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Hard drive

morgan2476
Grafter
Posts: 284
Registered: ‎13-08-2007

Hard drive

I have just made a mess of my mbr when i was uninstalling a linux partition.  What I now want to do is delete all the partitions and format my drive so it is as it were new.  Could someone give me a proceedure for this. I am using xp.  Thanks
10 REPLIES 10
dvorak
Moderator
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Registered: ‎11-01-2008

Re: Hard drive

You can do this as part of the windows xp install when choosing where to install it to.
Gives you the option to delete partitions.
If it's a dual boot box you can use the repair console and try running fixmbr to sort it out.
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ReedRichards
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 4,927
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Registered: ‎14-07-2009

Re: Hard drive

If you have the drive connected as a secondary drive on your Windows computer, right click (My) Computer and select Manage, then click Disk Management.  You should see your drive listed.  Right click it and select Format.  Make sure you select the correct drive!  AFAIK this works in all (recent) versions of Windows 
Santiago
Grafter
Posts: 3,291
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎10-08-2007

Re: Hard drive

Assuming dual boot, uninstalling the linux has wiped the MBR. You don't need to format the drive just reinstate the MBR
Here is a simple guide to reinstate your MBR in XP http://helpdeskgeek.com/how-to/fix-mbr-xp-vista/
I hope this helps
VileReynard
Hero
Posts: 12,616
Thanks: 582
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Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: Hard drive

Having said that - why/how would you uninstall Linux?
If it was me, I would just delete the partition and/or remove the appropriate filesystems.

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

Santiago
Grafter
Posts: 3,291
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎10-08-2007

Re: Hard drive

When I started with Linux i did quite a few installs and uninstalls while I was playing around. It's part of the learning curve I guess.

If you delete the linux partition you will still end up messing up the XP mbr, trust me I did it myself, several times
Smiley
morgan2476
Grafter
Posts: 284
Registered: ‎13-08-2007

Re: Hard drive

Thanks for all who replied.  It was when i worked with the mbr that things went pear-shaped.  Eventualy i will only use Linux.  Thanks
VileReynard
Hero
Posts: 12,616
Thanks: 582
Fixes: 20
Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: Hard drive

When I first started with Linux, I found it convenient to install a second disk that is totally for Linux.
Just change your BIOS settings to boot from the appropriate disk.
This is quite useful as it meant I could look at old Windows documents etc (all Windows systems are accessible from Linux, but not vice versa).
Totally secure MBR too! Smiley

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

Ben_Brown
Grafter
Posts: 2,839
Registered: ‎13-06-2007

Re: Hard drive

When I started playing with Linux I installed LILO on a floppy. Then if I wanted to use Linux I'd boot with the floppy in, and pop it out if I wanted Windows. Unfortunately most boxes don't have floppies anymore, so it's a bit more difficult.
David_W
Rising Star
Posts: 2,305
Thanks: 33
Registered: ‎19-07-2007

Re: Hard drive

I've always had trouble with Linux and my hard drives for some reason, its terrible now because I have 1 ATA and 3 SATA and use SATA as primary but Linux wants to install onto the MBR of the ATA.  Mind you, a few years ago I stuck on Linux and used DOS to fire up loadlin (I think it was anyhow) and that booted me into Linux, but that was a long time ago and I've totally forgotten how to, or even why I had to.
KenA
Grafter
Posts: 92
Registered: ‎28-08-2007

Re: Hard drive

I use the System Rescue CD to help manage these sorts of things.  It's a linux image with a load of tools for disk management, including disk backup and restore.  It's downloadable free at http://www.sysresccd.org/, and help there too.