Windows 7: Low Level Format Prior to Installation

I just started to try to install Windows 7 x64 on my secondary rig, but when the partitioning tool seemed unable to delete a couple of partitions on the disk, I resorted to several other tools trying to wipe the disk totally clean...including the MBR. I tried Seatools, but the best I could see, it wasn't designed for this purpose. I tried Hatichi's DFT, but it balked saying that I didn't have an HGST drive...whatever that is. I then went to Acronis Disk Director Suite, and simply created the partitions, because I didn't find a means of low level formatting.



For the Windows 7 partition I chose an active partition and committed the operation, but while it seemed to complete the first part of the operation, it froze when trying to syncronize with the OS (I assume because there wasn't one).

I then started over with the Windows 7 disk, but what it saw was a 100 GB logical partition for the OS (Which it would't accept), with the remainder, that I had not used DDS on, as an unallocated extended partition.

I tried to delete these, but it failed on the first partition, and on the other, the format and delete options were grayed out. The obvious question is how do I clean the HD of any trace of the previous partition data, so that the Windows 7 installation doesn't throw a fit?

EDIT: I found that HGST stands for Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, so I guess they don't want it used on other drives, but that seems odd, because I had used it on some Maxtors in the past.

I would download gparted, burn the iso image and completely format the drive... Then reinstall Windows... get it -=> here

Hmm, I downloaded the current live ISO and burned it to a DVD with Nero 8, and it verified the burn as successful, but it doesn't appear to be bootable. I'm at the DMI BIOS page, where the cursor just keeps blinking and going nowhere.

agree with Tews, gparted will do the job.
I would have thought that 7 install disc would have done the job. good luck to you with this my friend

Did you try your gparted disc on your good pc to see if it boots?

Just tried it, and it didn't boot. Since Nero verified the burn, the only other possibilities are that the download was corrupt, or it isn't designed to be bootable, but I would assume that "live" means that it is supposed to be bootable.

I decided to try Achronis TI 2010, because it has a tool called DriveCleanser. But I ran into another set of problems with it. The first time, I just selected one of the partitions to remove, and it froze. After rebooting, I selected the entire HD, and it started to work, but then said that it could write to sector 0. I selected the retry button, and it said that it had succeeded, but didn't proceed. Going back through the selection for DriveCleanser, it still showed the same partitions as at the start. I tried again, and then it showed two different displays of the same drive, one with the old partitions and the other as being blank.

I then tried the Windows 7 installation again, but when it got to the drive selection, nothing had changed...the partitions remained, and the options to delete, extend and format were grayed out. For such a simple operation, this is becoming quite annoying.

EDIT: Back in my OP, I had it reversed...the Windows 7 partition is marked extended (unallocated), and the remainder of the drive as partition 1 (logical)...what a mess!

seeker, If you have another blank disc you may want to try Windows7 iso burner. Take a look at this tutorial and use your good 7 install to build your gparted disc. Burn Disc Image - ISO or IMG file

It was worth a shot, but I seem to be loaded with blanks. For some reason, when I right click the ISO, there is no option to burn an image on the menu, but an item appears in the menu toolbar to burn. However, it did not proceed as in the tutorial, and had no option to verify the burn. When I tried to boot with it, I got the same result as before. When I compare the burned area of the disk that I burned with Nero, to this one burned with Windows, the space occupied is only a fraction of that occupied by the Nero disk, so it can't be right. It seems as though it burned it as one file, not as the many that the ISO contains.

When I get around to it, I'm going to pull the HD from the secondary rig and put it in the primary, so that I can try using Disk Management and see what happens.

Verify your ISO by loading into ImgBurn to make sure that Bootable is in the text given on the left, then Verify the DVD. Attachment 43150

Once you can boot the verified installer, enter the Repair console, open a Command Line and type:

DISKPART
LIST DISK
SELECT DISK # (for Windows 7 disk)
clean
create partition primary
select partition 1
assign letter=c:
active
format
exit