I formatted my hard drive befor I realized I could not find the disk.

Important: It is recommended to take a backup of all the necessary data you have on your C: drive before you format it. Formatting the drive will erase everything on it.

The steps to format hard drive can vary depending upon which version of Windows you are using. You can refer to the following links for instructions:
For Windows 8 / 8.1:
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows-8/fl/format-hard-drive-windows-8.htm
For Windows 7 / Vista:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-in/windows/create-format-hard-disk-partition#create-format-hard-disk-partition=windows-7

GuruAid.com

DO NOT FORMAT YOUR DISK. It has been damaged; how easy or even possible to recover your data depends on the degree of damage.
Try your HD in another computer; if it works, make a back-up of your files on another disk.
To understand what RAW format means, try this
http://www.ehow.com/facts_7167186_raw-disk-format_.html
or look for it in Wikipedia.
By searching the internet ("raw disk has data on it"), the first article I found was this
http://html5.litten.com/how-to-fix-external-disk-drive-suddenly-became-raw/
which may be of some help.
In that article a Linux system is used to read and modify the disk. There other tools for repairing this type of fault, for example, http://www.easeus.com/resource/recover-raw-disk.htm
(I do not know if this free:: the information in the article is certainly free though)
Recovering your files will probably mean a lot reading, research and time, but you might be lucky. I recommend reading any article you are going to use through to the end before you start with it.

25.April.2014

The hard drive may be corrupted and you need to format it to made it useable again.
Formatting the hard drive will delete the data on the hard disk.

Make a linux boot disk. Boot your computer with this disk. Retrieve all data to other disk. than reboot windows 7 and format disk.

LinuxMint life cd, does not install.
http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php

hi

follow these instructions

Instructions Things You'll Need:

• Windows installation media (and product key)
• Manufacturer software

1. Ensure that the hard disk is installed properly in the laptop. The drive cannot be formatted before it is installed, or if it's not installed correctly.
   

2. Gather the required software. The type of media will depend on the hardware in your laptop. Older computers without a CD-ROM drive, will require the use of the operating system floppy disks. Laptops that can run Windows XP require the installation CD and product key. Older versions of Windows also have disk-formatting capability in the installation process, and the installation media is either a CD or floppy disk.
   

3. Place the installation disk or manufacturer software in the drive and then boot the computer. Early in the installation process, the Windows installer has a step that will detect any installed hard disks and allow for them to be formatted. The software from the disk manufacturer will also detect the hard disk and give you the option to format the drive.
   

4. Determine which file system is to be used. Windows XP will either work on a NTFS file system or an older VFAT file system. Choose the desired file system when prompted.
   

5. Decide whether the whole disk should be formatted or if the disk will be partitioned and each partition to be formatted separately. The Windows installer includes a menu-driven utility that will create hard disk partitions before formatting. If the hard disk is being formatted to replace an existing Windows installation, delete the existing partitions and re-create them.
   

6. Format the hard disk with the Windows installer when prompted. The Windows installer will let you know when it is time to format the disk and ask for confirmation.
   

this should help you.

Ensure that the hard disk is installed properly in the laptop. The drive cannot be formatted before it is installed, or if it's not installed correctly.

Step 2

Gather the required software. The type of media will depend on the hardware in your laptop. Older computers without a CD-ROM drive, will require the use of the operating system floppy disks. Laptops that can run Windows XP require the installation CD and product key. Older versions of Windows also have disk-formatting capability in the installation process, and the installation media is either a CD or floppy disk.

Step 3

Place the installation disk or manufacturer software in the drive and then boot the computer. Early in the installation process, the Windows installer has a step that will detect any installed hard disks and allow for them to be formatted. The software from the disk manufacturer will also detect the hard disk and give you the option to format the drive.

Step 4

Determine which file system is to be used. Windows XP will either work on a NTFS file system or an older VFAT file system. Choose the desired file system when prompted.

Step 5

Decide whether the whole disk should be formatted or if the disk will be partitioned and each partition to be formatted separately. The Windows installer includes a menu-driven utility that will create hard disk partitions before formatting. If the hard disk is being formatted to replace an existing Windows installation, delete the existing partitions and re-create them.

Step 6

Format the hard disk with the Windows installer when prompted. The Windows installer will let you know when it is time to format the disk and ask for confirmation.

Hello

1. Step 1 Ensure that the hard disk is installed properly in the laptop. The drive cannot be formatted before it is installed, or if it's not installed correctly.
   
2. Step 2 Gather the required software. The type of media will depend on the hardware in your laptop. Older computers without a CD-ROM drive, will require the use of the operating system floppy disks. Laptops that can run Windows XP require the installation CD and product key. Older versions of Windows also have disk-formatting capability in the installation process, and the installation media is either a CD or floppy disk.
   
3. Step 3 Place the installation disk or manufacturer software in the drive and then boot the computer. Early in the installation process, the Windows installer has a step that will detect any installed hard disks and allow for them to be formatted. The software from the disk manufacturer will also detect the hard disk and give you the option to format the drive.
   
4. Step 4 Determine which file system is to be used. Windows XP will either work on a NTFS file system or an older VFAT file system. Choose the desired file system when prompted.
   
5. Step 5 Decide whether the whole disk should be formatted or if the disk will be partitioned and each partition to be formatted separately. The Windows installer includes a menu-driven utility that will create hard disk partitions before formatting. If the hard disk is being formatted to replace an existing Windows installation, delete the existing partitions and re-create them.
   
6. Step 6 Format the hard disk with the Windows installer when prompted. The Windows installer will let you know when it is time to format the disk and ask for confirmation.
   
7. Hope this can help you, kind regards, andrea
   

If you have the windows install disk, just put it in and start a new install..there will be an option come up in the installation to format the drive.
If your laptop has a second hard drive listed that is very small that the recovery partition...go to it and run the recovery program

Btw, I’m available to help over the phone in case u need at https://www.6ya.com/expert/sean_54c3a3dc48a7773c

please use dm or partition manager