Member Avatar for Jag1234

I removed the old hard drive from a HP 8380 and added a new 20 gig HD. I can get tto the BIOS but I think I need to format the HD to load the OS right? Can someone please give me a short walk through?
Many thanks!
Jag12341

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A concise, practical add-on for and anyone landing here later: the posts point you toward installing an OS, but they skip several hands‑on checks and modern alternatives. Below are clear, low‑risk steps to get a new drive recognized, partitioned and formatted so an operating system can be installed, plus a short command‑line option and a few troubleshooting notes that fill the gaps in the thread (and address ’s virus/cloning concerns).

  1. Confirm the drive is visible to the firmware. Enter the BIOS/Setup and look for attached disks. If the drive does not appear: recheck power and data cables, try a different SATA/IDE port or cable, and for older PATA drives verify jumper settings.
  2. Make bootable install media appropriate to the target OS: CD/DVD for older PCs or a USB stick for more recent systems (use an official media tool or a reputable USB utility). Set the firmware boot order so the machine boots the installer.
  3. Use the installer’s custom/advanced install option to remove any old partitions, create a new primary partition, then format it (NTFS for Windows; ext4 or other for Linux). Formatting during install is usually the simplest, safest path.

If you prefer the command line, these diskpart steps will wipe and prepare the drive from Windows setup or WinPE:

diskpart
list disk
select disk 0         (confirm the correct disk number first)
clean
create partition primary
format fs=ntfs quick
assign letter=C
exit

Troubleshooting: if the installer cannot see the drive on older systems, you may need storage controller drivers (or change SATA mode to IDE/compatibility). For virus cases, restore only from known‑clean backups or clone the old drive to the new one using an external adapter and a trusted imaging tool. Note that a 20 GB disk is small by modern standards—choose capacity appropriate to the OS and data needs.

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Member Avatar for mattdewolfe

Im having the same problem only i don't have a disk for windows xp, i got a virus on my computer and got a new Hard Drive. HELP!

Member Avatar for caperjack

Im having the same problem only i don't have a disk for windows xp, i got a virus on my computer and got a new Hard Drive. HELP!

hi, you tagged a almost 5 yr old post ,that is likely why no one responded yet ,as most people don't look at them ,for best /fastest help ,you should create your own thread and explain you problem fully.
and you will need to obtain a xp disk ,

Edited by caperjack because: n/a
Member Avatar for JohnnyBoyClub

allthought is a old post someone should post the answer so that people who cross this post to find a solution. Bios can be launched without any harddrive installed or plugged into computer just hit the right key when computer start and after that you should enter and set the options. You also need to format for bettter data of the hard , you can also backup what you need before that from old drive with a databackup software , a free easy to use is Dmailer . Just google it and you will find. Hope this answer will resolve all people who come across this post

Member Avatar for caperjack

allthought is a old post someone should post the answer so that people who cross this post to find a solution.

Hi, post #2 posted the day after the first post almost 6 yrs ago ,has a link to instructions on how to install windows ,so the answer is there,always has been there ,thank you

Edited by caperjack because: n/a
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