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Can't restore - required drive partition missing???
I am about at my wit's end with my laptop, and really with Dell in general. This is the third Dell computer I have had with MAJOR issues. I got an error message that advised to restart. Upon restarting, I now get a message that says "Windows Boot Manager - Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change (there were none) might be the cause."
Then it advises to insert the Windows installation disc.
Upon doing that, nothing happened. So I perused the forum, and made some changes in setup. The boot disk now starts running. However, I now am getting a message that it cannot reset my computer, as "a required drive partition is missing."
This laptop is a year old, but to be honest, I used it about once a month for the first half a year I had it. I've only really been using it heavily for a few months, and now it's dead. I am really frustrated. Customer service is advising that a one-time solution will cost $129; a warranty $239 (for a computer I bought on Black Friday last year for $299. :emotion-12: Well, actually I bought a different computer, but that was oversold, so they substituted with a "comparable" model that wasn't exactly comparable...but I digress.
I was advised to go to the forums, as Customer Service won't even tell me how to use the disks they sent me without me paying for it.
So how the heck do I reinstall??
Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
DELL-Ravi Ch
7 Technologist
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December 13th, 2013 00:00
Hi PCK120,
I would suggest that you run the diagnostics on the computer by following the steps mentioned in the video below and check if there is any issue with the hardware on your system.
http://dell.to/164l6g4
Also, I would like to know which disc you are using to restore the operating system.Please let me know the results.
PCK120
2 Posts
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December 13th, 2013 00:00
I ran the diagnositics - it identified a problem with the hard drive (which I knew already). The disks were the windows reinstallation disk and the driver disks sent to me by dell support. I finally have the thing up and running after multiple trips through DOS to try multiple different things.
It is really irritating that Dell support was able to send me the disks, but then sent me to the website to find out how to use them, resulting in my having to search multiple locations in and out of the support forums, to try multiple different solutions before I finally hit on a combination that allowed me to reinstall. Well, that or pay them 1/2 to almost all of what I paid for the laptop in the first place.
I am back up and running with my laptop, but I think completely soured on Dell. :emotion-12:
DELL-Ravi Ch
7 Technologist
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7.1K Posts
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December 15th, 2013 19:00
Hi PCK120,
It’s good that the system is up and running. Sorry for the inconvenience. Please let me know the error you received while running the diagnostic so that we could determine if it's a failing hard drive.
a1a1abrams
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March 16th, 2014 08:00
I recommend formatting the disk before attempting the follow.
Partition Problem
ok I will assume that you are the part where the computer tells you, that you need a partition or that a partition is missing. so what you do is get a windows 7 or windows 8 repair disk(how to get recovery disk? first get a 700 mb empty disk, then place it in a windows 7 or 8 pc. then go to control panel and type in address "Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Windows 7 File Recovery" select create a system repair disk :) ) , not installation disk. place it in the drive and boot from either one. then once it has booted go to the area where it asks you to search for system image recovery or locate a system image. then select browse and you should see all your media devices connected. then just remove the repair disk and place in the installation disk or installation media(e.g memory stick) then go to setup.exe of the windows installation and follow the prompts, it's that easy :emotion-2: .
Note: you must boot from a repair disk or it will fail.
or check out:
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1971428/windows-create-partition-installing-empty-hard-drive.html