[NotDeadYet]

Hi Folks,

I bought a laptop cheap from E-Bay and I'm now finding out why it was cheap, it was set up by a knob. I want to start again with a clean hard drive which is reasonably straightforward but the HDD has been partitioned.

How do I get rid of it? I want to go back to a clean disk, no OS, no partitions.

It's currently got Windows 2000 installed, both partitions are NTFS.

Cheers,

Stuart

 

[722]

Hi Folks,

I bought a laptop cheap from E-Bay and I'm now finding out why it was cheap, it was set up by a knob. I want to start again with a clean hard drive which is reasonably straightforward but the HDD has been partitioned.

How do I get rid of it? I want to go back to a clean disk, no OS, no partitions.

It's currently got Windows 2000 installed, both partitions are NTFS.

Cheers,

Stuart

If he was a real knob, I wonder what personal info he left on it...

If you got a CD to install from, you should be able to install from new, re-formatting on the way.

Adrian

 

[Harlequin]

To delete the partitions you'll need to run FDISK

Alternatively, slap in the Win XP CD, boot from CD-ROM (option usually available in BIOS) and delete the partitions and start from scratch.

 

[Sean]

yep if you want to install XP you can remove all partitions during the install then format to NTFS. But it is good practice to have a partition make the C drive (depending on the size of the HDD) enough to hold the operating system plus any programs you want, then have a D drive to hold all the crap that way if the operating system screws up you don't loose all you data as all the good stuff you want to keep is on the D drive. I've got 3 partitions on mine one PGP encrypted

Sean

 

[NotDeadYet]

It's Win2000 not XP. I've already tried re-installing it, it didn't give me the option of reformatting the disk as it did when I installed it on my PC.

He didn't leave any personal info, just set it up really badly, I was hoping for some good porn

I really only bought it so I could play on the internet while sat on my arse watching the telly so I'm not bothered about backing up any data as I'm not planning on having any on it! Well, apart from any porn I encounter...

 

[Steve Summers]

I was hoping for some good porn

well why didn't you say, I know somebody, that knows somebody who's window cleaner has a friend who can get some

Safe diving,
Steve

 

[Janos]

well why didn't you say, I know somebody, that knows somebody who's window cleaner has a friend who can get some

Surely you know Digger and Wox better than that!

Janos

 

[Foggy]

Ah simple...

to remove the partitions and also reformat the hard drive....

use a club hammer - works every time

Fancy calling it hard... it just gives up at the first sign of a fight, it should try going around Glasgow in a drunken stupor in the early hours on a weekend! now that's hard!

Cheers, Paul

 

[Garf]

failing all the above just use a windows 98SE boot disk (must be SE to have CDsupport). there's one here...http://www.msu-hb.de/download/boot98se.exe

USe the app in the link I gave you to create a bootable floppy disk. Then boot to it. Use FDISK to scrap and format the partitions (its on the boot disk), and, then load whatever copy of windows you have available.

 

[722]

failing all the above just use a windows 98SE boot disk (must be SE to have CDsupport). there's one here...http://www.msu-hb.de/download/boot98se.exe

USe the app in the link I gave you to create a bootable floppy disk. Then boot to it. Use FDISK to scrap and format the partitions (its on the boot disk), and, then load whatever copy of windows you have available.

Beat me to it

 

[NotDeadYet]

Ta much, I'll try it as soon as I find somewhere that sells floppy disks

Thanks to all!

Paul, I've got 20yrs experience of stumbling round Glasgow in the early hours in a drunken stupour... it isn't that hard!!!!

 

[Sean]

It's Win2000 not XP. I've already tried re-installing it, it didn't give me the option of reformatting the disk as it did when I installed it on my PC.

He didn't leave any personal info, just set it up really badly, I was hoping for some good porn

I really only bought it so I could play on the internet while sat on my arse watching the telly so I'm not bothered about backing up any data as I'm not planning on having any on it! Well, apart from any porn I encounter...

I don't understand, the windows 2000 disk should allow you to do this. boot with the CD and make sure you do the install and not the repair option then you should get the option to install on the original partition, you should at this stage be able to delete the two partitions then create one the size of the HDD and format. I have two servers next to me that I have just done this on with win 2000

Sean

 

[PBrown]

Ta much, I'll try it as soon as I find somewhere that sells floppy disks

You don't need floppy disks, boot from the W2K CD, go into recovery console, you can now use the diskpart tool. For more info on diskpart see:

Microsoft Corporation
A Description of the Diskpart Command-Line Utility
Microsoft Corporation

HTH

cheers,
Paul

 

[MattS]

Top tip!

The best way to wipe Windows from a disk is;
Remove from the PC.
Drill out the rivets.
Vigorously scrub the silver bit with a Brillo pad.
Finish off by polishing with Autosol smeared on a J-Cloth.
It will be really clean.

This technique can also be used to clean those pesky computer viri off a disk once and for all.

 

[NotDeadYet]

I don't understand, the windows 2000 disk should allow you to do this. boot with the CD and make sure you do the install and not the repair option then you should get the option to install on the original partition, you should at this stage be able to delete the two partitions then create one the size of the HDD and format. I have two servers next to me that I have just done this on with win 2000

Sean

It doesn't let me, I've tried twice (I had expected it would). It allowed me to delete one partition but wouldn't let me do anything to the other. It wouldn't let me do what I wanted which was delete the lot and format the drive as one big lump. All it would allow me to do is install a clean version over the existing version -- without giving me a format option.

 

[Sean]

It doesn't let me, I've tried twice (I had expected it would). It allowed me to delete one partition but wouldn't let me do anything to the other. It wouldn't let me do what I wanted which was delete the lot and format the drive as one big lump. All it would allow me to do is install a clean version over the existing version -- without giving me a format option.

Put XP on it I'll have a think

 

[MattS]

More helpful this time

It doesn't let me, I've tried twice (I had expected it would). It allowed me to delete one partition but wouldn't let me do anything to the other.

Which order did you try to delete the paritions in? IIRC you need to delete the last partition first - D: then C: I suspect the D: partition may have been set up as an extended partition. You may need to remove the extended partition as well as the partitions within it.

 

[The_Ferret]

thats the way to do it !!!

yep if you want to install XP you can remove all partitions during the install then format to NTFS. But it is good practice to have a partition make the C drive (depending on the size of the HDD) enough to hold the operating system plus any programs you want, then have a D drive to hold all the crap that way if the operating system screws up you don't loose all you data as all the good stuff you want to keep is on the D drive. I've got 3 partitions on mine one PGP encrypted

Sean

Not bragging but ive got 4 partitions..:teeth: and most are full off crap e.t.c
i never put owt on c: drive its for the operating system only.. quicker to redo c:drive if things mess up.. 5gig should be plenty for c: drive

 

[MattS]

5gig should be plenty for c: drive

When you have a decent size disk it's generally agreed that 12Gb is the best size for the system partition. Running out of space on the C:\ drive is not good news. The Documents and Settings folder can be a bitch as every app and it's aunt writes to it and it's not at all easy to relocate. Anything over 12Gb can cause problems for disk repair software and the like.

 

[The_Ferret]

fair point

When you have a decent size disk it's generally agreed that 12Gb is the best size for the system partition. Running out of space on the C:\ drive is not good news. The Documents and Settings folder can be a bitch as every app and it's aunt writes to it and it's not at all easy to relocate. Anything over 12Gb can cause problems for disk repair software and the like.

fair point.!! must admit my c; drive is 10gig.. depends how much you can spare...