Clearing a HD

[Guest]

I have just now rearranged my devices on my computer and I added a second HD.

I have Window XP Home Edition on a FAT32 Maxtor 38G HD and I add a Fujitus
8G which I had laying around.

Now this drive is one that someone discarded but is also is a FAT 32 and
has Windows which is "Not registered to me!" on it. Any how, I hooked it up
as a Slave hoping to use it to store Image files on.

How do I properly format it so I do not have problems breaching some Eula
agreement? Thanks for the advice.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I have just now rearranged my devices on my computer and I added a
second HD.

I have Window XP Home Edition on a FAT32 Maxtor 38G HD and I add
a Fujitus 8G which I had laying around.

Now this drive is one that someone discarded but is also is a FAT
32 and has Windows which is "Not registered to me!" on it. Any
how, I hooked it up as a Slave hoping to use it to store Image
files on.

How do I properly format it so I do not have problems breaching
some Eula agreement? Thanks for the advice.

Disk Manager and format it.

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

An 8GB drive? You're kidding, right?

Anyway, run compmgmt.msc, click on Disk Management, find the proper
partition, delete it, then create a new one. It will automatically format.

You aren't doing anything that involves rights. You're just getting rid of
an old OS and reclaiming the disk. Perfectly proper.

 

[Guest]

Go to administrators tools, computer management, then disk management.
highlight the hd you wish to format, and by the way you want to make this a
basic, not Dynamic type of disk, I would suggest NTFS as a file format,
rather than FAT32, it's more reliable as is the same with the basic type as
opposed to the dynamic.
I would also suggest you convert the FAT32 to NTFS as well.

 

[Guest]

If it's already recognized in windows as a hard drive (you can access it from
windows explorer) then right click on it (in explorer) and one of the options
should be "format." If not then it should be in "Properties" (from the same
menu) and then under the "Tools" tab.

I think the EULA simply states that the OS be in a "non-usuable" state so a
standard format would be fine, but if you want to be truly thorugh and fully
delete it from that hard drive then check the "zero drive" box. This sets
every bit on the drive to zero and erases everything, but takes awhile and is
probably unessisary.

You can also format drives from the installation/recovery CD. Note you
cannot format the drive that windows is currently running from. Most of the
time.

 

[Guest]

The impatient individual that I am, I already went to "My Computer" selected
the HD and then select Quick Format.
You have advised me to change the OS by converting them to NTFS. I thought
my first drive was right at the limit for FAT 32 and the other being so small
"8 G" I did nto think that was even an option.

I have had to Format and reload my computer so many times I am just sick of
it. I do not know if it is because of my IP or what " just a money scam"
but I am sick of it. I would like to make a copy of my HD with all of the
updates on it just in case I have to Format and reload again but I do not
know how.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Guest]

Is that a command I just type in when I select Start, Run ...?

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

Yes.

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

If you have to repeatedly reformat and reinstall XP, something is
drastically wrong. Why not post your problems here as they come up? We can
deal with them one at a time while you're looking at the problem and can
perform tests, etc. And consider using a real newsreader to read the groups.
The Communities interface is very lacking. Just click here to see what I
mean:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general

An 8GB drive on an XP machine. That's downright cute, <s>! And perfect for
saving a Clone of your fresh, updated installation (but not acceptable for
personal data backup.) There are several programs you can use to clone a
drive. One that's free for this use is BootIt NG. I use it lots (it's also a
boot manager and I use it for that, paid $30 for a damned fine app.) Let me
know if you want instructions.

But try that link above, first. Two hints: In Outlook Express, which is
almost certainly what will open when you click that link, while you are in
the newsgroup. go to the View menu, Current View, and check "Group messages
by conversation." Also, press Ctrl-H to see only those threads
(conversations) that you have participated in. Press Ctrl-H again to see
them all. Oh, and in Tools, Options, Read tab, make it "Get 1000 headers at
a time". Even then, you may need to refresh a time or two just to see a few
days worth of messages.

 

[Lil' Dave]

Also accessed in control panel, Administrative tools, computer management.
Select disk management, give it time to assess all the hard drives if the PC
is slow. Go to the bottom section, select the hard drive where the
partition you want to eliminate is located. Right click the partition you
want deleted, and select delete partition (or logical drive) as appropriate.
Dave

 

[Ken Blake]

Yes.

Or alternatively, to get there via the GUI, right-click on My Computer and
choose Manage, then click Disk management.

 

[Ken Blake]

I have had to Format and reload my computer so many times I am just sick
of
it. I do not know if it is because of my IP or what " just a money scam"
but I am sick of it.

Hardly anybody ever "has to" reformat and reinstall. You did it because you
chose to in response to some problems you had. In my view, that is hardly
ever the right response to a problem, and there are almost always less
draconian solutions available.

Next time you have a problem you don't know the solution to, ask for help
here instead of reformatting. It's very likely that one of us can help you
and a reformat won't be necessary.