Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


KillerHulk

348 posts

Ultimate Geek


#223227 20-Sep-2017 09:50
Send private message

Hi,

 

is it a good idea/ possible to reformat laptop without CD ?

 

what things i need to take note of ?

 

 

 

Thanks





I Eat Dumbbells for Breakfast


View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic
 1 | 2
random173
56 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

  #1869089 20-Sep-2017 10:38
Send private message

You can download a recovery image from their support page (google is your friend)




tchart
2379 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted

  #1869091 20-Sep-2017 10:39
Send private message

Os? If it's on windows 8+ you can usually do a fresh install. With Windows 10 it's a breeze.

trig42
5809 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

  #1869094 20-Sep-2017 10:41
Send private message

Dell are pretty good.

 

Download Network drivers from their Support page (use your Service Tag to get the right drivers) before you format and put them on a USB key.

 

Format, reinstall Windows, Install network, go back to their webpage and use the 'Detect' feature and it will find and install all the drivers you need.

 

 




KillerHulk

348 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #1869916 21-Sep-2017 08:16
Send private message

I did follow all steps from dell website.

 

Downloaded on USB drive and when i plug that into the laptop i want to reinstall os, it does not recognize it.

 

Kept on saying about GPT and MBR partitions.

 

could not get pass through that.

 

Now when i plug it in today, i dont even see the option to select my drive to boot from...

 

 

 

how do i start this process form scratch ?

 

as my usb does not showup on my system





I Eat Dumbbells for Breakfast


trig42
5809 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

  #1869929 21-Sep-2017 08:38
Send private message

When you downloaded to the USB, did it run any software to make the USB bootable, or did you just copy files to it?

 

The USB needs to be bootable.

 

 

 

What model is the notebook? I can have a look at the Dell support site.


KillerHulk

348 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #1870002 21-Sep-2017 09:46
Send private message

trig42:

 

When you downloaded to the USB, did it run any software to make the USB bootable, or did you just copy files to it?

 

The USB needs to be bootable.

 

 

 

What model is the notebook? I can have a look at the Dell support site.

 

 

 

 

i downloaded its Dell OS Recovery tool and followed those steps.

 

Dell latitude E6530





I Eat Dumbbells for Breakfast


Batman
Mad Scientist
29760 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #1870004 21-Sep-2017 09:50
Send private message

FIRSTLY - What OS are we talking about? Is that the original OS, if not what was the original OS?


 
 
 

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.
KillerHulk

348 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #1870005 21-Sep-2017 09:50
Send private message

Batman:

 

FIRSTLY - What OS are we talking about?

 

 

 

 

Windows 7





I Eat Dumbbells for Breakfast


Batman
Mad Scientist
29760 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #1870006 21-Sep-2017 09:51
Send private message

Is that the original OS?


Batman
Mad Scientist
29760 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #1870007 21-Sep-2017 09:52
Send private message

What edition of windows 7, is it 32 bit or 64 bit? What have you downloaded onto the USB??


trig42
5809 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

  #1870010 21-Sep-2017 09:56
Send private message

Is it trying UEFI boot or Legacy Boot (or does it even have those options)?

 

The dell tools create a bootable USB - is your USB seen in Windows?


KillerHulk

348 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #1870015 21-Sep-2017 10:01
Send private message

Batman:

 

Is that the original OS?

 

 

Yes,

 

 

 

i load my service tag on that dell software and it gave me only one option

 

Windows 7 Sp1 professional 64 bit

 

Download size 7.06 gb





I Eat Dumbbells for Breakfast


KillerHulk

348 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #1870021 21-Sep-2017 10:13
Send private message

 Trouble uploading image, showing the following message for 10 minnutes

 

Uploading...
No files uploaded

 

 

 

Here is what i see when i tap F12 while restarting

 

Boot mode is set to: UEFI; Secure Boot: OFF

 

Legacy Boot:

 

        Internal HDD

 

        USB Storage Device

 

        Cd /DVD drive

 

       On board NIC

 

Other Options:

 

              BIOS Setup

 

              Device Configuration

 

              Diagnostics

 

              Change Boot Mode settings

 

 

 

So when i choose USB Storage device, Next screen shows " Invalid partition table!

 

 





I Eat Dumbbells for Breakfast


Batman
Mad Scientist
29760 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #1870065 21-Sep-2017 10:46
Send private message

Did you create a bootable usb drive?

I'm surprised Windows 7 device has UEFI. I thought it only started with Windows 8.

trig42
5809 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

  #1870084 21-Sep-2017 10:58
Send private message

Something not right with the USB stick then.

 

When I had similar issues (needing to create a UEFI boot stick) I used Rufus (free download) to create a bootable UEFI stick, then just copied the contents from the boot dick I already had. If dell offer an ISO (disk image) you could get it to create the stick using the ISO, but I just copied the files over.


 1 | 2
View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.