Reformat is causing multiple OS installs

[nerdgirl913]

Hi all,

I always do a google search before I ask on a forum and can't seem to find an answer - I know i'm probably just wording it wrong. I have been trying to do a reformat on a friend's Vista laptop with a Vista disc and the entire reformat goes through but instead of wiping clean and starting it over it's just installing a second - and third, and fourth - copy of Vista that never goes past the loading screen. It also happens with his Windows 7 disc he bought (we were thinking it could be the copy of Vista I had.) All of his OS copies won't load up so I'm just stumped. Is there a way I can totally wipe the hard drive and start over? I've never had this problem before.

 

[hang-the-9]

You are not actually formatting, seems you are just installing new versions. Boot off the disk. At some point you will see an option as to which partition to install on, you will also see an advanced button. Click that. You can then select and delete the existing partition and format it. Do that, proceed to install Vista again. Although since you have Win 7, check if the laptop will work with Win 7 (check drivers from the vendor) and install that.

What you are calling a "format" is not a format but just another Windows installation.