Formatting Hard Drive Containing Windows

I have bought a "used" hard drive from eBay that seems to already contain a Windows OS. My system has assigned this drive with the letter D but I cannot format it.
When I try to format the D drive from within Windows I get the message :
"Windows cannot format this drive. Quit and disk utilities or programs that are using this drive and make sure no widow is displaying the contents of the drive. Then try formatting again"
Despite the fact that no programs are using the drive or open windows displaying the contents of the drive, Windows will not format it.
Can anyone please help ?
Thank You

Quote from: technojunkie on 12-October-09, 20:32:04
Thanks for the posts.
I have now succeded in formatting the drive and repairing the bad sectors using the manufacturers diagnostic utility.
Should I be concerned that (although repaired) the bad sectors on the drive may be a sign of a faulty drive and a potential drive failure in the future ?
Thanks again.
Quote
Should I be concerned that (although repaired) the bad sectors on the drive may be a sign of a faulty drive and a potential drive failure in the future ?
Yes, problem will return soon or later. Best contact to reseller for replacement.

Similar Messages

  • How to format hard drive containing Vista?

    I have a Lenovo ThinkPad notebook with Windows Vista. 
    I'd like to format this hard drive so I can get XP installed instead of Vista.
    When I boot to my XP CD, and hit "enter" to install XP, it tells me my hard drive can not be found.  However, if I boot to the hard drive, it loads Vista and everything fine.
    Please help! I'm really tired of Vista!
    Thank You,
    Ben

    Set your harddrive from AHCI to compatibility mode in the bios.

  • HP System Recovery DVD incorrectly formats hard drive (WIN Vista HP SP1 64-bit 510141-001)

    HP Pavilion DV4-1225dx
    Vista Home Premium 64-bit
    AMD Turion x2
    I had previously posted the issue as "HP System Recovery Fails on new HDD", however it appears that the reason it is failing is due to incorrect formatting of the hard drive:
    Went to purchase the oem HDD @ Tiger Direct (Hitachi 0A56415 Travelstar 5K320 Mobile Hard Drive - 2.5", 5400 RPM, SATA 3G, 250GB, 8MB Cache) but found it was out of stock. I purchased the suggested replacement  (WD Blue 320GB Mobile Hard Drive - Designed for everyday computing - 2.5", SATA 3Gb/s, 5400RPM, 8MB C...)
    I have attemptted the System Recovery several times each failing with errors. But after each failure the HDD is found to be incorrectly formatted as documented in the following link:
    System Recovery Fails on new HDD
    hp G71-340US WIN 7 HP 64 Bit
    hp pavilion dv4-1225dx VIsta HP 64 Bit
    hp pavilion zd7000 WIN XP Pro
    hp pavilion xv886 WIN Millennium / WIN XP Pro
    hp deskjet 6980xi
    hp pavilion xt236 / ze4200 WIN XP Media Edition

