 I Cannot Format My C Drive....pls Help |
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 Jan 30 2008, 02:07 AM
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#11
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Colonel Panic  Group: [MODERATOR] Posts: 2,847 Joined: 25-March 05 From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Member No.: 3,233 myCENTs:31.07  |
Try using this Windows 98 SE floppy boot up disc image. This executable is 100% safe from viruses, I've used it many times on my desktop.
xboxrulz |
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Jan 30 2008, 04:31 AM
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#12
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Super Member  Group: [HOSTED] Posts: 737 Joined: 12-July 06 From: Ontario, Canada Member No.: 14,464 |
If you do not have any data to save on the hard disk, I suggest downloading the Ubuntu 7.10 CD and wiping out the entire hard disk from GParted and start installing Windows (and possibly Ubuntu as well) from there. It should be able to wipe your partitions.
Another thing you can try is this tool, recommended by CNET Download.com: http://www.download.com/Darik-s-Boot-and-N...4-10151762.html Make sure that you install Windows first if you decide to install Ubuntu. |
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Jan 30 2008, 05:00 AM
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#13
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Oh come on Mrs. B!  Group: Members Posts: 648 Joined: 6-June 07 From: Tasmania, Australia Member No.: 22,422 |
I was going to mention Darik's Boot And Nuke.
I used it once when my boot sector died and I was trying to wipe the hard drive. Just install it to a floppy disk and boot from it. You can choose your type of wipe, one of them takes like 6 hours but it completely gets rid of everything. It took me a while to find a shop that sold floppy disks and that was over a year ago so I imagine you'll have more trouble finding them now and since people don't have floppy disk drives anymore, it might be harder. |
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Jan 30 2008, 05:02 AM
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#14
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Super Member Group: [HOSTED] Posts: 737 Joined: 12-July 06 From: Ontario, Canada Member No.: 14,464 |
QUOTE(Sten @ Jan 29 2008, 11:00 PM)  I was going to mention Darik's Boot And Nuke. I used it once when my boot sector died and I was trying to wipe the hard drive. Just install it to a floppy disk and boot from it. You can choose your type of wipe, one of them takes like 6 hours but it completely gets rid of everything. It took me a while to find a shop that sold floppy disks and that was over a year ago so I imagine you'll have more trouble finding them now and since people don't have floppy disk drives anymore, it might be harder. It also works from a bootable CD or a USB device. |
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Jan 30 2008, 07:03 AM
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#15
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Newbie [ Level 1 ] Group: Members Posts: 9 Joined: 6-September 07 Member No.: 24,632 |
QUOTE(docduke @ Jan 30 2008, 02:57 AM) Comments on this thread: 1. I have used Power Quest Partition Magic for more than a decade. That is the best choice, if your can get it. Unfortunately, they were bought out by Symantec and shut down, because their Drive Image product was the strongest competition to Symantec's Ghost. You may be able to get a copy of it off Ebay or some other reseller. Do that if you can. It'll be around $70, and worth it. 2. I have also used Knoppix, and like it. However, you have to be fluent in Linux commands to use it. "Free" comes with a learning curve. 3. An alternative I've used is Bing (Boot-It Next Generation) by TeraByte. It costs $35, and does a lot more than format drives, but, again, you need to know something about Master Boot Records. That is a smaller learning curve than Linux, but it'll still take a day or two of reading. Terabyte also has a Forum with people who can help you walk through the reformatting process. My advice is: Get PM if you can find it. If not, try Bing. Some time in the future when you don't have an immediate problem, learn Linux. Knoppix is a good place to start, because you can run it off a CD without touching your hard drive! Thanks for your suggestion. Here in India, its better to spend $35 for a new 120GB hard disk rather than buying software. But thanks a lot for your suggestion. 
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Jan 30 2008, 07:14 AM
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#16
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Newbie [ Level 1 ] Group: Members Posts: 9 Joined: 6-September 07 Member No.: 24,632 |
QUOTE(Sten @ Jan 30 2008, 10:30 AM) I was going to mention Darik's Boot And Nuke. I used it once when my boot sector died and I was trying to wipe the hard drive. Just install it to a floppy disk and boot from it. You can choose your type of wipe, one of them takes like 6 hours but it completely gets rid of everything. It took me a while to find a shop that sold floppy disks and that was over a year ago so I imagine you'll have more trouble finding them now and since people don't have floppy disk drives anymore, it might be harder. I had downloaded DBAN in both floppy and CDRW format. Since it’s not my system which was wrecked, it’s my cousin’s. So the next Sunday we’ll see whether this software will successfully erase the hard disk or not…. Thanks to Firefox, sten, Xboxrules and to everyone…..
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Jan 30 2008, 09:45 AM
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#17
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Nenad Bozidarevic Group: [MODERATOR] Posts: 1,043 Joined: 7-November 05 From: Belgrade, Serbia Member No.: 9,500 myCENTs:38.31 |
There is no need to download full Linux operating systems such as Knoppix and Ubuntu. Instead, download the GParted LiveCD, which is approximately 50MB in size, and use it to format the drives. Since it doesn't depend on Windows in any way, the operation should go smoothly.
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Jan 30 2008, 12:00 PM
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#18
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Living at the Datacenter Group: [HOSTED] Posts: 708 Joined: 30-June 06 From: Australia Member No.: 14,219 myCENTs:76.93 |
It looks like the problems solved (maybe...), but I'll throw in my two cents. The Ultimate Boot CD has a great selection of different software that you can use to wipe your hard drive. It can be a bit intimidating for a new user, but it can be very useful!
Have a look at it at www.ultimatebootcd.com/. QUOTE It took me a while to find a shop that sold floppy disks and that was over a year ago so I imagine you'll have more trouble finding them now and since people don't have floppy disk drives anymore, it might be harder. I have draws full of them if you want some, how many can I put you down for? 
This post has been edited by Jimmy89: Jan 30 2008, 12:01 PM |
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Jan 30 2008, 04:18 PM
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#19
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Way Out Of Control - You need a life :) Group: [MODERATOR] Posts: 2,181 Joined: 16-August 05 Member No.: 7,896 myCENTs:91.35 |
Concerning the floppy, remember virtualfloppy, which gives you an "a:" disk even if you have no hardware floppy on your system. So, no need to really go to shop and buy a real floppy, you can work only on image files.
Then, if you lost your MS-DOS disks, you download the Windows 98 or windows Millenium or free DRDOS floppy disks images from http://bootdisk.com/ , and use them as a: or b: floppy on your system, and use Nero to create a bootable CD from them. By the way, the problem is not solved yet, QUOTE it’s not my system which was wrecked, it’s my cousin’s. So the next Sunday we’ll see whether this software will successfully erase the hard disk or not….
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