How do I format a hard drive on a computer without a cd/dvd drive?

Question

I have a Dell Optiplex SX280 that came with out a cd/dvd drive. I could not access Windows due to me forgetting the password (I haven't used it in over a year). So I bought a dvd drive and tried to install Windows 7 by booting from the disc but it didn't work. I'm guessing because I can't install the drivers for the drive. I had the same problem when I tried to install from a flash drive (a missing driver problem again I'm sure). So I took out the HD and put it into another computer as a slave and installed W7 but when put the drive back into its original computer I just get a blank screen after it goes through the Dell start up. I'm out of ideas. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

The SX280 is a fairly old P4 based machine, does it actually meet the minimum requirements for installing W7?

Your issue is likely to be that the installation does not have the required Hard Drive Controller as it uses a SATA drive.

If the CD drive is coming up as not avaialble then go back into the BIOS and look for the USB settings, there may be options for Legacy or even DOS, just switch it on and see if it will then register the CD drive as being "available".

You should then hopefully be able to boot and install from the CD assuming that

a) the CD is bootable

b) the machine meets the minimum requirements

Answer 2

When you install an operating system, you need to do it on the computer it is intended for. Otherwise the OS will install the wrong drivers and setup a boot record that will not point to the C: drive.



But, drivers have NOTHING to do with your installation issue, as the motherboard along with the Windows7 installation have generic drivers that work for every CD/DVD drive on the market.



What happens when you try to boot from the disc? Does it start working and then fail? Or does it just not start at all?



If it does not start at all, then you likely had the boot order set improperly in the BIOS, preventing the system from trying to boot off CD/DVD. Now that you have deleted the original boot record for Windows XP, the computer will automatically pass by the hard drive and attempt to boot off the CD.



So put the Windows7 disk back in the drive and try again.

Answer 3

First issue, why did Win7 not install from the DVD drive in the first place? It should have... The Win7 boot disk has all the necessary drivers to boot and read just about any DVD drive, whether they be IDE, SATA or external USB.

If Win7 fails to install from a local DVD drive, no way it will work by installing on another machine and moving the disk over - doesn't work that way. You could try installing on the disk as "Master", and remove it before first reboot during the install, and move it to the other machine. However, it will want to find the DVD sources again...



I'd suggest going back to the basic install from a DVD drive on that machine again, try to get it going that way, that's your best bet...



EDIT: I took a quick look at the Dell documentation, looks like any DVD has to be their "module" type, just like some laptop models. The motherboard only seems to have the one SATA port for the main disk. (However, some docs mention IDE or dual ATA) Your best bet is to try and install via a USB DVD drive, and see if the BIOS supports booting from USB devices (check first). This machine is not really "modifiable" or expandable much at all....

Answer 4

To boot from your CD/DVD, the BIOS settings on your computer must be configured to do this. On start up keep tapping either F1, F2, F10,(Be Aware that some manufacturers use F10 for system recovery!) Esc, or Del, to enter the BIOS set-up. Look for "Drive configuration", "Boot order" or similar and make the external USB CD/DVD drive the first boot device and the hard drive the second. Save settings and exit.



Insert the CD/DVD into your CD/DVD drive, and then restart your computer.

When you see the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, press a key to start the computer from the CD/DVD.



Follow the instructions on the screen to select and format (NTFS) a partition where you want to install Windows.



Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the Windows Setup.



Get some Anti-Virus protection and update Windows!



© arou42

Answer 5

Friend, why do not you try to reset your Windows password firstly?



Lately, I recovered my forgotten Dell Windows 7 admin password with Ainorsoft Windows Password Recovery. It helped me DIY a password reset disk within minutes to get me out of problem. So easy and safe!



I also tried the free Windows Password Recovery tool – Ophcrack. But it costed me too much time to download for its large file.

Answer 6

What do you propose reformat? Are you attempting to reinstall residing house windows or only wipe the CD sparkling? in case you like residing house windows then you definately will could desire to have the CD. in case you desire to reformat it then you definately can hook it to a distinctive pc and format it.