not sure where this shoud go- paritions deleted

A friend had a lap top that had a lot of viruses. reseting to default didn't seem to work so on the advice of a friend he deleted partitions. he could do nothing with the laptop after this but if i can  fix it will give it to me. Any suggestions? Apparanty he doesn''t have the original discs

Hi sinnead,

 

so on the advice of a friend he deleted partitions

 

 

If he deleted any "Recovery Partition" that may have been present then  the laptop will need Windows reinstalling.

 

It is sometimes possible to regain access to a deleted "Recovery Partition by using special recovery tools.

 

If this proves troublesome or if a "Recovery Partition" was not included from the outset then a "fresh install" of Windows will be required.

 

Operating systems can often be downloaded from Microsoft BUT it's essential that you have the correct product serial key and this is usually to be found on the bottom of the laptop (sometimes inside the battery compartment) and will be in the form of 5 groups of 5 alpha- numeric characters looking something like this:

XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX where X is a random series of characters.

 

You should be able to download a copy of the owners manual from the laptop's manufacturer and this should indicate if there ever was a "Recovery Partition" and if so the keystrokes required on booting to access it.

 

Here's a suggested plan of attack for you:

 

1 Download the owners manual and try accessing the Recovery Partition, (your friend my have deleted it or it may never have been present, or attempted to delete it and failed!)

 

2 Identify the 25 character product serial code( XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX) write it down somewhere safe and download the appropriate operating system from Microsoft… make sure you use the correct one 32 bit or 64 and remember that home version is different from Pro etc…… the label with product serial code referred to above will have the details.

 

3 If you decide to abandon Windows and use Linux (for example) then download the appropriate Linux distribution and as with Windows burn the .iso file to DVD…. burn it as an image, as a simple copy won't work!…… as an alternative you could create a bootable USB flash drive instead.

 

4 Enter the BIOS (UEFI) and set your DVD or flash drive as no 1 boot priority with hard drive as number 2, save and exit. (on a modern computer you may need to alter other settings, disable "secure boot" for example)

 

5 Boot from the media you have created and install your operating system….. it will assist you in setting up the partitions you require

 

6 Once your operating system is installed …don't expect it to be fully functional from the outset,  Windows or Linux will install a basic set of drivers that will often provide a good measure of functionality but not 100% …You may need to download several drivers, if so install them in the order of

1 Chipset

2 Network adaptors

2 Video

3 Audio

 

7 Having completed these stages resist the temptation to surf the net…..

 

8 your priority is to ensure you firewall is active and anti virus installed and updated and then will come the task of installing updates  for your operating system and protections.

 

9 On a Windows system, complete the installation of all critical/important updates, including service packs (if relevant) rebooting as required and then searching for fresh updates, depending on the operating system you installed the updates could number in excess of 200 and depending on the speed of your download and machine, could take a complete 9 hour day or so ( or more!) to complete.

 

10 after this you will be ready to install your applications, Microsoft Word, Excel, for example, and an image manipulation program or other applications you need. Then perhaps it's time to install your printer and any other peripheral devices you need

 

We have only provided general information here as you have not told us the make, model number ( and if  Dell the service tag) of the laptop nor details of the original operating system.

 

To provide much more information for you we would need that sort of detail

Good luck.

 

Regards

paws