Does anyone know a lot about hard drives on computers?

[NaughtyGirl21]

I am having a problem with my computer in my room. When I got that computer it had windows 98. I installed xp and it was working really well for like the last 3 or 4 months then it was starting to mess up. I went under system tools to restore it and it would not let me. So I decided I was going to uninstall windows xp and start over. Well that hard drive lost files and everytime I go to turn the computer on it will not load any windows. I got this old hard drive that I put in that has windows 95 on it but it will not install my xp disc.

I just wanted to know if anyone know how to completely wipe out a hard drive to where theres nothing on it as if you baught it from the store and started new?

I just hope someone can help me out with this problem because I really don't want to go spend over a$100 on a brand new hard drive.

[NaughtyGirl21]

no response, I guess no one does :sad:

[deus_ex_machina]

heh. i do. but it will require something in return. be imaginative. by the way i take checks and/or credit cards

[NaughtyGirl21]

I dont have any money right not...broke. I just want to know how its done and I can do it. I don't have the money to go get someone to do it. So if you can just please tell me what to do then I can do it from there. :sad:

[deus_ex_machina]

lol ok maybe you should try deltree

[NaughtyGirl21]

lol ok maybe you should try deltree
that does not explain alot...what about deltree?

[deus_ex_machina]

deltree deletes everything. ask Max on how to do it.

[NaughtyGirl21]

deltree deletes everything. ask Max on how to do it.
ok, thanx

[MaxPower]

get a windows 98 boot floppy. boot from it and choose "Start computer with CD rom support"

once you're at the "A:\>" prompt, type fdisk. This is a utility that you can use to delete the partition.
It will bring you to a screen like this:

Fixed Disk Setup Program
(C)Copyright Microsoft Corp. 1983 - 1995
FDISK Options
Current fixed disk drive: 1

Choose one of the following:

1. Create DOS partition or Logical DOS Drive
2. Set active partition
3. Delete partition or Logical DOS Drive
4. Display partition information
5. Change current fixed disk drive


Enter choice (1)

Press Esc to exit FDISK

Choose 3. Delete partition or Logical DOS Drive
That will Bring you here:

Delete DOS Partition or Logical DOS Drive

Current fixed disk drive: 1

Choose one of the following:

1. Delete Primary DOS Partition
2. Delete Extended DOS Partition
3. Delete Logical DOS Drive(s) in the Extended DOS Partition
4. Delete Non-DOS Partition

Enter choice: [ ]

Press Esc to return to FDISK Options

Choose: 4. Delete Non-DOS Partition If you get an error then choose 1. Delete Primary DOS Partition

You will then switch to this screen:

Delete Primary DOS Partition

Current fixed disk drive: 1

Partition Status Type Volume Label Mbytes System Usage
C: 1 A PRI DOS PROGRAMS 500 FAT16 25%

Total disk space is 2012 Mbytes (1 Mbyte = 1048576 bytes)

WARNING! Data in the deleted Primary DOS Partition will be lost.
What primary partition do you want to delete..? [1]


Press Esc to return to FDISK Options

type 1 and when it asks for a volume name type the name it shows under Volume Label if that's blank then just hiy <enter>

It will delete the partition and effectively make your drive a clean slate. You still need to format it but if you reboot using your windows XP CD, it will give you that option. When you get to that point, I recomend choosing NTFS, not FAT32, and don't choose NTFS (quick format)

Good luck. PM me if you need additional help or you can email me at maxpower@endmedia.net

[junglizm]

buy a mac

[NaughtyGirl21]

buy a mac
fuck a mac. dude, I don't want a mac, and I am not trying to spend no more money then I need to right now.

[junglizm]

it was sarcasm, i hate macs. macs are more user friendly for people who aren't computer friendly. i was going to try and help, but max pretty much summed up what i was going to say.

[evilghoul]

that's happened to me before; reinstall windows.

