installing a new laptop hard drive

hi, i am trying to replace my laptop's hard drive. it probably needs to be formatted/partitioned because it won't boot from my windows vista boot up disk. is there any way i can format this drive, or how can i get windows vista to install.

i hit f12 on start up to boot from cd-rom and all that comes up is "Err1Err3"...I don't know what i'm doing wrong.

thanks in advance for the help!

 

oh, yeah... i'm sorry. i am trying to replace the hard drive on my dell inspiron e1505...it originally came with windows vista (32 bit) and i am trying to put that OS onto the new hard drive...

thanks

 

I just had a similar problem on a Dell Inspiron, what, 2600? I don't remember, as I gave it to a friend, but before I did, he didn't want linux, which was what I was using, and since I had the original disk, I first tried formatting old HD, *on* the Dell, and then loading the original Dell XP disk, and kept getting errors, it just had all kinds of problems, finally pulled the hard drive out, got one of those USB hookups from Frys, and reformatted it on another PC...

Then put it back in, again tried loading original OS, worked up until right before the Windows logo came on, then shut down...

Next tried to do the Repair of Boot Drive w/Disk, still crapped out,...

What I finally did, was get a cheapo new 30 gig HD, format it, *wash* old Dell disk good, then boot w/*another* XP disk I had, and after it came up first screen, I ejected that disk, and put in original Dell OS, and it loaded up without a problem...

Weird, probably some kind of lame screw-up on my end...

Best wishes, mainly clean the Disk, then try it, or try *another* XP disk, until screen comes up, then try yers...

 

hmm well...that was a little confusing for me ... but i am replacing the hard drive because i got a virus...but i think i just got an idea. would restoring my current hard drive and re-installing vista get rid of that problem? just an idea...(but it still leaves me a $50 hard drive not being used )

 

This may seem like a dumb question so I'm apologizing ahead of time, but have you tried to have the virus removed before you purchase an entirely new drive. Or is the new drive a upgrade and getting the virus an excuse for buying it?

 

haha, yes i've tried getting rid of the virus. i used 3 different anti-virus programs (Norton, Avast, and something else I didn't know I had until it kept bugging me to get rid of the virus) and nothing has completely worked. i still get emails from my ISP saying that i'm spreading viruses but the programs say i am virus free...and my computer runs terribly slow now.

 

Ok I'm not by any way trying to discourage you from getting a new hd but have you been to the malware forum and let the experts try? I just say this because if you don't know how you got the virus you may get it again and buying drives is only a temp solution. But if you know where or how you got the virus I guess you can avoid getting it or one like it again.

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407