.
3. The drive itself needs to be replaced.

You can't format with dban. That only erases. Only use it when REALLY necessary, and that's not here.

The first thing to try is to boot into the recovery partition and recover the c:-drive from there. Your user manual will tell you how to do that particular boot (which key to press when, or what setting in the BIOS setup; on a Dell usually it's ctrl-F11, but you have an Acer).
If that can't be done for some reason boot from the recovery DVD that came with the DVD or that you made yourself.

Kees

Sorry to say the prospects are bad.

If you can't boot from a dban boot disk burned there's a hardware issue with either the drive or the motherboard. That needs repair. But first check that that dban disk really is bootable on another PC (it will ask confirmation before starting to erase the disk there). Quite a lot of our members don't know how to burn a bootable disk and burn it as a file to a non-bootable disk.

But let's suppose for the moment that
- there are no hardware issues
- you manage to make a bootable dban-disk and use it to erase the hard disk
- you have a retail install disk of Windows XP, with license that isn't used elsewhere
- you can install Windows XP from that disk
then the trouble begins.

You have to find all XP drivers for the Acer. It's totally unclear if they are on the acer-site or don't exist at all. The last option is the most likely for a laptop that came with Vista. Then you've got to run everest or belarc to identify the hardware, find all drivers with the respective makers and install them in the right sequence. That's a daunting and rather hopeless task.

If I were you I'd order a recovery DVD with Acer, once you know that dban worked. Going back to XP is difficult or impossible.

Kees

Do you mean you made a bootable CD with the DBAN ISO?

If so I don't recall DBAN needing any keyboard input, maybe use the arrow keys and Press Enter or F10, but nothing else.

Here's some screenshots of using DBAN;
http://sourceforge.net/project/screenshots.php?group_id=61951&ssid=39777

Or did you mean you were using something other than DBAN?

about not needing DBAN, if you want to continue with DBAN then you're doing something wrong.

DBAN does not run from within Windows.

DBAN is it's own DOS type progam. It runs wholly from the CD. This means you insert the CD into the CD drive. If Windows is running and a window pops-up asking what you want to do with this, cancel out and RESTART the computer.

If the BIOS is set to boot from the CD drive first, then DBAN will load and run at reboot without loading Windows at all.

If DBAN fails to load, then either;

1] You have not burned the DBAN file properly to CD as an ISO, or

2] That CD is faulty.

You can test the CD in another computer.

Did you download DBAN from;
http://www.dban.org/

Don't trust any other source if you do not know the program.

Mark

I do not know is there any other program that will work that is free to use. I have tried to use it on my laptop and with no luck. I did download it from their web site and I did use nero, (my cd burner program. I made the disk by using the selection that says create a bootalbe cd. How else is there to burn it if it is supposed to be a bootable cd.
I have deleated most of the games and junk files that I have put on my pc so that most of what is left is the os files and drivers. I jsut wish I could find that dang Think Point file and get rid of it. Then I would not need to wipe the drive or reinstall windows to get rid of it. Think Point has inbeded in a file and I can not find but the app. file for it. That is why I have been deleting all unnessary files and programs, just find the one I wnat to get rid of.

if you have a bootable Vista or Windows 7 installation DVD. That should work. Start telling it to delete the existing partition and create a new one. You only need to use if you plan to install XP on a drive that used to contain Vista. But switching to XP isn't a good idea, I think.

If you can't get DBAN to work, and still want to go to XP, replace the hard disk by a new empty one.

Kees

You are replying to a post that was made 4 years ago.

Would have been better to create your own thread.

However, since you are here. I noticed you "Burned a bootable CD". What does that mean? Since DBAN is an ISO you need to burn it as an ISO CD. That may be why it didn't work.

These forums don't allow images to be posted, but if you upload your image to some Image Hosting site, (like ImageShack, Flickr, Photobucket, etc), then post alnk here to the full sized version of that image, not just the thumbnail, then we can all look at it.

Mark

Here's the link:

http://dban.sourceforge.net/

After visiting the site above, click on the link for downloading Dban for "CD & DVD Media" and it will download an .iso file to your computer.. Once there, use a program like Nero, Roxio, or IMGburn to unpack and burn the .iso (image file) to a CD.

Hope this helps.

Grif

Read http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6122_102-0.html?threadID=358135&tag=forums06;forum-threads and many replies later they found the right way to make the CD from the .ISO.

Hint: We don't put the ISO on the CD, we create the CD from the .ISO.

Tip: Look up IMGBURN
Bob

Vista make me go .... is posible that Vista lock down bios? Dont have any cd for crack down, if try whit cd XP dont allow to pas- can try to make second primary particion on C whit XP and then whit PARTITION M... continioius like yust to? Or simple yust reach for jumper option? Have original Vista on Acer- Aspire 5710! Thanks