    Slolearner,
    After doing a little research, I believe your issue may be related to your new hard drive being an AF (Advanced Format) drive. Please see "WD Scorpio® Blue™ SATA/PATA Hard Drives", which indicates your WD3200BPVT may an AF drive.
    Please see "Cannot Recover the PC after Replacing the Hard Drive with an AF Drive (Windows 7 and Vista)" for information on this subject. While this document isn't for your specific computer, it is generic enough that it applies to your situation. If you wish to use your HP Recovery Discs successfully, you may need to purchase a non-AF drive.
    If your computer boots into Windows, please see "Identifying an Advanced Format Hard Drive" to download and run the HP Advanced Format Hard Drive Information tool.
    If it is an AF drive, please see "Preparing Advanced Format Hard Drive for Windows" and "Improving the Performance of an Advanced Format Hard Drive" for more information on the subject and possible steps to be taken to resolve your issue.
    Lastly, it may be necessary to follow Paul_Tikkanen's advice and install Windows Vista from a Microsoft Windows Vista installation disc as follows;
    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
    If you can still read the 25 character Microsoft Vista product key on the bottom of your PC, you can make your own plain Vista installation media and use that to at least get the OS on your PC.
    Here is how to do that if you can read that key:
    Please click on the link below, click on the Windows Reinstallation Guide [27-07-2013] pdf link on the upper left of the page and then read the instructions for doing this starting on page 302.
    http://philipyip.wordpress.com/dell-community-forums/
    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
    You may also consider purchasing a copy of Windows 7 and installing that instead. Windows 7 SP1 has much better support for AF drives than the previous versions of Windows.
    Please click the white KUDOS star to show your appreciation
    Frank
    {------------ Please click the "White Kudos" Thumbs Up to say THANKS for helping.
    Please click the "Accept As Solution" on my post, if my assistance has solved your issue. ------------V
    This is a user supported forum. I am a volunteer and I don't work for HP.
    HP 15t-j100 (on loan from HP)
    HP 13 Split x2 (on loan from HP)
    HP Slate8 Pro (on loan from HP)
    HP a1632x - Windows 7, 4GB RAM, AMD Radeon HD 6450
    HP p6130y - Windows 7, 8GB RAM, AMD Radeon HD 6450
    HP p6320y - Windows 7, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GT 240
    HP p7-1026 - Windows 7, 6GB RAM, AMD Radeon HD 6450
    HP p6787c - Windows 7, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GT 240

  • Can I bring files from a NTFS formatted external hard drive (from Windows XP 32 bit desktop) to my new macbook pro retina?

    Can I bring files from a NTFS formatted external hard drive (from Windows XP 32 bit desktop) to my new macbook pro retina?

    What are these files you are trying to copy over?
    If they are program specific and there is no program on a Mac to read them then you'll have to find either a Mac version of that program or one that does the same thing and can read those files.
    The file extension should not change just because you connect a NTFS formatted drive to a Mac computer. A Word Document is still a .doc/.docx ad the same for all other office type programs. Music files with an extension of .MP3, or whatever, should read the same on both system. Same goes for all other files like images with a .JPG extension.
    Yes I would network them.
    I would not use Migration Assistant. There is nothing on your Windows PC that can be used on the Mac other than your personal data files. No programs or settings can be carried over from Windows to OS X.
    marimbapony1 wrote:
    Also, when I view the files from the external hard drive, they show up as .nbz and are not recognized by any program on the Mac. Should I just abandon the hard drive option and start sharing files through the LAN approach?

  • HT4796 Can i use windows migration assistant to transfer files from a windows formatted hard drive to a mac?

    I have a windows formatted hard drive and a macbook pro. I was wondering if i could use the windows migration assistant to transfer files from my hard drive to the mac

    No.
    Just connect the drive to your Mac. The Mac can read most Windows formats (it cannot WRITE Windows New Technology File System (NTFS) formatted drives.

  • About to format hard drive. How do I preserve I-Tunes?

    Hi,
    *About to format hard drive. How do I preserve I-Tunes*
    Apologies if this has been asked before, but I need reassurance that I will not make an expensive mistake.
    I have iTunes installed on my PC, but the library and any original music files are stored on a NAS external device.
    What do I need to do in iTunes (or anything else) before I reformat my PC drive?
    In addition, I am guessing, but I figure that that afterwards I reinstall iTunes and reenter some settings and I can make connection with my Library again? Is that correct?
    Thanks in advance
    flobbyblob

    Are you certain that the iTunes folder containing you library databases is on the external drive?
    If you have the iTunes folder containing your current iTunes Library.itl and iTunes Music Library.xml in My Music on the C: drive, then you need to back that up.
    If you are certain everything is on the external drive then all you need to do with your PC is deauthorise it before reinstalling Windows.
    You asked something else:
    Yes after reinstalling Windows and iTunes, you redo the settings you used to connect to your library on the external drive. You will also need to reauthorise your PC.
    Message was edited by: polydorus

  • How do I connect airport extreme to seagate hard drive using windows

    How do I connect airport extreme to seagate hard drive using windows?

