I've been trying to reinstall windows. I started reformatting my hard drive as part of this process using the manufacturer reinstallation cd. The format stops at 89% and just sits there. No error messages. I have all my data backed up on an external hard drive but I am unsure how to get around this and need to know if there is any fix out there

Thanks for the help.

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The Windows installation typically requires you to format the hard drive as NTFS. I would just use the formatting tool provided with the installation.

If you are wanting to wipe the hard drive before installing windows then I suggest using Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN). Burn the ISO to CD using IMG Burn or another burning application, boot it up, and run autonuke. DBAN is pretty powerful -- make sure you don't have any other drives plugged into the computer when you run it.

The Windows installation typically requires you to format the hard drive as NTFS. I would just use the formatting tool provided with the installation.

If you are wanting to wipe the hard drive before installing windows then I suggest using Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN). Burn the ISO to CD using IMG Burn or another burning application, boot it up, and run autonuke. DBAN is pretty powerful -- make sure you don't have any other drives plugged into the computer when you run it.

Thanks, I will try the DBAN. I was using the installation disk formatting tool, and it stopped at 89% complete. There may be a physical error on the disk as Scan disk will not run either. The message says it cannot access the volume. Thanks again

Thanks, I will try the DBAN. I was using the installation disk formatting tool, and it stopped at 89% complete. There may be a physical error on the disk as Scan disk will not run either. The message says it cannot access the volume. Thanks again

Does Windows still boot up? If so, have you ran CHKDSK? That should tell you if you have bad sectors on the drive.

If you can't access anything on the drive then I would go ahead and nuke it with DBAN and then reformat. Also, this is kind of a weird way to test a drive, but if you boot up a live Ubuntu CD it will usually tell you if the drive is totally shelled.

You could try installing Ubuntu just to see if it will recognize the drive or not.

Good luck and post your results.

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