I need to reformat my harddrive

You have to get the Windows software and reformat it on the start up of your laptop. When you put in the windows disk it will re-write your entire laptop.

You can get contact info for gateway here: http://www.gateway.com/about/contactus/index.php 
You will be able to get recovery disks from them.  Sometimes while still in warranty they will not charge you for them.  There is a possibility that the error you are getting is due to a defective hard drive.  If you still get the error with the new disks try replacing the hard drive then performing the system restore.  

Btw, I’m available to help over the phone in case u need at https://www.6ya.com/expert/larry_1fe25e09c54eece2

Well according to your post .. You have a gateway computer and now you are saying that you want to load either Xp or Vista on this computer but the disks are from Dell.

Technically unless you are taking the Dell "out of service" and removing the COA .. you are breaking copyright laws

Well this can be done one of many ways.  The first being the best.  If you have a recovery or windows disk simply put it in the drive, restart the computer, it will boot from the drive and allow you to install or repair windows.  Make sure that you choose the option to format your hard drive.
If that doesnt work or you dont have a OS disc I recommend that you take it to a professional.

The dell Vista premium may be an original Vista disk, or a dell customised recovery CD.

In the first case it will install on the Advent laptop , on the second case it wont.

The main reasons why the Windows setup can crash are:

• Defective or dirty disk.
• Dirty CD drive lens.
• Hardware fault that cause conflict after installation.

You might want to try using a new Windows Disc if it says the file was corrupted or missing, but you wouldn't have to buy a New copy of Vista. You should have a sticker on the bottom of your laptop with the Windows serial number for your laptop, and you can just get or borrow a Vista disc and install it but use your serial number.

You cannot use the dell recovery disks to install vista on a gateway computer... there is one way if you have a floppy drive and removed the recovery partition on the gateway.

No problem try to boot it if it can go to boot menu press either f2 or f12 and it will take you to boot menu where you can whip whatever you dont want frm your hard drive or you can pop the drive out and buy some software that will do it for you or pull it and put it into a working computer harddrives and be removed easily by removing 2screws and on working comp whip the drive clean but this software can be expensive i hope this helps you

Hi, First I need to know if you have your Windows Operating System CD and Key? Are you trying to format your hard drive that has your operating system on? If you are you can put the Windows CD in the drive and restart the computer and when the computer starts comes upa message should appear on the monitor "Press any key to boot from disk" If it doesn't then we would have to go into the BIO's and set the BOOT order. If you can hit any key then do so and when the disk loads the files, click ENTER to install a complete windows installation. Just follow the instructions and it will ask to format the Hard Drive. I hope this will help you. Bud

Go to BIOS Setup and disable the Virus Detection. Are you trying to install Windows XP or Vista? You must try different CD and reformat the hard drive again. Don't choose "Repair Windows" but proceed with reformat. You can also give it a try using different Windows installation CD.

This will probably help you, read carefully and follow the instructions:
http://www.theeldergeekvista.com/vista_clean_installation.htm

Hi there
There could be a number of reasons why the installation fails during install.
Take out the memory, clean the contacts and the slots that the memory goes into, make sure that the memory is seated properly.
Make sure that the install CD is clean and free of scratches and that the lens on the CD drive is clean, use a standard lens cleaner to do this.
There could also be bad sectors on the hard drive preventing the OS to write to the drive.
Download Hirens Boot CD to check the drive for bad sectors and recover them.

Good luck and kind regards

I've used a freeware program in the past called Autoclave
You create a boot disc floppy or cd depending on the version.
Booting to this disc you can then wipe your entire hard drive (s) clean securely

Before doing this I would unpower your computer with any and all internal batteries, wait 10 min. and re-power. this will reset your cmos.
After wiping your hard drive clean you should have no trouble installing a fresh version of your operating system.
Let me know if this helps

I Would Agree You Need Another Disk.

This blacking out occurs if the bios are faulty or some of the files required to complete installation are missing on the disc which terminates the installation or u can say some faulty hardware which causes this problem while its drivers are getting installed during new OS  installation.