    First the AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS) cannot share out an external HDD attached to its USB port unless it is formatted in either HFS+ or FAT16/32. It will not work if the HDD is formatted in either NTFS or ExFAT.
    If the HDD is formatted properly, when you access the AEBS with the AirPort Utility, does the HDD show up properly on the Disks tab of the utility?
    If it does, then you would access the HDD as any other network share, using the following format: //servername/sharename. In the case of the AirPort Disk (a HDD attached to the USB port of either an Extreme or Time Capsule), the "servername" would be the Extreme's Base Station Name, and the "sharename" would be the volumename of the HDD.

  • Advanced Format Hard Drive not recognized by HP DV6000 Controller

    Hello,
    I have an HP DV 6000 laptop (6276 I think, I'm at work can't check) that came preinstalled with a Western Digital 160gb 1.5gb/s 5400 RPM drive (Vista) that failed a couple of weeks ago.  So i bought a Western Digital 750 GB WD Black SATA III 7200 RPM 16 MB drive to replace it. I read about people having some problems with Advanced Drive Format hard drives not being recognized by their controller, but also read that depending on the controller and specific Dv6000 model laptop they had-one wouldn't run into problems. 
    Well sure enough, when attempting to install Windows 7 I received the error that the hard drive was not detected. After researching online I came across an article on WD's site that noted
    "Our SATA II hard drives use autospeed negotiation. This enables our SATA II drives to automatically detect the motherboard data transfer rate, making it backward compatible with SATA I data transfer rates. However, some older SATA I controllers are unable to support autospeed negotiation and cannot recognize the drive. This “drive not detected” condition occurs when a chipset is incapable of correctly negotiating the data transfer speed with a SATA II hard drive."
    my drive is a SATA ||| but I'm pretty sure it's the same problem.  The site goes on to say a fix would be to  "purchase and install a third party PCI or PCI-Express Second Generation Serial ATA controller card for your Serial ATA hard drive(s)."
    My question(s) are.
    1)Is the problem that I am trying to install a Sata ||| hard drive on a laptop with a controller that will only recognize SATA | hard drive?
    2) Or is the problem that the hard drive is an Advanced Drive Formatted hard drive and I need to buy a hard drive with out that specification?
    3) Or Should I buy a SATA controller card as WD suggests on their website and if so will this definitely allow my laptop's controller to recognize the new hard drive and proceed with the installation?
    4)Or Should I just return the hard drive and buy a SATA | non Advanced Drive Format hard drive? (question 2 basically)
    Thanks for your help!

    Hi @jasmine00 
    Welcome to the HP Support Forums.
    I certainly understand your issue with the drive upgrade. Unfortunately it is a bit of the nature of notebooks, the sacrifice of a large amount of upgradeability, in exchange for compactness and portability. Whenever a new technology comes out, older notebooks are never really going to be easy to upgrade, it at all. Normally the unit as a whole is tested with a set list of hardware, and only those items are supported.
    That being said there is this document that could be helpful with your problem.
    Preparing Advanced Format hard drives for Microsoft Windows installations on HP Business Notebook PC...
    And for your reference:
    HP Pavilion dv6000 Notebook PC Maintenance and Service Guide
    Malygris1
    I work on behalf of HP
    Please click Accept as Solution if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
    Click Kudos Thumbs Up on the right to say “Thanks” for helping!

  • Cd/dvd drive not found, can I format hard drive with an external cd/dvd drive. If so how?

    My cd/dvd drive quit working and is not found in device manager so I purchased an external cd/dvd rw.  Now I am having other issues with installing software and windows updates so I would like to format hard drive.  Can this be done with external cd drive, if so how do I boot from it?  presario v6000 laptop windows vista 32bit os.

