Laptops Unable to format Laptop.

A

abhi24_in

Disciple
I am unable to format my laptop which has windows 7 installed on it. Due to some malware its not letting me log on to the sustem. When i insert a bootable CD the system just keep on going into a restart loop.
I want to format the drive and install vista on in. Please advice. Should i take it to the Lenovo service centre, its still under warranty
 
I hope you know how to boot from a bootable dvd/flash drive.

First check your bios and set the dvd drive as the first boot device.
 
You are trying to format and re-install with licensed Vista, right? You can as well use Rescue CDs to disinfect, if Virus/Malware is/are the culprit. You do realize there are other ways to have a screwed up PC apart from being affected by virus? To top it all, Windows Vista is buggy and resource hungry, which would slow down your laptop a lot.

AVG Rescue CD Cleans Your Infected Windows PC

Download Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10.0.29.6 Free - A safe way to remove viruses from a computer without the risk of getting infected - Softpedia

Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10

Rescue CD - Google Search
 
I have a licensed version of Vista but the thing is i had earlier installed an unlicensed version of Win 7 on my laptop, i think due to which some drivers got corrupted and i am unable to format or install anything else on it. It might not exactly be a malware..

When i put in the CD for Vista it starts to check the system but errors out with not enough space for installationm please free up and try again... my laptop config is C2D@2.13, 2gb ram...this should be enugh for Vista i presume.

I even tried with a bootable USB but it shows windows is loading files but keeps on going of in a loop and does not show the option for a fresh load.
 
if nothing works, take out the hdd, attach it to a desktop or any other systm with the case n format.
 
Try Hiren's boot CD or this one from Wondershare and follow these steps:

Get A $60 Bootable Troubleshooting Tool Free.

How to make bootable USB Vista (use at least a 4 GB Pendrive): How to Create Bootable USB Drive to Install Windows Vista? - Tweaking with Vishal

Install Windows Vista from Bootable USB Flash Memory Drive

1) Boot from the live CD (Hiren's Live CD / any Linux live distro / Rescue CD)

2) Format your C drive with NTFS

3) Edit your PC's boot order from BIOS (1. CD drive 2. USB 3. HDD)

4) Use the Win Vista bootable CD / live USB to install

Side note: on C2D@2.13, 2gb ram, Vista would still lag after few days :(
 
Found the problem...the Bootsec file has gotten corrupted :( ...will have to take out the harddisk and attach it to another computer and format it...Thanks for the help :). Since the lappy is still inder warranty will let the service centre guys fix it :)
 
^^I guess almost everyone(if not all)knows about hiren`s boot cd.

I still do not understand what actually happened to o.p.A corrupt boot sector does not prevent formatting with a live cd.
 
I formatted the Drives after attaching the hard disk to another computer but now i get an error message saying bootmanager is missing press ctrl+alt+del to restart.... I tried booting using ISB, CD for Win XP , Vista and Win 7....It reaches a point where the screen shows starting windows but the laptop abruptly restarts and it goes back to the same..windows is loading files ....this cycle keeps on repeating.

Please help..
 
Just delete all the partitions in the drive. Had this same problem, after deleting all partitions, problem went away. it has some thing to do with the recovery partition, AFAIK.
 
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