installing multiple distros - partitioning questions

[cool_abhi89]

moebius!!!please save me..

i tried installing the mac but dint work out..nthen i again formattd the hdd to windows 7.it installed well..then i installed the Ultimate Edition 2.3 in EXT4 format..still things worked well..but then after two hours i get this message Operating system not found.then i inserted Ultimate Edition live dvd and then tried partitioning the hdd using gparted.i manged to delete the ntfs volumes.but after that the harddisk is not being recognised.i mean it simply just does not format.says unable to format and then one more issue..

the time i tried installing the Ultimate Edition the message comes seting up the partitioner and then i use guided parttions and then it says cannot read from hdd..I/o error

please tell me wad is wrong?has the HDD gone for a toss????

[Moebius]

Hi cool_abhi89
Your HDD may have tossed it in - but it is still too early to tell.
At this point, I would start from scratch. Firstly, do not install OSX on a Vaio - or any laptop unless you are prepared to play 'silly buggers' - Also keep in mind that you can only legally run it on Apple hardware, so I suggest you leave it alone as you wont get any support. (what you do with your machine is your business though).
I would suggest trying a clean install with Windows to see if it detects the HDD and installs. Let windows do the work, and let it have the entire HDD. Do not create any partitions and if windows can see partitions, make sure you remove them. If this works, then continue by installing Ultimate Edition and let it guide you through sharing with Windows side by side and move the slider to allocate enough space for each operating system.
If after the 2 hours of use you get the same message, do not simply remove the NTFS partition - diagnose first.

If it happens again, let us know
1. When it happens (ie during use or during boot, in Ultimate Edition or in Windows)
2. What were you doing just prior to the fault occuring
3. Next weeks winning lottery numbers.

Cheers.

[cool_abhi89]

the basic problem now is that the windows 7 is also not being able to install.t is just starting up(i mean the instalation) and then seems to hang at the place where the windows comes out of four multicloured balls.

regarding the question what i was doing prior thhe system crashed,i was harmlessly watching a movie,trasformers 2 and then it just crashed like megatron crashing in transformers 1 after which it showed me OS not found

and now even ultimate is failing to install!!!!

mahn i m so much in trouble now!!!

[Moebius]

Are you running a legitimate version of Windows 7 or is it perhaps the RC or Beta that you are trying to install? If it is the latter, ie RC or Beta, that would explain the shutdown.....

[cool_abhi89]

ohk...its a legitimate one sir!!
but then too.even if its not a legitimate one..it should not have taken mah hdd along with its crash no!!!

please help me in retrieving back mah hdd

[Moebius]

Well it is not looking good at the moment. The way I'm reading this, if Win7 cannot detect/format the HDD and U.E has the same issue, it seems to me that your HDD may be the culprit. The only thing I would suggest is that if you have anything else attached to the computer via USB, remove it and try again, and just as a long shot (and I mean a long shot) try this: viewtopic.php?f=65&t=4126&p=45507#p45506

Good Luck.

[cool_abhi89]

well i did do as per the lin ya gave me...but thers no suc thing installed as dmraid so i cant mark it fr complete removal...one thing is that mah hardisk is being shown as serial ATA 160 gb...but it refuses to get formatted.......ne soln!!!

installer say cannot i/o error..cannot read from source!!!!!

[jslick1jim]

Hello cool_abhi89

I,ve got a suggestion download bootable iso image killdisk and run it till its about 6% done and quit. I've had
simalar troubles and wiping drive and starting over helped. http://www.killdisk.com/downloadfree.htm Seems windows has troubles with linux no matter what. make sure you get the right drive if you have more than one.

[cool_abhi89]

u know wad!!!!its only that mah harddisk is not being formatted!!!!

its detecting mah hdd but not partitioning or formatting it!!!

reading and identifying as serial ata 160 gb.its even wrting onto it...bcos when i download something in the live environment...it actually gets writen on mah hdd..so that mean the hdd is still alive...but not getting formatted....ne idea how to tackle this!???

[DarkChild]

u know wad!!!!its only that mah harddisk is not being formatted!!!!

its detecting mah hdd but not partitioning or formatting it!!!

reading and identifying as serial ata 160 gb.its even wrting onto it...bcos when i download something in the live environment...it actually gets writen on mah hdd..so that mean the hdd is still alive...but not getting formatted....ne idea how to tackle this!???

Sounds like you have some form of hard drive fault/bad sectors. I am going to ask you to download a copy of ubuntu 9.10 or Ultimate Edition 2.4 an run the live cd/dvd and go to "Administration" and select a new tool by the name of "Disk Utilities" that tool will tell you if you hard drive has bad sectors/give you more detail information as to what is going on with your hd!!