Make sure you set boot from CD drive on your BIOS then after that put the Operating system cd on your drive and restart the computer and just follow the steps there and make sure you select clean install and there you will see a option to format the drive I suggest you do the complete format not the quick one.. then after that you can proceed with the installation of the operating system....

This section explains how to reformat a drive from the Windows XP installation CD. This can be used when installing a fresh copy of Windows onto a computer. Here it is especially important to backup all of your important information because upon formatting you will lose EVERYTHING that used to be on the drive. This includes all applications and device drivers, so you must back up everything you can.
Insert your Windows XP installation disc into your CD drive (Home or Pro--it does not matter).
Now as you computer boots a little more it will say “Press any key to boot from CD..” press a key to do so. The CD will load up a blue screen and then spend a while loading files it needs. When it is finished it will list a few options, mainly “Press ENTER to set up Windows XP.” Press Enter or Return.
Now you will be at a screen to select where to install Windows to. This is where you can delete old partitions and format drives. The box in the bottom half of the screen shows all your drives and the partitions that exist on them. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to highlight your “C:” partition and press the 'D' key (if all that shows up is “Unpartitioned space” and you have no C: or D: partitions, skip this step). On the next screen press the 'L' key to finalize deleting the partition.
Now you are back on the screen to choose where to install Windows. The box on the lower half of the screen should no longer show a partition but simply have an entry “Unpartitioned space xxxxxMB.” Select this with the arrow keys and press the 'C' key to create a partition on the drive. The next screen tells you the minimum and maximum sizes the partition can be and lets you pick the size. The default size is the maximum, but double check that the number entered is the maximum and hit enter.
Now you will again be back at the choose where to install Windows screen. But this time you will have a partition that looks something like this “C: Partition1 [New (Raw)]xxxxxxMB.” Highlight this entry and press enter.
The next screen lets you choose which file system to format the drive with. Choose NTFS as it is faster and more secure. If the drive is brand new and has never been used before then use one of the options that ends in “(Quick).” Or, choose one of the lower down options. Use the arrow keys to select the proper one and press Enter or Return.
From here you are all set and the installation of Windows will proceed starting with a format of your drive. This will take a while (over half an hour) so you can take a little break.

Then your cd is not in fine condition; need a new CD.
Thanks for using FixYa.

Hi, First backup all the data in the drive. If you want to format any drive other than C: (which is where Windows is installed). Go to my computer > right click the drive > format
If you want to format C: , you need to use windows installation disk and re-install the OS. There will be an option to format the drive which you do it.
I am sorry. I assumed you use Windows.
:)

In order to do that, you need to find out if you have the necessary software and understanding to reformat your hard drive, you also might want to consider backing up your files before you do so. What model/brand of laptop do you have? Usually laptop manufacturer supply recovery CDs or any way to restore your laptop in original factory settings, either by using the supplied "Restore CDs" or just by pressing a particular button in the BIOS or during bootup ( just like in popular Lenovo ntebooks).
I suggest you visit you laptop manufacturer website and start from there.

First go into Bios and find the boot menu make sure it is set to boot from Floppy first(if you have a floppy drive) then your cd rom then your Hard drive.

Put your windows Cd in your cd drive and save and exit from Bios.

1. Start your computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM. To do this, insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into your CD drive or DVD drive, and then restart your computer.
2. When you see the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, press any key to start the computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM.
3. At the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to start Windows XP Setup.
4. Read the End-User License Agreement, and then press F8.
5. Follow the instructions on the screen to select and format a partition where you want to install Windows XP.
6. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete Windows XP Setup.

Please note that during setup your computer will reboot. When it does you will be asked to press any key to boot from cd DO NOT press anything otherwise it will just start the setup again from scratch.

Why do you want to reformat the hard drive?
is it not working or you are having prolblem with it?

You can use the windows installation cd to format the drives, also in windows you can right click on the drive and select format, note that format of C drive is not possible in windows