Re: Help with HDD Formatting

Re: Help with HDD Formatting
Re: Help with HDD Formatting

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Posted by Henry on April 04, 2002 at 21:32:25:
In Reply to: Help with HDD Formatting posted by Sally Syrose on April 03, 2002 at 13:28:16:
: Hello,
: I need assistance with formatting my HDD.
: My OS is Windows 2000(an upgrade to Windows 98).: re-install a new copy of Windows 2000.
: I followed instructions given to me in another
: I needed to completely delete/erase/my HDD and
Technical Forum but found out that my problem
: is still unsolved.
: I was advised to use the (4) boot diskettes and follow the on-screen instructions and when prompted, to choose the "Fresh Install" option, which I did.
: Then I went through the whole business of installing Windows 2000.
: What soon transpired after the entire installation was over, was that a lot of the supposedly "erased" documents, files, pictures etc. were still right there on my HDD.
: Is there a way to successfully format a HDD and fully clean/slate/obliterate all the old stuff?
: Sincerely,
: Sally Syrose
: e-mail:syrose@netvision.net.il
:
:

If you use fdisk to delete and rebuild your partition(s) then format your drive you SHOULD lose access to all of the old files - they were not erased And they CAN be recovered but for most purposes they are gone.
If you want the files and all REALLY gone - find, download and run the HDD maker's diagnostic utility - make sure the drive is OK then run the destructive (destroys data) write/read surface scan (if available) OR the erase/wipe (aka low level format) function. (This is a good idea any time you install an OS). After that, partition and format your drive and install your OS.
I recommend that you use FAT32 partitions unless you have another w2k system handy - it is VERY DIFFICULT to fix an NTFS volume (or recover files from it) without a working NTFS system. Just imagine trying to fix an NTFS volume that has a bad sector in the middle of the swapfile/pagefile (it WILL NOT boot!).
If you decide to use NTFS I recommend that you install at least a minimum working w2k system on another bootable HDD - so you can fix your main HDD if you need to.
Good Luck,
Henry

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: : Hello, : : I need assistance with formatting my HDD. : : My OS is Windows 2000(an upgrade to Windows 98).: re-install a new copy of Windows 2000. : : I followed instructions given to me in another : : I needed to completely delete/erase/my HDD and : Technical Forum but found out that my problem : : is still unsolved. : : I was advised to use the (4) boot diskettes and follow the on-screen instructions and when prompted, to choose the "Fresh Install" option, which I did. : : Then I went through the whole business of installing Windows 2000. : : What soon transpired after the entire installation was over, was that a lot of the supposedly "erased" documents, files, pictures etc. were still right there on my HDD. : : Is there a way to successfully format a HDD and fully clean/slate/obliterate all the old stuff? : : Sincerely, : : Sally Syrose : : e-mail:syrose@netvision.net.il : : : : : : : If you use fdisk to delete and rebuild your partition(s) then format your drive you SHOULD lose access to all of the old files - they were not erased And they CAN be recovered but for most purposes they are gone. : If you want the files and all REALLY gone - find, download and run the HDD maker's diagnostic utility - make sure the drive is OK then run the destructive (destroys data) write/read surface scan (if available) OR the erase/wipe (aka low level format) function. (This is a good idea any time you install an OS). After that, partition and format your drive and install your OS. : I recommend that you use FAT32 partitions unless you have another w2k system handy - it is VERY DIFFICULT to fix an NTFS volume (or recover files from it) without a working NTFS system. Just imagine trying to fix an NTFS volume that has a bad sector in the middle of the swapfile/pagefile (it WILL NOT boot!). : If you decide to use NTFS I recommend that you install at least a minimum working w2k system on another bootable HDD - so you can fix your main HDD if you need to. : Good Luck, : Henry
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