Need to reformat hard drive

Suzy

That will be the Ethernet network adapter ( sometimes called the wired connection) looks like you are on the last lap now.

hope it all goes well for you

Regards

paws

Thanks, PAWS. I downloaded the zip file for the above wired driver and saved it to DVD. Now what? Suzy

Suzy

I take it you have now successfully performed the clean reinstall of Win7…?

If you have anything outstanding on the reinstall then here's a link that provides the steps.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/installing-reinstalling-windows#1TC=windows-7

Regards

paws

No, I need help to reformat the hard drive. Do you have a link to go about doing this?

Suzy

Yes it's the link I gave in my last post…

Its the clean reinstall of Windows 7 you need.

This clears all your old stuff, both the bad and the good, and puts a brand new copy of Win 7 on your machine.

Regards

paws

Okay, thank you. Please don't abandon me yet. I had a bit of a setback. My printer went out completely, and the electricity has been out all day, until just now. So I have not been able to do the reset yet.

Suzy

I am reading through the instructions on reformatting. I do have a question. The site instructions list:

1. On the Where do you want to install Windows? page, click Drive options (advanced).

2. Click the partition that you want to change, click the formatting option you want to perform, and then follow the instructions.

3. When you've finished formatting, click Next.

So, my question is #2 - what partition do I tell it to change?

Thanks, Suzy

I've answered my own question above about partitioning by watching many youtube videos. I tried to start this re-installation with formatting process. The trouble that I am now running into is that the Windows 7 disc isn't starting, or I am not able to get it to start. I put the disc into the DVD drive. Then I shut down the PC. When I turn it on an try to push keys to get the boot disc to start, I am running into a problem. When the company that built the computer loaded the hardware software into it, just before the start-up, I get a big screen announcing ASRock, asking if I want to change things, to push F11 to go to boot. But with the Windows 7 installation, I can't get to the windows 7 boot because of this ASRock setting taking me to their boot screen. When I cancel out of ASRock boot, it's too late to get the windows 7 to boot, and start-up is already there. Any suggestions? Suzy

Hi Suzy,

Don't worry, we will not abandon you… there's lots of folks here ready and willing to help you.

It would be a wise move to make sure you have printed out all the directions you need, repeat all of them, before starting the format and clean reinstall of Windows.

I think the problem you have hit is that you cannot boot into the Microsoft Win 7 installation  DVD that is in the drive? Is that right?

If that is the case, then its likely that your computer's "boot priority order" setting needs to be altered, and to do that you need to go into the BIOS

A word of explanation about the BIOS… think of it as a mini operating system that operates before Windows loads, it will look and feel very different from the more familiar and more friendly Windows screens, but this is normal. The BIOS will tell your computer which device it should try and use to start itself up. What we want is for the BIOS to tell your computer to try and boot up firstly from the CD/DVD drive before trying anything else.

When you first switch on your machine you may see a message on screen along the lines of:

Press F11 or F12 for boot priority

or Press Del for Setup or BIOS

or press Esc for set up

maybe its F2 on your particular machine

If you don't see that onscreen message then its a question of looking through  the motherboard owners manual for the actual keyboard key to use…. you could of course use the trial and error method and try each one in turn until you hit gold….

When you try and access the BIOS sometimes called "set up" its necessary to start tapping (once per second) the appropriate key IMMEDIATELY after pushing the "power on" button, don't wait even for two seconds…start tapping straightaway!

Your computer will then either start Windows normally or go straight to the BIOS, if it goes into Windows (which is what you don't want) then wait until it's fully booted up (usually 2 or 3 minutes) and then close down in the normal way ( full shutdown not a sleep etc) and try again….

When you get into the BIOS, tread carefully, alter nothing other than the "boot priority" setting, it's usually found under "Boot order" or "Advanced Settings"

The boot order you need is:

first ………….CD/DVD (sometimes called optical drive)

second……. Hard drive

the rest don't matter, but be careful that the CD/DVD drive selected as the first  boot priority device is the fitted or inbuilt CD/DVD drive and NOT an external USB type  (portable one)

At the bottom of the BIOS screens there will be menus showing you the keys to press  to alter settings and when you are happy with them, there will be shown the keys to press to SAVE the changes and exit ( they must be saved before exiting….. )

When you have done that then the machine should close down of its own accord and then boot into the Win 7 installation disc but often you may see a message onscreen that says:

"press any key to boot from CD"

so immediately press once, the space bar on your keyboard and then the instructions you have should be followed.

