Problem installing ME

I'm installing ME on an older Dell that had a hard drive failure. I ran a 3rd party disc scan that showed no errors on a used replacement drive and installed it.

Booted from a boot disc with the reinstallation CD in the drive, and partitioned the drive with fdisc, then did a format C:. Booted from the CD and started setup, got as far as scandisc but can get no further.

Scandisc (which took literally no time to complete) says there were no errors on C or D. I guess it is supposed to then go on to the setup wizard, but it doesn't. I pressed "X" and got the following: "windows setup requires 15728640 bytes available on your C: drive".

I formatted the drive, but somehow got it wrong?

Thank you in advance.

Windows Setup requires 15728640 bytes available on your C: drive error.



If you need formatting software:

GParted is very good.

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Anyway if you use GParted: Save this download:

SourceForge.net: Downloading ...

This is an ISO file. You will need an ISO burning program to burn it. It cannot be burnt as data as it is an image.

If you use Nero there is an option called "Create Disk Image".

If you do not have Nero you can use this free program:

ISO Recorder v 2

This will add the burning option to your right click options or shell.

With Nero just point it to the downloaded ISO. With the other recorder just right click the ISO and choose Burn Disk Image.

A new blank CD is required.

After the burn this CD will be a boot disk and will boot GParted.

Verify that your CD drive is set to boot prior to the hard drive and boot the CD.

There are some basic tutorials on the functions and use of GParted here:

GParted -- Documentation



...

I tried formatting with outside software, but fdisk the boot disk wasn't having it. Fdisk shows the MS-DOS partition as "unknown" file type. At one point in the process it was FAT 12, i tried to make a FAT 32 partition.

So right now I've got an 8MB primary partition with an unknown file type, I guess that's what setup doesn't like.

I'll try again to format outside of the boot disk.

Active@ Kill Disk Hard Drive Eraser. Low Level Format.

So are you thinking that something already on the disc is interfering?

Perhaps. Maybe old boot sectors. Maybe unknown file systems.

Unless there is something you might want to save no reason not to kill it.

Then use GParted to format it.

Anyway that is what I would do.

Thanks! I'm going to d/l Active to a floppy and go from there. I'll be back.

My problem is solved, thank you very much jephree for your invaluable help. You seemed to zero in right on the issue.

I made a floppy with Active Kill Disk and over-wrote the drive. I tried to do G-parted, but the CD I burned would not boot. So I just went ahead with the normal Fdisk and format C: and this time it worked! I proceeded to E:setup and the wizard came up and it all went as it should!

I'm very grateful to have been able to benefit from the experience of jephree and this forum.

Glad it worked out.

Most issues with a non booting GParted are the result of not Creating a Disk Image but having just burned as data.

Let us know if we can help further.

Thanks again.

I think that I burned GParted as an ISO, but not positive.