having Hard Drive Formatting issue

HP Pavilion DV7-3100 -  A really nice computer which I really want to keep, b4 anyone starts..lol

After many years started having a hard drive problem while using my trading program which a CHKDSK /f /r always fixed ... till now.

Purchased a new wd 500 gig hard drive, installed and installed Win 7 successfully from a disk I've been using for more years that I can remember.

Started installing my trading programs and forgot to adjust the compatibility features and all was going to hell in a hand basket and just got frustrated.

Now knowing what the problem was, decided to re-format and re-install Win 7 and just start over again.

Using Gparted I deleted the partition, partitioned and re-formatted ntfs and allowed the laptop to boot from win 7 disk where I normally see "boot from DVD" message, press any key to continue.

This time it didn't and just started automatically loading the win 7 system files and pops up an error message something to do with the previous installation.

The partition had been deleted and reformatted and am confused what it is seeing!

Instead of Gparted I tried doing it my old fashion way of using a Win XP disk which is straight forward to delete and reformat and tried again with the same results.

Seems I'm doing something wrong and hope someone can help.

Best regards,

Dave...

Boot your Windows 7 disk again. When at the screen asking for language
 

press Shift + F10. This will open a command prompt. Type the following commands

diskpart

list disk

select disk X    Where X is the drive number you will be installing Windows to. On a one disk computer this will be zero. Make sure you have the correct number

clean                Wipes the partition table which essentially wipes the disk

convert MBR   Creates an MBR partition table. If the computer has UEFI firmware then substitute GPT for MBR. Considering the age of the computer it's probably MBR

exit                   exits diskpart

exit                   exits command prompt

Continue with the install. When you get to the window asking for Upgrade or Custom select Custom. You will see your unallocated drive. Click Next. Windows will automatically partition and format the drive.

Thanks JohnC, Shift + F10 gives window   Administrator:X:\windows\system32\cmd.exe

In the window    X:\Sources>

Can I wipe the hard drive from here?

X:\Sources>0

'0'  is not recognized as an internal or external command,

operable program or batch file.

Did you type

diskpart

at the command prompt?

Edit: If you can't get to the diskpart prompt then boot Gparted. In the upper right should be your hard drive listed as sda. Delete any partitions, In the menu select Device > Create Partition Table. msdos should be in the dropdown box. Click the green checkmark. When finished boot your Windows install disk and continue with the install. Select Custom install then the next button. You don't need to create any partitions after deleting them.

Edited by JohnC_21, 29 April 2024 - 03:43 PM.

Since the Activation Servers are off line how are you going to activate it ?

Deepest thanks for your concern from the brow of the hill in Canada.

I have a Microsoft account and will be purchasing a digital license.

Best regards,

Thanks John, Ended up stealing my daughters hard drive from her

old laptop and it worked fine using Gpart and installing a fresh copy of win7.

I think WD has a program that can be ran to check HD, I'll look for it tomorrow.

Probably end up, if possible putting Win11 on it and giving it to her as a gift,,,  What a guy!

Thanks for your help.

WD does have a program to check drives. I've used it to check my external WD. It's called WD Dashboard. I'm not sure if it works on Windows 7. There is also WD drive utilities that can do diagnostics.

https://support-en.wd.com/app/products/downloads/softwaredownloads

https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detailweb/a_id/31759/~/download%2C-install%2C-test-drive-and-update-firmware-using-western-digital