Its best to make sure that all peripherals are disconnected from your computer before starting the format and reinstall (printers, phones, memory sticks, external drives, camera cards etc) and if you usually use a wireless keyboard or mouse then replace them temporarily with USB (or PS2 if applicable) versions before proceeding. You can and should leave your Ethernet cable connected twixt your router/modem and computer, if this is how you normally connect.

Good luck….

Regards

paws

Thanks, paws.

I read the ASRock manual. It said that F2 was the key to access bios. I started as soon as the on button was hit. I was taken to  a screen that was called "ASRock UEFI Setup Utility" Is this the correct place? There were several options at the top to choose from.

One was Boot. I clicked on that.

There was one option under that: "Boot Option Priorities"

Then Boot Option #1.

The choices within that were:

1. AHCI Po: Hitachi HD5721050CLA36 (This one was highlighted there)
2. AHCI P2: HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH24N5
3. UEFI: HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH24N595
4. DISABLED

And then there was Boot option 2, where choice #2 was selected, then Boot option 3, where #3 was selected.

Now, I did nothing except exit. I want to know If this is the correct place that I needed to be, and which choices to highlight exactly.

Thanks ahead of time, Suzy

Hi suzy

Take a photo of the existing settings (as your back up so to speak)

Its the:

AHCI P2: HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH24N5

that you need as priority 1

Incidentally well done on interpreting my previous suggestions…they were drafted for a previous version of the BIOS, but its clear that you have the most modern arrangement on your computer that is now called UEFI

Hers a note of what it is:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows-8/what-uefi

Regards

paws

Glory! I made it with the help of all of you smart people.    Now, there is no way that that malware is still on board, right? Also, it doesn't look 100%. I get the message that the screen saver can't run because it requires a newer video card or one tha't compatible with Direct 3D. Is one of the above mentioned discs a video driver, perhaps the PNY one? Also, is Windows Security Essentials still going to be okay as the antivirus? I did download it from my DVD with exe file. I also have the two recommended Antimalware programs installed. Thanks bunches, Suzy

Hi Suzy,

Take a bow,

You deserve it….

What you have achieved is not easy…( that's one of the reasons why workshops like mine and some of the other technicians' here have to make a good charge to their customers when they carry out this work for them.)

Anti virus products, sometimes cause controversy…. some folks swear by one particular product……….. others swear at them!    

However you 'll never go far wrong by following the advice of malware experts like Ken….

I have been using Microsoft Security Essentials on my own computers for some years now and I'm very happy with the performance…… I have not taken too much notice of some adverse comments about its performance, that has been published as I do not think that the comments and testing environment was as "realistic" as it could have have been… That's just my personal view of course.

When you  formatted your hard drive and reinstalled Windows, you cleared both the good stuff on your computer and the bad, so as long as your operating system is fully updated, your Firewall in place and your anti virus and other products recommended by Ken installed and updated then things are looking good for you…..

Yes Win 7 will have installed  a Video driver that allows you to see the output clearly on your VDU (screen) but it won't necessarily have all the latest features…. for these you will need to install the driver from your disc… once you have done that and rebooted you should be good to go…

Once you are happy that your computer is just as you like it, all settings correct, all protections in place fully updated and with your Microsoft office and other favourite applications installed take a disc image…… and keep at least one copy safe offsite on removable media….. Macrium Reflect free is well worth considering……

If you consider how many hours of work this whole project took from start to finish ( including all the backups and updating etc. etc., and compare that with doing the whole thing vai a disc image (using Macrium) or a similar disc imaging product, the difference is truly amazing……

The whole thing could be reimaged in less time than it takes to walk the dog….. it sure makes you think!

Regards

paws  

Thanks so much. I loaded the PNY GEForce DVD and everything looks great now. We're back in business. I will make a donation to both sites soon I have one more question maybe you might know about. My daughter wants to get something to make and edit videos. Any recommendations? Suzy