[NaughtyGirl21]

that's happened to me before; reinstall windows.
um, thats what fucked up my hard drive in the first place

[junglizm]

um, thats what fucked up my hard drive in the first place
because you did it wrong

[NaughtyGirl21]

because you did it wrong
I don't see how, I have unintalled and reinstalled xp on this computer I am on now many times and it works fine. I got a new hard drive today though. Its an 80Gb but I got it from "Wal-Mart" so I don't know it someone else had bought it and returned it or what. I went to install it and the screen did not come up as reading new hard drive. Instead windows 98 appeard and I was kinda confused about that. Do you know how to install a new hard drive with out any problems?

[junglizm]

I don't see how, I have unintalled and reinstalled xp on this computer I am on now many times and it works fine. I got a new hard drive today though. Its an 80Gb but I got it from "Wal-Mart" so I don't know it someone else had bought it and returned it or what. I went to install it and the screen did not come up as reading new hard drive. Instead windows 98 appeard and I was kinda confused about that. Do you know how to install a new hard drive with out any problems?


you have to set the jumpers on the drive as either master or slave, if you have two drives. read the manual and look at the jumpers. the OS drive should be master and the 2nd drive should be slave. also make sure you set it to boot off of the cd drive.

aim me if you really need, i'll be around.

[NaughtyGirl21]

you have to set the jumpers on the drive as either master or slave, if you have two drives. read the manual and look at the jumpers. the OS drive should be master and the 2nd drive should be slave. also make sure you set it to boot off of the cd drive.
I know about the jumpers, but how do you set it to boot off the cd drive?

[junglizm]

in the bios. it should tell you which key to hit when it's booting, usually DEL or F2.

[Hypertron]

I know about the jumpers, but how do you set it to boot off the cd drive?

ok when you turn on your computer it will say something like "press f2 to enter setup" its not always f2 mine personaly is delete, then you want to go in the bios and change first boot device to 3 1/2 floppy to the cd drive, then save settings and restart the computer, load windows and after you get done you want to go back into the bios and change primary boot divice back to 3 1/2 floppy. and whoever said put the jumpers to master and slave why do that when its eaiser to just put it on cable select and let the machine decide which is master and slave.

sorry if any of this didn't make sense, i have some weird virus right now and i have a temp of 104.6 so im kinda out of it.

[junglizm]

and whoever said put the jumpers to master and slave why do that when its eaiser to just put it on cable select and let the machine decide which is master and slave.


i prefer to use master/slave, it's the old way and i'm used to setting jumpers from scsi drives. same end, different means to get there. there is no difference really, you still have to set the jumpers reguardless, it's mostly just habit and prefrence.

[MaxPower]

ok when you turn on your computer it will say something like "press f2 to enter setup" its not always f2 mine personaly is delete, then you want to go in the bios and change first boot device to 3 1/2 floppy to the cd drive, then save settings and restart the computer, load windows and after you get done you want to go back into the bios and change primary boot divice back to 3 1/2 floppy. and whoever said put the jumpers to master and slave why do that when its eaiser to just put it on cable select and let the machine decide which is master and slave.

sorry if any of this didn't make sense, i have some weird virus right now and i have a temp of 104.6 so im kinda out of it.
You have to access the bios to boot from CD if it doesn't do it by default. Depending on what kind of machine, it will be a different key as the machine boots. You need to hit a key on the keyboard just after you boot it. The most common are one of the following: F1, F2, F10, DEL. If you don't know which then you can just turn the mazchine on and hit them repeatedly in sequence f1 f2 f10 del. eventually it should go into the bios. But if you tell us what brand of machine you have one of us should know.
Anyway when you do get into your bios, you need to look fo the instructions on how to navigate it. Some will want you to use the PgUp and PgDn, or the + - or the up and down arrow keys to scroll through your choices.
Once you determine that, you need to look for something that says "Boot sequence, or boot options. you need to change these to "CDrom, hard drive, floppy.
Once you have it set, make sure to save changes before exiting. then just put in the cd and boot.