    Restart the notebook >> start tapping F10 key >> go to configuration menu >> Boot Order >> select the Ext DVD drive as 1st boot device >> save and exit >> Insert the recovery disc >> restart the PC >> press any key when prompted >> follow the instructions..
    ||-Although I am working on behalf of HP, I am speaking for myself and not for HP.-||
    //Click on Kudos if my reply was helpful and answered your question//
    ||-If my answer solved the problem please mark the topic as the accepted solution-||

  • Booting a hard drive with Windows XP on it.

    Hi all,
    I want to boot a hard drive that was in my mother's dead laptop from 10 years ago via a ATA/IDE to USB enclosure with my 2011 Macbook Pro 13''.
    The hard drive has Windows XP on it and I am running Mountain Lion. I want to know if this is possible, and if so, how can I do it?
    Thank you in advance!

    You can't boot from the XP drive, nor can your Mac run XP, but you can read it's files from the drive and copy them with the right adapter.
    Mac's can read NTFS formatted drives, but can't write to them without additional paid software installed.
    If there are files that can't be opened on the Mac, even with the free LibreOffice and VLC player, then you could install Windows 7 Pro + either into a virtual machine program or into Apple's BootCamp.
    Windows in BootCamp or Virtual Machine?
    Windows 7 Pro and above will run most XP programs, else they provide a XP download to virtualize XP in Win 7 that will run the files provided you have a compatible program installed.
    http://windows.microsoft.com/is-IS/windows7/install-and-use-windows-xp-mode-in-w indows-7
    It can become quite complicated with three nested operating systems, so you need to have plenty of RAM, 16GB preferred.

  • Drivers for format hard drive of desktop imedia A3523 made in year 2010

    Can you please help
    I need to down load drivers then burning to disks to reload a formated hard drive, o/s windows 8
    ( to clean hard drive, load drivers, then re-instll windows 8)
    Thank you.
    t.j.

    As the imedia A3523 circa 2010 originally shipped with WIN7, you have an issue. Do you possess a retail WIN8 or upgrade WIN8?
    I am a volunteer. I am not an HP employee.
    To say THANK YOU, press the "thumbs up symbol" to render a KUDO. Please click Accept as Solution, if your problem is solved. You can render both Solution and KUDO.
    The Law of Effect states that positive reinforcement increases the probability of a behavior being repeated. (B.F.Skinner). You toss me KUDO and/or Solution, and I perform better.
    (2) HP DV7t i7 3160QM 2.3Ghz 8GB
    HP m9200t E8400,Win7 Pro 32 bit. 4GB RAM, ASUS 550Ti 2GB, Rosewill 630W. 1T HD SATA 3Gb/s
    Custom Asus P8P67, I7-2600k, 16GB RAM, WIN7 Pro 64bit, EVGA GTX660 2GB, 750W OCZ, 1T HD SATA 6Gb/s
    Custom Asus P8Z77, I7-3770k, 16GB RAM, WIN7 Pro 64bit, EVGA GTX670 2GB, 750W OCZ, 1T HD SATA 6Gb/s
    Both Customs use Rosewill Blackhawk case.
    Printer -- HP OfficeJet Pro 8600 Plus

  • Reformat external hard drive for Windows machine using disk utility

    I have a Maxtor 160GB dual-interface external HD. I used it for my Mac OS X. I erased and reformated the hard drive on my Mac to MS-DOS using Disk Utility for use on my fathers Windows XP. I hooked the hard drive up to the Windows machine and the hard drive was visible in both Windows Explorer and on the task bar. I right clicked on the hard drive and selected Format. The formatting takes a while but at the end an error appears indicating the hard drive was not formattable. How can I get a MS-DOS formatted hard drive (from a Mac) to be used on a Windows XP machine with a NTFS format?

