I had a problem installing the restore discs now it keeps locking up with write errors mid-way during installation etc...I want to comepletely erase the hard drive to start over. Any idea? I heard magnets work? It's my 13 y/o daughters school cpu and I can' afford to take it in to Best Buy etc....I need free tech help! PLEASE...
2006-10-07 14:35:21 · 6 answers · asked by Jo 3 in Computers & Internet ➔ Other - Computers
Verify that there's no restore partition, which is often the case on current HP/Compaq computers. If you're sure there's nothing on it you don't want to wipe, and no extra drives you don't know about, go to dban.sourceforge.net and download DBAN and burn it to a CD. Then boot off that CD and choose "autonuke". WARNING! DON'T LOSE TRACK OF THAT CD, because it's virtually impossible to recover anything if you accidentally wipe the wrong computer. It'll take hours to run, more than a day for a large drive.
Once the drive is clean, check the manufacturer of the drive (Maxtor, Seagate, Western Digital and Fujitsu are the big manufacturers) and go to their website to download their disk checking utility. Again, burn it to a CD and boot from the CD. That will tell you without a doubt whether the drive is good. Once you know it's a good drive, you can do a clean install of Windows.
2006-10-07 14:50:48 · answer #1 · answered by Fix My PC Mike 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Do not use your recovery disk, take your disk that is for your operating system. put it into your CD drive and reboot your computer. Next when it turns on it will ask if you want to start computer with the disk, then install the operating system. It iwll recognize that there is a operating system already so you will need install a fresh copy. Do not use a magnet unless you want to ruin your computer and hard drive. If you have any further questions you can email me at morganjeeper@sbcglobal.net and I can help you with step by step if necessary.
2006-10-07 14:46:59 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
you might not wanna do that - some of the newer laptops has a partitioned hard drive that has the microsoft on it, you erase that and there will be no more computer. you're supposed to formatt the hard drive if you can find out how to get to the command, if i could see it i would know what to do, but i am far far away
2006-10-07 14:40:02 · answer #3 · answered by jess l 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Personally I would make use of hard drive cleaning software such as StompSoft's Drive Washer. This will ensure that your hard drive is completely cleaned. This is accomplished by overwriting the entire contents of the drive so that you have a "clean slate" to work with.
2006-10-10 05:16:36 · answer #4 · answered by the_green_grass_horse 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
in case you acquire this technique with the OS preinstalled you have not have been given the unique OS setting up disk, and would or would possibly not actually have a restore disk based on the producer you acquire it from. in case you acquire from Dell you weren't sent a restore disk, yet ought to have been sent a Drivers and alertness disk. you desire the Drivers and alertness disk to reload necessary components after appearing a restore. restore skill resetting the equipment to the difficulty it replaced into in, or close to sufficient besides, once you acquire the equipment and booted for the 1st time and then achieved the final setting up steps which comprise placing the time zone, administrator account, password, etc. This technique wipes each and every thing you have further on account that then from the disk and reloads any application classes that comprise the equipment which you have bumped off. you apart from mght might desire to reinstall any classes, acquire and setting up all updates, and reinstall your community connections. in case you equipped your equipment or upgraded to a sparkling OS version with a retail reproduction of that OS, then you are able to wipe each and every thing off mutually as reinstalling the OS. This leaves you with a sparkling setting up yet you will possibly nevertheless ought to reinstall each and every thing. whilst reinstalling the OS the formatting technique wipes each and every thing that replaced into on the disk, then installs a sparkling reproduction. the only way you are able to thoroughly wipe a disk and circulate away it with not something on it, is to do away with it using fact the grasp, or equipment disk, and then setting up it as a 2d disk on a equipment, then use a application to wipe it and reformat it for use. in case you have a preinstalled equipment there'll be a hidden partition wherein the equipment restore documents are held, and you get right of entry to those and initiate the restore technique by making use of pressing a keyboard mixture as you boot, resembling whilst getting access to secure Mode. Your person instruction manual ought to have training, or you are able to circulate the your manufacturers internet site to acquire the instruction manual or get right of entry to the training on the information superhighway internet site. you are able to and could print them out in case you're getting access to them making use of a similar equipment you prefer to repair on account which you will lose your information superhighway connection in the technique. stable success and have a chuffed holiday season.
2016-10-19 00:10:17 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well, i guess u could try Command Prompt->Format C:\
dont try magnets, they can mess up the platters
try circuit city, i think they have free computer help...
I accept no resposibility for any problems you may have. Wiping harddrives is dangerous.
2006-10-07 14:45:43 · answer #6 · answered by JeffJeffSon 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