[RAMChYLD]

Well, in that case, I stand by my suggestion to try a low-level format followed by a reinstall.

[cpd2009]

Well, in that case, I stand by my suggestion to try a low-level format followed by a reinstall.

I agree with this as well, but see if you can try to get your documents, music, and other important data off the disk first. That might require taking your PC to a repair shop, and it will cost some money to do. There are ways you can get data off your drive without taking it to a PC repair shop, but it requires knowing how to create a Linux LiveCD, booting from the CD, and using it's file manager to copy your documents to a flash drive.

I'm not sure what program you would use to do a low-level format though. I know there is the GParted LiveCD, but I don't know if that can do low-level formats.

To re-install Windows, you need any factory restoration disks you may have created when the PC was originally purchased. This will install Windows and all it's pre-installed software back to the hard drive.

[huckleberrypie]

Vouching on the LiveCD method as well. Make sure you have a suitable external hard drive at hand, too.

Linux Mint should be good enough for that purpose, not to mention that you can shove it into your PC as an alternate OS in case you need to do recovery stuff or if you just feel like trying something else other than Windows.

Oh, and AFAIK low-level format utilities depend on the drive used. Are you able to take a look at the drive vendor or model?

[Angel]

Oh okay.

Well Alexia used a um.. Unbuntu disk so we could access the harddrive and get the important files off it before the formatting. She says she knows how to do a "regular" formatting of the disk, but unsure of how one actually does a low-level format. She's never done this kinda thing before, and a sort of step by step process of how one does that might be appreciated here.

She told me it's a Seagate Barracuda when I said you need the drive vendor or model, assuming thats what you need?

We've got Windows Install Disks though. ^_^

[RAMChYLD]

For Seagate, I think you can make do with SeaTools from Seagate.com

Grab the ISO for SeaTools for DOS, burn it into CD, and then boot from CD. Select the option to zero-fill the hard disk, and do a full zero-fill to make the drive factory-fresh. After that you can boot from the restore CD and install Windows as usual

[Angel]

SeaTools isn't detecting the harddrive. Some googling on my own seems to say this is a common issue, and recommends changing the SATA mode from AHCI to ATA or whatever in the BIOS, but we are unable to do that. The option to do si blackened and seems to have no ability to alter it.

Is there some other tool that I could use to do this? What next?

[RAMChYLD]

Well, that put a spanner in the works.

Ok, here's another thing wre can try. Boot from Ubuntu again, and see if there's GParted. If GParted isn't there, just issue the command "apt-get install gparted" (don't worry, it's not permanent). After GParted is installed, launch it, pick your hard drive, and select Device -> Create partition table. Create a new GPT table (if Windows still can't boot after this, repeat this step but create a MSDOS table. I don't know what model your PC is, so i can't tell if it uses UEFI, which requires an GPT table, or legacy BIOS, which uses the MSDOS table), and click "Apply". Now reboot to the Windows Install discs and you should be good to go.

[Angel]

Hey, just wanted to update you all by saying that this stuff actually totally worked..

For like, a little bit. Turns out the HDD really is dying though, and will just have to be replaced. Oh well.

Thanks for the help you all!

[cpd2009]

Hey, just wanted to update you all by saying that this stuff actually totally worked..

For like, a little bit. Turns out the HDD really is dying though, and will just have to be replaced. Oh well.

Thanks for the help you all!

Hmm... did you use GParted to format the disk? If you did, was it a full, low-level format, and not just a quick format?

I thought that when an HDD dies, it usually makes a "clink, clink" noise, or it gets fried to the point where the motherboard no longer recognizes it. To me, it seems that perhaps Gparted didn't really low-level format the disk, but I could be wrong, so feel free to fill me in on what happened.

I wouldn't give up on that HDD just yet. A low-level format for a large drive is slow, and it can take a very long time... several hours or more. If the format was completed in just under 30 seconds, then the disk wasn't really formatted.

[huckleberrypie]

If you're in the market for a new hard drive, do yourself a favour and don't go for Seagate. I had one foul out on me some three years ago, and tell you what, it wasn't good.