    Turns out it is possible:
    Maxtor Support..
    I would use your Disk Management utility within Windows to repartition and reformat the drive. To access Disk Management, right click on My Computer, go to Manage, and then choose Disk Management. Within Disk Management the drive should show in your list of disks (Disk 0,1,2 etc etc). I would delete any partitions that are on the drive. To delete a partition, just right-click on the partition and choose delete. Make sure you’re deleting the correct drive. Once the entire drive says unallocated then the drive should be ready to partition and format. Just right click within the Unallocated Space on the drive and choose the New Partition or New Volume option to set up the drive.
    I followed the instructions and everything worked.

  • L305D-S5934 Has formatted hard drive, can I load recovery disk from a different machine?

    Hi,
    I have an older L305D (can't remember the sub group model, but it does not have the web cam).  The LCD screen went out so I bought a L305D-S5934 with a formatted hard drive.  I swapped my old hard drive into the new computer, but it will not boot up.  It tried to recover, but that failed.  Can I make a recovery disk with my old computer to use in the new one, even though they are different sub models?  The new computer has a Windows license on it.  If I can't make a recovery disk with the old one that will work, can I get a copy of Vista Home and use the license on the new computer to install it or does the license only work with the recovery disks?  Once I have an operating system installed, I know I can get the right drivers from this website.  Any help/ideas would be appreciated!  I would rather not have to buy a recovery disk through Toshiba if I can avoid it.

    Satellite L305D-S5934
    Can I make a recovery disk with my old computer to use in the new one, even though they are different sub models? 
    That won't work.
    can I get a copy of Vista Home and use the license on the new computer to install it or does the license only work with the recovery disks?
    The OEM key won't work with a retail version of Windows. (And with the recovery discs it's unnecessary, because that one is pre-activated.)
    The recovery media from Toshiba costs less than the product key for the retail installation DVD. And you don't need to mess around adding drivers and utilities.
       Order Toshiba Recovery Media
    -Jerry

  • Can i use an external hard drive in windows to add additional storage after my initial partition is set up. i want to add a 500 GB hard drive to use with my windows. I set windows up in boot camp with a 50 GB partition?

    can i use an external hard drive in windows to add additional storage after my initial partition is set up. i want to add a 500 GB external hard drive to use with my windows. I set windows up in boot camp with a 50 GB partition? I now want to add another 500 GB?

    Yes. Windows supports external USB drives.

  • Recovering data from a newly formatted hard drive

    Has anyone had any experience with programs that recover data from a newly formatted hard drive?  There seem to be a lot of programs out there to do this, but, a) do they work, and b) which one worked best for you? 

    Ive had so and so success with a freeware utility called "Recuva"
    http://www.recuva.com/
    Its from the makers of CCleaner.
    *******DISCLAIMER********
    I am not an employee of BBY in any shape or form. All information presented in my replies or postings is my own opinion. It is up to you , the end user to determine the ultimate validity of any information presented on these forums.

Maybe you are looking for

  • Facetime with 3GS

    I currently have lots of ways of "talking" to people, including Skype.  With Skype, I can talk to another person, and IF either of us turns on a camera, the other person gets to see our image. I'm pretty sure tha answer to this is "no", but is there

  • Error 4261 - Burning Cd's

    Rather than sifting through this vast ocean of forums and discussion for an indirect solution to somebody elses' problem, I figured it's in my best interest to begin a new topic. So, while I was burning some cd's and whatnot, out of nowhere, my itune

  • Oracle RAC support in CIAC

    Hi, Does CIAC support Oracle RAC clusters? I'd like to put a bit of resilience on the Oracle database backend and so would like to setup an Oracle RAC. If I did would this invalidate any support if there was an issue with connectiviity to the databas

  • Disable print in simple OI

    I have TestSTAND 4.1 and LV 8.6 I am using Testexec simple OI  after the sequence run to completion and after the banner PASS/FAIL, there is a pop up with two button Start a new run or STOP. if the operator press STOP, I use simple text report, the p

  • SOAP Authentication.

    Hi All: I created SOAP to SOAP Scenario and sending message using WD application for testing. Now can I disable the Authentication of PI  while sending a message to SOAP adapter? Regards, Farooq