Reformatting Hard Drive & Reinstalling Windows

[cyclone13]

I got my laptop from BestBuy last year with the Toshiba Recovery Disks (3 disks). Last night, I had to reformat my hard drive and reinstall everything because of virus. After cleaning up the drive and running the recovery disks, Windows started but it kept on rebooting "Windows is preparing for the first time use" message and then installing application drivers. This lasts for at least one hour until I turned it off.

Any input on what I need to do to make my windows working again ?

Thanks

[bos]

It seriously may take a long time depending on what they had preloaded on those discs. Is it a 3 disc recovery set, or are the other two discs variously labeled?

[IcSyU]

I got my laptop from BestBuy last year with the Toshiba Recovery Disks (3 disks). Last night, I had to reformat my hard drive and reinstall everything because of virus. After cleaning up the drive and running the recovery disks, Windows started but it kept on rebooting "Windows is preparing for the first time use" message and then installing application drivers. This lasts for at least one hour until I turned it off.

Any input on what I need to do to make my windows working again ?

Thanks

Let it run all night to see if it was just a ton of drivers?

[cyclone13]

It seriously may take a long time depending on what they had preloaded on those discs. Is it a 3 disc recovery set, or are the other two discs variously labeled?

It's a 3 disks recovery set (1 of 3, 2 of 3 and 3 of 3)

[cyclone13]

Let it run all night to see if it was just a ton of drivers?

Ok, will try again tonight/tomorrow.
BB also gave a "Toshiba Recovery Environment" disk. Not sure what it means.

[bos]

It's a 3 disks recovery set (1 of 3, 2 of 3 and 3 of 3)

Ah, well, yeah it will take forever. Toshiba has a ton of fluff software they load on top of windows. The W7 installation alone can take an hour to install. The bonus stuff even longer.

[IcSyU]

Ok, will try again tonight/tomorrow.
BB also gave a "Toshiba Recovery Environment" disk. Not sure what it means.

It might take awhile in clock time to reload everything, but let it run all night, if it says you need a new disc, put that in right when you get up. Before you go to work/class/etc. check if and see if it has a new disc it wants. It might take awhile that way, but at least it isn't interrupting your day and you don't have to babysit.

Then as soon as you get it back up and running, you get another day of Windows Updates! (why they can't just have one huge update I don't know)

[FDWxMan]

Then as soon as you get it back up and running, you get another day of Windows Updates! (why they can't just have one huge update I don't know)

This is why its a good idea to make an image of your hard drive after windows is reinstalled and windows update is complete.

That way, next time something goes wrong, you can go off the backup image, and get the updates and all your installed programs back without all the leg work.

I posted a step-by-step article on here once on how to do it...I'll see if I can dig it up.

[bos]

This is why its a good idea to make an image of your hard drive after windows is reinstalled and windows update is complete.

That way, next time something goes wrong, you can go off the backup image, and get the updates and all your installed programs back without all the leg work.

I posted a step-by-step article on here once on how to do it...I'll see if I can dig it up.

Yep, this helps a ton.

[FDWxMan]

Here it is...

If after all that Combofix can't get it...I've usually given up and gone the reformat route.

This won't help you now...but I highly recommend everyone checking this out:
Imaging your hard drive free Pretty easy to follow along, even for those who might be a little over their heads. Just make sure you back up your important docs on an external first--just in case.

If you back up all your crap and then follow the steps there to make a hard drive image...it will save you the time of having to reinstall windows...grab all the updates...hunt for drivers etc...

It will even come back with all your programs installed up to what you had when you created the image. Essentially the process is System Restore on steroids, since System Restore rarely works anyway.

The fiancee got the google virus on her laptop a while back, but I had a recent image handy, so it saved a ton of time.

So for those who have a healthy system for now...this could save you a ton of time going forward if you image every so often.

[cyclone13]

Here it is...

Thanks a lot ! Will try it tonight

[agrabes]

I got my laptop from BestBuy last year with the Toshiba Recovery Disks (3 disks). Last night, I had to reformat my hard drive and reinstall everything because of virus. After cleaning up the drive and running the recovery disks, Windows started but it kept on rebooting "Windows is preparing for the first time use" message and then installing application drivers. This lasts for at least one hour until I turned it off.

Any input on what I need to do to make my windows working again ?

Thanks

One thing to check--- Did you remove the Windows disk from your CD/DVD drive? If you keep it in there, Windows thinks you want to reconfigure it so it won't ever start properly. This happened to me and drove me crazy until I figured it out.

Or-- is your laptop overheating and crashing due to heavy system use during the install process? That's another possible reason the computer could keep on rebooting.

[jdoggivjc]

This is why its a good idea to make an image of your hard drive after windows is reinstalled and windows update is complete.

That way, next time something goes wrong, you can go off the backup image, and get the updates and all your installed programs back without all the leg work.

I posted a step-by-step article on here once on how to do it...I'll see if I can dig it up.

I absolutely get this is much quicker than formatting from a disk, but doesn't this also run the risk of carrying forward latent problems (i.e., hidden viruses and errors) if you're creating a new image every time you get a Windows update?

[FDWxMan]

I absolutely get this is much quicker than formatting from a disk, but doesn't this also run the risk of carrying forward latent problems (i.e., hidden viruses and errors) if you're creating a new image every time you get a Windows update?

Well, yes...that's why you have to do it with a system you are absolutely sure is clean.

So, in his case...he's reformatting and reinstalling everything, this would be a great time to to it.

It's most fool proof just to give you that base, out of box windows feel, clean registry without having to do the full-on reinstall and track down drivers...especially annoying if you have a lot of add-on pieces.

Plus if you're OS disk is two years old...after reinstall, your windows updates are going to be that much out of date and you have to redo all of them. Presumably, if you make the image after you've gotten everything up-to-date, and you've eliminated that problem to an extent.

But yes, you are right...if you are trying to image, say every three months or six months...you have to be sure the whole thing is clean.

It's most useful if you built your computer from scratch or have a lot of mix matched parts. Driver hunts suck.

Also useful if you have a ton of legit software programs loaded on...the image will save you the time of reinstalling all of those after getting windows put back on.

[edr247]

I absolutely get this is much quicker than formatting from a disk, but doesn't this also run the risk of carrying forward latent problems (i.e., hidden viruses and errors) if you're creating a new image every time you get a Windows update?

If you do it before you install anything, it shouldn't, that I know of.