How to force a reformat ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jack S
  • Start date Start date
J

Jack S

I installed a HD from another system that had some old recycler files, and
probably some other system stuff.

When I try to reformat it, I get a message that Windows xp can't reformat it
becasue some other party or operation is using it. Nobody and nothing is
using it. It just got dropped into the computer.

How do I force this thing to reformat?

Thanks
 
Download and run, from a floppy drive, ERASER. Just be sure
you only do the drive you want wiped. Then format it.




|I installed a HD from another system that had some old
recycler files, and
| probably some other system stuff.
|
| When I try to reformat it, I get a message that Windows xp
can't reformat it
| becasue some other party or operation is using it. Nobody
and nothing is
| using it. It just got dropped into the computer.
|
| How do I force this thing to reformat?
|
| Thanks
|
|
 
Jack said:
I installed a HD from another system that had some old recycler
files, and probably some other system stuff.

When I try to reformat it, I get a message that Windows xp can't
reformat it becasue some other party or operation is using it. Nobody
and nothing is using it. It just got dropped into the computer.

How do I force this thing to reformat?
Click to expand...

Boot from the XP CD, Enter the Recovery Console and use that Format command.
(If you need to do any partitioning, it's the Diskpart command.) Or, you can
follow the prompts for an installation and when you select which drive to
install XP onto, at the bottom you should have a Format option. (If the
Format option is not there, use the Delete partition option then create a
new partition and it will automatically format when you continue.)

Ignore ****wits that tell you to use the old DOS "fdisk" command.
 
Jim Macklin said:
Download and run, from a floppy drive, ERASER. Just be sure
you only do the drive you want wiped. Then format it.
Click to expand...

Didn't work. Didn't get rid of whatever XP doesn't want to format over.
 
Jack said:
Didn't work. Didn't get rid of whatever XP doesn't want to format
over.
Click to expand...

Why are you trying daft ideas like that anyway. Read your replies, you have
one with the answer.
 
I installed a HD from another system that had some old recycler files, and
probably some other system stuff.

When I try to reformat it, I get a message that Windows xp can't reformat it
becasue some other party or operation is using it. Nobody and nothing is
using it. It just got dropped into the computer.

How do I force this thing to reformat?

Thanks
Click to expand...


Could it possibly be that system restore is monitoring the drive?
 
Bugger said:
Could it possibly be that system restore is monitoring the drive?
Click to expand...

If you have a dos system boot cd or floppy with format, use that then xp
will let you do what you want to do.
If you don't have that, download and make a Bart pe cd and use that.
You could also make a bootitng installation from
www.terabyteunlimited.com. Boot but do not install, hit cancel then
select partition work and format the drive from there. You might find
bootitng sufficiently attractive to evaluate, install and register, I've
been using it for years.
Dave Cohen
Dave Cohen
 
I suspect it is a question of ownership of the folders/volume in question, a
Windows Security feature. The account that created them (and can delete
them) doesn't exist in your Windows. You can take over ownership of the
folders and then you'll be allowed to delete them. In XP Pro/MCE the
relevent security options appear in Explorer/My computer right click menu
when Simple File Sharing is turned off.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308421
 
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