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I have a laptop that I am trying to do a clean instal of windows 7 on, but I am unable to remove the old instalation.

When I boot from USB and get to the "where to you want to install Windows" screen, I am unable to select "Delete" or "Format" on Disk 0 Partition 2:eMachine. I am able to select them for the other patitions created, but not for the main partition

I have tried searching for an answer, but I am still unable to solve the problem.

From my searches, it looks like most people have been able to solve it by using the diskpart tool to format or change the disk to active, but it does not work for me.

I get the following message:

Virtual disk service error: Format is not allowed on the current boot, system, pagefile, crashdump or hibernation volume.

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Option A:

Boot from windows DVD, when prompted with the screen where you can select language press Shift + F10 from here you should be able to remove the partition using the diskpart tool.

  1. Type: diskpart
  2. At the DISKPART prompt, type: list disk

Make note of the disk number of the disk from which you want to delete the partition.

  1. At the DISKPART prompt, type: select disk n

Select the disk n from which you want to delete the partition.

  1. At the DISKPART prompt, type: list partition

Make note of the number of the partition that you want to delete.

  1. At the DISKPART prompt, type: select partition n

Select the partition n that you want to delete.

  1. At the DISKPART prompt, type: delete partition

Source

Option B:

If you have the option, boot from an external media (i.e. a USB drive or CD/DVD with a bootable environment) and remove the partition from there, so you can install on the space freed up.

You could use something like Hirens BootCD for this.

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  • I tried option A, but I get Disk SServie error: The device is in use. I then apply the override parameter, but then I get the same error as in the original post. I am unable to try option B, as I only have one memory pen as of now Dec 30, 2014 at 23:11
  • Try disabling hibernation using powercfg.exe /hibernate off from a command prompt, then try again. I don't see why you should be unable to delete the partition if you are booting from another disk/media.
    – Kristian
    Dec 30, 2014 at 23:15
  • I was unable to run powercfg as I no longer had a C drive, so I restarted the computer for the 4th time, and when I got back into the instal menu I was able to select the drive and format it. I dont know why, but the issue is resolved now. Thanks for your help Dec 30, 2014 at 23:30

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