Reformatting a Laptop

  • Thread starter Thread starter gecko zzed
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gecko zzed

gecko zzed

Grumpy Mod
I have bought a secondhand laptop for use in conjunction with my PC setup.

It is a highly specced laptop, but came with Linux and Ubuntu. But it was going at a price too good to refuse. While I have no problems with Linux or Ubuntu as such, everything else I have is running Windows XP.

So I want to wipe the hard disk and do a fresh install of Windows XP.

However, I am at a loss as to how to completely wipe and reformat the hard drive in Linux.

Can anyone help?
 
Use should be able to load up your windows cd and windows will prompt you to format the drive when its ready to install. Make sure in the bios of the notebook it is set to boot from a cd first. Insert the cd, restart the notebook and follow the install prcedures.
 
BushmasterM4 said:
Use should be able to load up your windows cd and windows will prompt you to format the drive when its ready to install. Make sure in the bios of the notebook it is set to boot from a cd first. Insert the cd, restart the notebook and follow the install prcedures.
Click to expand...

Which is what I was expecting when I did all that . . . but the XP install wouldn't recongise the hard drive. But I'll give it another try. I appreciate your help!
 
how old is the laptop? If it is newer, it may be running in AHCI mode which XP does not support natively so you will need the driver for that particular controller or you need to set it back to IDE mode in bios.. If you have the driver, hit F6 when XP setup starts when it asks if you need a third party controller (right when it goes into the blue screen when it starts loading files).
 
It is a relatively new laptop. I was able to get into its Bios, but that didn't provide a lot of help.

However, all is not lost.

The guy I bought it off did offer at the time to help me reconfigure for XP. I had thought it would be straightforward, but it looks as if I will have to avail myself of his help.
 
If worse comes to worse 2.5" HDD drives are amazingly cheap. Pop out the old, pop in the new.

In days of yore I'd say force a low level format through debug but those days are long long long gone.
 
gecko zzed said:
It is a relatively new laptop. I was able to get into its Bios, but that didn't provide a lot of help.

However, all is not lost.

The guy I bought it off did offer at the time to help me reconfigure for XP. I had thought it would be straightforward, but it looks as if I will have to avail myself of his help.
Click to expand...

It might be locked into AHCI mode for the drives (does it mention AHCI on Post at all?). Anyway, all you need is the right driver for that particular controller in that particular laptop, I would start with their forums..
 
You can try something like killdisk. Make a bootable CD and make sure it completely wipes the drive. I'm not sure if a windows "Format" removes everything
 
Postscript to the problem

The problem turned out to be that the laptop has a SATA hardrive, which XP doesn't natively understand. So I needed a USB floppy with the SATA drivers on it.

This was entering a territory that I was not comfortable with, so I took it to my friendly local computer store (from whence it came in). They did this for me, installed XP, and I now have it home.

I set it up, installed Reaper, which took about 30 seconds, then the Firepod, which took another thirty seconds . . . it runs like a train and all is milk and honey.
 
Great. Initially I thought that maybe the laptop wasn't booting to the CD or something. I had no idea that XP doesn't natively understand SATA... I find that weird. Although upon Googling, it appears that that is the case.

What specs are you running on? If it takes that fast to setup things, you must be running on a juicy little laptop...
 
valacirca said:
Great. Initially I thought that maybe the laptop wasn't booting to the CD or something. I had no idea that XP doesn't natively understand SATA... I find that weird. Although upon Googling, it appears that that is the case.

What specs are you running on? If it takes that fast to setup things, you must be running on a juicy little laptop...
Click to expand...

Perhaps I exaggerate . . . but only a little. Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4ghz with 2gb ram. I remember trying to instal Logic and its ISIS soundcard on my old Windows ME machine . . . that was a very hazardous operation before I achieved the joint goals of success and stability. On my main PC, Logic, Reaper and Firepod went in pretty easily, but I don't recall it being as fast as installing on the laptop.
 
gecko zzed said:
The problem turned out to be that the laptop has a SATA hardrive, which XP doesn't natively understand. So I needed a USB floppy with the SATA drivers on it.

This was entering a territory that I was not comfortable with, so I took it to my friendly local computer store (from whence it came in). They did this for me, installed XP, and I now have it home.

I set it up, installed Reaper, which took about 30 seconds, then the Firepod, which took another thirty seconds . . . it runs like a train and all is milk and honey.
Click to expand...

Runs like a train? I'm guessing you don't live in the uk then cause our trains sucks balls!!!

Glad you got it all up and running :P
 
valacirca said:
Great. Initially I thought that maybe the laptop wasn't booting to the CD or something. I had no idea that XP doesn't natively understand SATA... I find that weird. Although upon Googling, it appears that that is the case.

What specs are you running on? If it takes that fast to setup things, you must be running on a juicy little laptop...
Click to expand...

it is not that XP wont recognize SATA disks, it is the controllers they do not recognize. I ran and set up XP on SATA raptors with no drivers or problems however the controller was in IDE mode. If it was running native (AHCI), I would have needed the drivers for the controller. Some machines will only run AHCI, hence his issues
 
A further postscript on my laptop

Yesterday evening I got my laptop back and successfully installed Reaper and Firepod without problem.

Took it all along to a outside recording job this mornng . . . virtually untested.

Just came back with everything having worked flawlessly.

I mention this because it has been my past experience that nothing works properly first up. The usual scenario is that if something can go wrong, it will. Today it was a case of if something can go wrong, it won't.
 
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