Why the hell can't I format this drive?

stuartwood89 · 05-13-2008, 11:28 AM

I have XP on my 80GB drive and Linux on my 200GB. I want to wipe the 200GB cause I don't really use Linux anymore. I have to use IFS drives to see the drive in my computer, but I can't format it. Eveytime I use the format tool in Windows, the progress gets to about 80%, then says that the format cannot be completed. How can I erase everything off the drive?

No issues with the GRUB by the way, I install windows recently, and it boots directly into that.

violate forum boredom · 05-13-2008, 11:50 AM

Burn DBAN onto a CD and boot it. Use the Quick Zeros method on your 200 GB drive to eliminate everything on it quickly (by quickly, I mean 45-90 minutes).

Alternatively, download KillDisk Free Version and run it on Windows.

These tools will do a low-level erase that goes through everything (including the boot sector, MBR and all that) and overwrites it all with a predetermined pattern, random data or zeros. You will still need to format after it's done because the partition table is gone too. Be sure you will have a method to boot into Windows if GRUB is on the 200 GB; if not, you will need to use the Windows CD and open up the Recovery Console to reconstruct the boot sector of the 80 GB if it's not used to boot.

stuartwood89 · 05-13-2008, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Louie Little Philly

You will still need to format after it's done because the partition table is gone too. Be sure you will have a method to boot into Windows if GRUB is on the 200 GB; if not, you will need to use the Windows CD and open up the Recovery Console to reconstruct the boot sector of the 80 GB if it's not used to boot.

Whut?

I'm not sure where the GRUB is. If it helps, I installed Linux after installing XP, will that allow anyone to determine where it will most likely be kept?

violate forum boredom · 05-13-2008, 02:35 PM

GRUB is on whatever your Linux drive is.

stuartwood89 · 05-13-2008, 03:06 PM

the 200GB, so I can use the tools you suggested and not worry about the grub (or the absence of) messing everything of

WiLLiSTER · 05-13-2008, 03:31 PM

This is possibly my favorite thing about having a mac... Throwing in a hard drive and using disc utility to wipe it. Mmm simplicity.

Excel's suggestion should work just fine though.

violate forum boredom · 05-13-2008, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuartwood89

the 200GB, so I can use the tools you suggested and not worry about the grub (or the absence of) messing everything of

Just to be safe, disconnect your Linux drive and try to boot with only the Windows drive connected. If it works, you shouldn't have any problems with the erase tools.

stuartwood89 · 06-05-2008, 04:14 PM

Bumping cause I finally got round to testing with the 200GB drive disconnected.

It still works, so I'll use one of the tools you mentioned, but which one is best/easiest?

violate forum boredom · 06-05-2008, 04:29 PM

Use KillDisk Free Version because you can use it in Windows. An all-zero pass should be enough.

stuartwood89 · 06-05-2008, 05:51 PM

OK so I ran the program and selected 'kill disc'. It finished but now I can't see the drive at all in My Computer. I have a bad feeling about this. By 'kill', it doesn't mean 'render completely useless' does it?

violate forum boredom · 06-05-2008, 07:13 PM

No, now you need to go to Computer Management and format it. Open Control Panel, then open Administrative Tools. When you open Computer Management, select Disk Management in the left sidebar. You will immediately see a wizard asking to create a partition.

The difference between "wipe" and "kill" is that "wipe" erases data from a partition and "kill" does it for the entire physical drive, meaning that even the MBR and partition table is erased.

stuartwood89 · 06-08-2008, 08:20 AM

I did that, and the wizard came up, but I used the default selections, so I initialised the drive but didn't convert it. So the drive appears in the bottom half of the computer managemant window, but not in My Computer.

Screenshot to clarify < Linking it cause it's from a 22" screen.

So basically I cocked it up by not allocating the drive. How do I get that wizard up again to allocate the drive? IFS drives are still installed by the way...

**dieKatze88** · 06-08-2008, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuartwood89

I did that, and the wizard came up, but I used the default selections, so I initialised the drive but didn't convert it. So the drive appears in the bottom half of the computer managemant window, but not in My Computer.

Screenshot to clarify < Linking it cause it's from a 22" screen.

So basically I cocked it up by not allocating the drive. How do I get that wizard up again to allocate the drive? IFS drives are still installed by the way...

Will post tutorial in 5 minutes. Forte this time though.

violate forum boredom · 06-08-2008, 07:36 PM

Right click on the unallocated space in the bottom chart. There should be an option to create a partition.

**dieKatze88** · 06-08-2008, 07:44 PM

If you see this, Forte says we should right click on the drive's Icon and choose Initialize Disk. You're going to have to click OK twice. This should only take about a second.

Forte is extremely helpful in telling us that everything in the Computer Management snap-in for the Microsoft Management Console can be done with a right click! In this case we choose "New Partition" and click next until oblivion. You can change some of these options in this wizard if you want, but you probably just want one big drive.

And now we wait! The drive formats, and when its done, it comes up under My Computer as normal. Thanks Forte!