Help!!!!

[Rkincaide]

Hi, I have a Advent laptop which recently decided not to load Windows Vista, when i tried to launch from the error recovery page it wouldnt start andjust gave me a blank screen. It also didnt work using a the windows Vista download from neosmart. and gave me the same blank screen when loading from the multi-boot screen.

I then downloaded a program called 'KillDisk' and i asked it to wipe out my Vista from my computer, whichit done succesfully, i decided to try my Windows Vista recovery disc and this time it did load the installation page, i put in my product key before it said there was something wrong (Cant remember exactly) i then tried to restore it using the repair computer options on the installation page before itthen said what was wrong with my laptop, 'Boot sector for system disk partition is corrupt'!!

How can i sort this out!?! Any help would be appreciated and if this problem can be sorted out i would be over the moon!!

Many thanks.
Ross.

 

[bruce2]

Hi Rkincaide, seems you are half way there. During installation you can reformat and partition your drive by going into advance. Don't forget make it bootable if asked.

confirm with this excellent tutorial http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/117366-clean-install-full-version-vista.html in case you skipped something.

 

[Rkincaide]

Hi bruce,

Thank you for your advice but unfourtunatly this hasnt helped, i can get as far as typing in my product key but after that it gives me an error saying, 'Windows cannot open the required file D:/Sources/Install.wim. the file does not exist. Make sure all files required for installation are availiable, and restart the installation. Error code:0x80070002' All this goes way over my head! can work a computer but thats about it!

I also tried the repair my computer sub section below the install now one, and clicked the startup repair but that also fails.

Any more advise would thouroughly appreciated!
Ross

 

[lordbob75]

That sounds as if a file on your disk is corrupted... Is D: your CD drive?

You are also trying to load off a recovery disk. Did you make it yourself? I dont know if you can install of a recovery disk.... Try getting a new disk. That sounds like your best option. Let us know.

~Lordbob

EDIT: You could also use the program called DBAN or Boot and Nuke from here http://www.dban.org/
This will completely wipe your hard drive. Then you have a nice clean starting point.

 

[Rkincaide]

Once again Bruce, thank you for your post.

I got an error saying this when scanning my Hardrive, ''Boot sector for system disk partition is corrupt''

If i use this program to wipe my harddrive will this error go? and will my laptop be fine afterwards?

Thanks again!
Ross

 

[johngalt]

If you wipe the HD - it will be wiped clean - as in formatted - as in you'll have to start from scratch and reinstall everything.

Since the boot sector is corrupted on that HD, and your DVD is not allowing it to re-install Vista, then you have multiple issues.

First of all, *what* DVD are you using to try to use to reinstall it with? Because if that is a recovery DVD then it may not have the full Vista installation, only the recovery portion - and that means that you'll need to use the recovery options to try to build your boot sector back so you can boot into your machine (a much less painful approach than formatting and installing everything by hand - especially as this is a laptop and it will have some very specific hardware and device drivers that you'll need to get it working correctly.