Windows 8 Failure to Reinstall/Hard Drive Locked

thegdds

New Member
Messages
9
Hi all,
I am relatively new to this forum, but I need some help figuring out this issue with my PC. In short, I cannot reinstall either Windows 8 or 7 from a new disk. I can't do the Windows 8 refresh, nor can I do the restore. I have looked at other forums, and nothing has seemed to work. Any help whatsoever would be greatly appreciated.

If you'd like to know what exactly has happened, I will outline my story.
1. Using the Windows Upgrade Assistant, I upgraded to Windows 8 from Windows 7 a month ago.
2. My performance on various programs diminished.
3. In an attempt to solve the situation, I tried to reinstall Windows from the Reinstall CD. I was able to get to the point where is asked for a partition to install on, but it said no partitions were available.
4. I tried the Windows Refresh, and Reset tool. That failed because it asked for install media, and said the drive was locked. That is where I am now
NOTE: I can still boot up into Windows 8 even though the reinstall disk claims that the disk is locked.

ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED!!!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 772o
    CPU
    i7-3610QM
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GT 650M
    Browser
    Google Chrome
If you have a spare 2.5" HDD or SSD just lying around what you could do is replace the one in the Laptop then using your install disk reinstall whatever OS you want (win 7 or 8). . . Good luck

And, oh, BTW "Welcome To The Eight Forums." . . . :thumbsup:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8, (VM win7, XP, Vista)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion p1423w
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3330 Ivy Bridge
    Motherboard
    Foxconn - 2ADA Ivy Brige
    Memory
    16 GB 1066MHz DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 5450
    Sound Card
    HD Realteck (Onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Mitsubishi LED TV/Montior HD, Dell 23 HD, Hanspree 25" HD
    Screen Resolution
    Mit. 1980-1080, Dell 2048-115, Hanspree 1920-10802
    Hard Drives
    1 SanDisk 240Gig SSD, 2 Samsung 512Gig SSDs
    Case
    Tower
    Cooling
    Original (Fans)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Keyboard 2000
    Mouse
    Microsoft Optical Mouse 5000
    Internet Speed
    1.3 (350 to 1024 if lucky)
    Browser
    Firefox 19.1
    Antivirus
    MSE-Defender
Do you think a simple reformat would work?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 772o
    CPU
    i7-3610QM
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GT 650M
    Browser
    Google Chrome
I think you need a full format to your HDD. For this follow these steps:-

1) Insert your Windows Installation DVD

2) Boot From It

3) When It starts the installation process Click on "Repair My Computer"

4) When it reaches the recover menu click on "Command Prompt".

5) Now In Command Prompt Type

format c: /fs:NTFS

(Here C: is your Drive letter)

6) When It finishes Return back and try to do do a clean installation.

I hope that it will help. If it doesn't help then you can try to install Windows XP on your HDD because
Windows XP doesn't stops installation though you have any type of error on your HDD.

Best Of Luck.... :thumbsup:

If you want to know more about How To Format C: from recovery console then go to this link:-
How To Format C From Recovery Console
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows® 8.1 Pro 64-Bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell® XPS® 15-9530
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7 4702HQ @3.20GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel® HM86 Express Chipset
    Memory
    Dell® 16GB DDR3 1600MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 750M 2GB GDDR5
    Sound Card
    Intel® High-Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell® LED™ 15.6-Inch QHD+
    Screen Resolution
    3200 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung® SSD™ 840 Pro 512GB
    PSU
    Dell® 91 WHR 6-Cell Battery
    Case
    Dell® Machined Aluminium Chassis
    Cooling
    Dell® Cooling
    Keyboard
    Dell® Integrated Keyboard
    Mouse
    Dell® TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    Download Speed- 50.0 MBPS Upload Speed- 20.0 MBPS
    Browser
    Mozilla® Firefox® 29.0
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky® PURE® 3.0 Total Security
    Other Info
    Network Adapter- Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 + Bluetooth 4.0
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