Hey everybody, I am trying to do a clean install of windows 7 onto my laptop, and I keep getting the error, "windows could not format a partition on disk 0. The error occurred while preparing the partition selected for installation. Error code: 0x80070057" . I have reformatted the hard drive and tried clicking next from there. This is the 64-bit version of windows 7, any help would be grateful.
Problem: Error message “Setup was unable to create a new system partition or locate an existing system partition.”
What to try:
Make sure that the partition is primary, active, and formatted with NTFS.
Instructions for marking a partition as active using Diskpart:
Open an elevated command prompt:
Method 1: From Windows
Click on Start and type “command prompt”
Right-click on the application and select “Run as administrator”
Choose “Yes” when asked to confirm
Method 2: From a Windows install/repair disc
Boot into the install/repair disc and wait for it to load
Choose “Repair my computer”
Select “Command Prompt”
Type diskpart and press enter.
Enter list disk and note the number of the disk you want to install on.
Enter select disk n n is the number of the disk.
Enter list partition and note the number of the partition you want to install on.
Enter select partition n n is the number of the partition.
Enter active
You can now close the command prompt and re-attempt installation.
Make sure you follow those instructions exactly.
Common Installation Problems and Their Solutions
I followed those instructions and I still get the same error. I think the computer recognizes that there is a partition, but that it can not write to the partition.
Try cleaning the drive. Make sure there is nothing else on it that you want to save.
Open a command prompt as in the above instructions.
Disk - Clean and Clean All with Diskpart Command
See if that works.Code:diskpart list disk select disk n clean all format fs=ntfs
Last edited by Brink; 16 Jul 2010 at 16:51. Reason: added link
I have encountered a very odd problem, when i tried to clean all my hard drive it said, the device is not connected. See the System Event Log for more information.I can clearly see the drive however. Also, when I try to format fs=ntfs it says there is no volume and try again.
Test your HD using maker's full CD scan: Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.
My harddrive is not supported on that list, is there a general harddrive test? My harddrive is a toshiba MK2035GSS
There are some diagnostics test on the Toshiba website, but they are all for Fujitsu drives, not Toshiba branded drives. I'm guessing they got the test from Fujitsu when they bought the company but never made a test of their own. If SeaTools doesn't find anything or won't run, you could try the Fujitsu diagnostic test. You might get a different result.
Software Utilities
If Seatools doesn't work, I have gotten GWScan (Gateway's adpated version of WD Data Lifeguard) to work on every brand. Run the .exe, which unzips ISO into C:Cabs to burn to CD.
GWSCAN 5.12
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