topic Re: Reinstall windows from external drive-possible? in PCs & Accessories

Reinstall windows from external drive-possible?

scholargypsy — Sun, 08 Sep 2013 11:55:52 GMT

Hi all, my problem is this- I have a VPCF11M1E laptop. The Nvidia drivers are corrupted so I can only get Black Screen of Death. No boot up to safe mode possible. I have taken out the HD and can read it as an external HD through usb. Is it possible for me to put in a new HD, and using Bios to boot up from external device then access recovery partion to reinstall windows onto new HD?

Failing that, can I buy a new copy of windows 7 and using an external usb dvd player install a fresh copy and install nvidia drivers later? I will need to boot from external player as internal dvd player doesnt work. Will the bios recognise external device without having an operating system?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Re: Reinstall windows from external drive-possible?

petasis — Sun, 08 Sep 2013 21:51:49 GMT

I have bought a usb dvd drive, and has worked in all laptops I have tried so far. I have a VPCF13Z1E, and I replaced the hdd with an SSD, but I used the internal cd-rom for reinstalling windows.

Re: Reinstall windows from external drive-possible?

scholargypsy — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 06:21:10 GMT

Thanks for your prompt reply. I hadnt thought of a SSD, might be worth thinking about as I use the computer for video editing. I'll give the ext dvd drive a go. Thx again.