Hi Tom,



I would suggest for you to check a couple of things:

1. Does this CD/DVD drive accept any CD or DVD while the computer

   is running its present OS? 

(I assume it's Vista? at least that's what this HP machine usually had on it)

2. Does it boot up from another bootable CD or DVD other than the Win 7 one?

3. Did you set the BIOS to boot from a USB device , in this case the external HD?

4. Is this external HD recognized in the BIOS?



The fact that the ext. HD doesn't show in My Computer is fairly normal.

A. The USB port may not have enough power (happens with large drives)

In that case the drive should receive power from an external supply.

Also try a different USB port. Not through a hub.

B. It is accessing a drive letter that's already in use or has been used before.

You need to go into Disk Manager and see if it shows there.

Then r-click and assign a different drive letter.

C . You may need to initialize it. R-click on the drive and select Initialize.

If not available use the solution above in B ( Change Drive letter and path)

Be aware that r-clicking on the relevant Disk number will give you different

results from when you r-c on the graphical section of the drive.

(You can also click Action in the menu bar at the top of the window.)



Has the ext. HD been tested to be bootable on another computer?

Does it contain the installation setup files of Win 7 or is it a bootable installed

version of Win 7?



Wiping the installed HD is the least of your problems.

You can either do this when you install Win 7 or do it beforehand

with the help of a bootable CD with Linux on it or from MiniTools -PartitionWizard

http://www.partitionwizard.com/partition-wizard-bootable-cd.html

Make sure you burn the ISO as a bootable disc ,not as data.

ImgBurn does a nice job  http://www.imgburn.com/

Select Ez Mode for clarity.



AFAIC - there's no worm/virus involved as the reason why you can't access the optical drive or the ext HD.



Peter E.



--------------------------------------------------

From: "Tom Borkin" 

Sent: Tuesday, December 25, 2012 3:28 PM

To: <[log in to unmask]>

Subject: [PCBUILD] Won't Read CD, External HD



Hi,

I inherited a HP Pavillion 9000 dv9413cl. I'm trying to wipe the HD and

install a new OS; however, when I try to boot from the CD by setting it

first in the BIOS it won't, ditto with an external HD. When I plug the HD

into a USB after booting the OS says it's recognized and correctly

installed; however, it doesn't come up in "My Computer". When I try to boot

with the external HD plugged in and hit Esc, it's not listed in the

bootable media available. The external HD is FAT-32 with Windows 7. The CD

is a Windows 7 installation disk. I cannot check my email often: I hope

this is enough detail to intelligently address the issue. Is this a

worm/virus? How do I wipe the HD and install a new OS?

TIA,

Tom



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