Windows 7 Won't install?

[iiNrG]

Hi,

Im selling my laptop, and I have wiped the hard drive using DBAN. I am now attempting to re-install windows 7 using the "Re-Install" CD that Dell included with my laptop (XPS 15 L502x). Every time I get the laptop to boot from the CD, it starts with a white bar loading at the bottom, "Windows is loading files" then once the bar reaches the end, it stops, usually the CD drive slows down as though its finished, and nothing happens, as though it freezes. I have tried 2 different "Re-Install" disks, the other belonging to my brother with an almost identical laptop. I have confirmed that the laptop's CD drive is fully functional as it can boot and install Linux absolutely flawlessly. Please Help

Specs:
Dell XPS 15 L502x
Intel Core i7 2670QM @2.2GHz
6GB RAM 1333MHz
750GB HDD

 

[weilin]

that's quite strange... Do you have a spare 4GB USB key? You can always wipe the USB key and use it as a normal key once you're done with this process. Try creating a Bootable USB key and install Windows 7 using that. I'm 99% confident your computer supports boot from USB.

See if that works better. Instructions below, you will need a computer that already has Windows installed to perform these steps.

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/windows-and-office/configure-a-usb-flash-drive-to-be-a-windows-7-installation-platform/

 

[iiNrG]

that's quite strange... Do you have a spare 4GB USB key? You can always wipe the USB key and use it as a normal key once you're done with this process. Try creating a Bootable USB key and install Windows 7 using that. I'm 99% confident your computer supports boot from USB.

See if that works better. Instructions below, you will need a computer that already has Windows installed to perform these steps.

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/windows-and-office/configure-a-usb-flash-drive-to-be-a-windows-7-installation-platform/

I have a few PC's, the one i'm typing this reply on is windows 8.1, Will that work, or will I need to do it on a windows 7 PC to put windows 7 on the USB

 

[weilin]

that's quite strange... Do you have a spare 4GB USB key? You can always wipe the USB key and use it as a normal key once you're done with this process. Try creating a Bootable USB key and install Windows 7 using that. I'm 99% confident your computer supports boot from USB.

See if that works better. Instructions below, you will need a computer that already has Windows installed to perform these steps.

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/windows-and-office/configure-a-usb-flash-drive-to-be-a-windows-7-installation-platform/

I have a few PC's, the one i'm typing this reply on is windows 8.1, Will that work, or will I need to do it on a windows 7 PC to put windows 7 on the USB

A windows 8.1 machine will work just fine. The commands should be the same. If anything the syntax for the diskpart tool may be a little different in the newer version. But for something this simple I'd be surprised if anything changed...

Side note: a USB installer would make installing windows a lot faster too. Nice free bonus if you ask me. I haven't done a CD install in like 4-5 years now...

P.S. as a deviation from the techrepublic instructions, I tend to format my keys to NTFS, while both works, FAT32 has a few limitations that I prefer to avoid if possible. For your purpose though, It doesn't really matter.

 

[iiNrG]

that's quite strange... Do you have a spare 4GB USB key? You can always wipe the USB key and use it as a normal key once you're done with this process. Try creating a Bootable USB key and install Windows 7 using that. I'm 99% confident your computer supports boot from USB.

See if that works better. Instructions below, you will need a computer that already has Windows installed to perform these steps.

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/windows-and-office/configure-a-usb-flash-drive-to-be-a-windows-7-installation-platform/

I have a few PC's, the one i'm typing this reply on is windows 8.1, Will that work, or will I need to do it on a windows 7 PC to put windows 7 on the USB

A windows 8.1 machine will work just fine. The commands should be the same. If anything the syntax for the diskpart tool may be a little different in the newer version. But for something this simple I'd be surprised if anything changed...

Side note: a USB installer would make installing windows a lot faster too. Nice free bonus if you ask me. I haven't done a CD install in like 4-5 years now...

P.S. as a deviation from the techrepublic instructions, I tend to format my keys to NTFS, while both works, FAT32 has a few limitations that I prefer to avoid if possible. For your purpose though, It doesn't really matter.

Thanks for the suggestion, I followed all of the steps and the laptop booted from the USB, but the same process occured, albeit faster as you predicted. The bar stopped once it reached the end at "Windows is loading Files" Any other suggestions?

 

[weilin]

Have you tried running the CD/USB key on another computer? See if it gets any further on another machine? I'm not 100% familiar with the Dell recovery CDs but the Retail ones drop you into a Win PE environment where you can start the install process. You can also hit cancel to have the computer restart.

You may have a defective disk?