formatting my laptop hard disk with a desktop

Hi nogasrequired,

You will need an hard drive enclosure, to install the XPS M1710 hard drive and then you can connect it to a desktop and format it. Please backup the data as this process leads to data loss.

Hope this helps, please reply if you have any questions.

That's nice that I can do that... I haven't taken out the drive yet and was wondering if the connections are the same as a desktop disk [like the 40 pin connectors] ?? I don't know much about this enclosure thing but guess i will investigate..

Do I have to delete and create partitions just like normal disks?

Thanks for the quick response and I welcome any more comments..

Hi nogasrequired,

Please refer to the Service Manual for instructions on removing and reseating the parts. Please follow the safety guidelines. Yes, you will need to format and recreate the partitions.

Please reply if you have any questions.

I found my xps  being thrown away.. I don't have a service manual and had to buy a power supply off of Ebay..

My battery appears to be dead too but that will be a future investment. I ran all the quick tests and service tests too and 10+ hours later everything passed except for my cd-rom.

I have Vista w/ Intel Centrino duo but I get a quarter second blue screen [too fast to even read] and then reboots. I don't have a recovery disk of Vista but have a couple of xp and Millenium O.S. disks. I would love to get around the format and keep the OS in tact but not sure how I can or whether I have a choice.If anyone has ideas around the blue screen of death I would LOVE to hear them..

I have a few different models of Dell desktops but as of now I am using a dinosaur 4450 Dimension.I don't think I have the right cable to go from the laptop disk to my pc but I will either look around my spare parts for one or try to buy one.

I watched a couple of you tube videos but they left me more confused than helped me..

If anyone has time to give detailed instructions on the hook up  that would be great..

Thanks for the support Saharsh and everyone else that offers help..

I would advice booting from a Linux live .iso (USB) and attaching an external hard drive to copy your data.

http://philipyip.wordpress.com/dell-community-forums/

Page 414.

Once that's done you need to format and reinstall the OS. See Page 151 and as you don't have a Reinstallation DVD follow Step 1b instead to obtain media.

Probably its advisable to carry out Step 7a in your case as there could be a virus on your system causing the BSOD.

Very nice advise and great links !  I will check them out this weekend !  Thanks