«

I was asked by a friend, how to wipe the hard drive on a Dell computer
running Windows XP. I'm still running Win98se, so I'm a little behind the
times. I advised to use his XP recovery disk, do a new install, and choose
format from there. He said it didn't work. He then told me something I
couldn't believe. He attempted to format using fdisk. Keep in mind, I'm
not expert when it comes to computers, but he's a lot worse. He pretty much
rendered his computer useless. Also, I thought fdisk was a dos command, I
had no idea it was available on XP. This is pretty much all the info I
have. I did go over to try to help. I used his recovery disk, set the bios
to boot from cd, and installed windows again. I was able to format, so I
don't know why he couldn't.

Here's the problem. XP is back on his machine, but when the computer boots,
he has two choices for XP and is told the highlighted choice will start in
20 sec. If you let it start, it starts fine. If you hit enter prior to the
20 sec it starts fine. But if you scroll down to the second XP and hit
enter, it starts with the same errors he had after he foolishly used fdisk.
He said he created and deleted partitions, and who knows what else. He also
said he tried to format the c: drive, but it only formatted about 8meg and
said it was complete. I'm assuming he just formatted some partition he
created.

My question is this. Can I use fdisk/mbr to fix what he did, and then
format all over again? Will that get rid of the 2 choices? I've also come
across a program, called Wipeout,
http://www.lurkhere.com/~nicefiles/index.html which is supposed to do this
automatically if you boot with a Win 9x boot disk. It supposed to wipe
everything, overwrite the MBR, and make sure there are no partitions. Has
anyone tried it? Either way, if anyone can lend their expertise, it would
be greatly appreciated. I apologize for the length of this post.

"UnderDog" <> wrote in message
news:__CcncY1OcSQlaOiU-...
> I was asked by a friend, how to wipe the hard drive on a Dell computer
> running Windows XP. I'm still running Win98se, so I'm a little behind the
> times. I advised to use his XP recovery disk, do a new install, and
choose
> format from there. He said it didn't work. He then told me something I
> couldn't believe. He attempted to format using fdisk. Keep in mind, I'm
> not expert when it comes to computers, but he's a lot worse. He pretty
much
> rendered his computer useless. Also, I thought fdisk was a dos command, I
> had no idea it was available on XP. This is pretty much all the info I
> have. I did go over to try to help. I used his recovery disk, set the
bios
> to boot from cd, and installed windows again. I was able to format, so I
> don't know why he couldn't.
>
> Here's the problem. XP is back on his machine, but when the computer
boots,
> he has two choices for XP and is told the highlighted choice will start in
> 20 sec. If you let it start, it starts fine. If you hit enter prior to
the
> 20 sec it starts fine. But if you scroll down to the second XP and hit
> enter, it starts with the same errors he had after he foolishly used
fdisk.
> He said he created and deleted partitions, and who knows what else. He
also
> said he tried to format the c: drive, but it only formatted about 8meg and
> said it was complete. I'm assuming he just formatted some partition he
> created.
>
> My question is this. Can I use fdisk/mbr to fix what he did, and then
> format all over again? Will that get rid of the 2 choices? I've also
come
> across a program, called Wipeout,
> http://www.lurkhere.com/~nicefiles/index.html which is supposed to do this
> automatically if you boot with a Win 9x boot disk. It supposed to wipe
> everything, overwrite the MBR, and make sure there are no partitions. Has
> anyone tried it? Either way, if anyone can lend their expertise, it would

> be greatly appreciated. I apologize for the length of this post.


The default option is a complete installation of XP (probably the one you
did). The other option is an incomplete installation (probably your friends
attempt).

This link should solve your problem: http://tinyurl.com/k76l

HTH

--
Also check out http://tinyurl.com/k76w for info about fdisk /mbr

Thanks. That sounds like it will do the trick. The fdisk/mbr article was
informative as well. I've only heard the dangers. One more question.
After trying this, will any damage he may have created by using fdisk be
wiped away? Thanks again.


"Sentient Fluid" <> wrote in message
news:0do%a.736402$. ca...
> "UnderDog" <> wrote in message
> news:__CcncY1OcSQlaOiU-...
> > I was asked by a friend, how to wipe the hard drive on a Dell computer
> > running Windows XP. I'm still running Win98se, so I'm a little behind
the
> > times. I advised to use his XP recovery disk, do a new install, and
> choose
> > format from there. He said it didn't work. He then told me something I
> > couldn't believe. He attempted to format using fdisk. Keep in mind,
I'm
> > not expert when it comes to computers, but he's a lot worse. He pretty
> much
> > rendered his computer useless. Also, I thought fdisk was a dos command,
I
> > had no idea it was available on XP. This is pretty much all the info I
> > have. I did go over to try to help. I used his recovery disk, set the
> bios
> > to boot from cd, and installed windows again. I was able to format, so
I
> > don't know why he couldn't.
> >
> > Here's the problem. XP is back on his machine, but when the computer
> boots,
> > he has two choices for XP and is told the highlighted choice will start
in
> > 20 sec. If you let it start, it starts fine. If you hit enter prior to
> the
> > 20 sec it starts fine. But if you scroll down to the second XP and hit
> > enter, it starts with the same errors he had after he foolishly used
> fdisk.
> > He said he created and deleted partitions, and who knows what else. He
> also
> > said he tried to format the c: drive, but it only formatted about 8meg
and
> > said it was complete. I'm assuming he just formatted some partition he
> > created.
> >
> > My question is this. Can I use fdisk/mbr to fix what he did, and then
> > format all over again? Will that get rid of the 2 choices? I've also
> come
> > across a program, called Wipeout,
> > http://www.lurkhere.com/~nicefiles/index.html which is supposed to do
this
> > automatically if you boot with a Win 9x boot disk. It supposed to wipe
> > everything, overwrite the MBR, and make sure there are no partitions.
Has
> > anyone tried it? Either way, if anyone can lend their expertise, it
would
>
> > be greatly appreciated. I apologize for the length of this post.
>
>
> The default option is a complete installation of XP (probably the one you
> did). The other option is an incomplete installation (probably your
friends
> attempt).
>
> This link should solve your problem: http://tinyurl.com/k76l
>
> HTH
>
> --
> Also check out http://tinyurl.com/k76w for info about fdisk /mbr
>
>

"UnderDog" <> wrote in message
news...
> Thanks. That sounds like it will do the trick. The fdisk/mbr article was
> informative as well. I've only heard the dangers. One more question.
> After trying this, will any damage he may have created by using fdisk be
> wiped away? Thanks again.
>
>

There are a couple bits of information that may be useful to you:

- Dell is using hidden partitions to do the "Welcome to Dell, get ready to
launch your computer for the first time" sequence on their newer computers.
To do a flat install of XP you may need to get rid of that partition as
well. Especially if it is damaged.

- Once the partitions are yacked up, it's pretty hard to get any worse.
So don't worry.

- You could try putting the hard drive in a different computer running Win2k
or higher, then use the Disk Manger to kill the partitions with an easy
interface. Moving a drive is relatively easy, but careful of mounting it (I
usually dont, just let it hang out the sides of the open case like a shot
pig. Just dont bump or touch stuff while the PC is on.)

- XP can boot from the CD rom, and does have a utility in it to add or
remove parititons, it's at the "where do you want to install" part. Just
read all the instructions carefully and it is easy to use.

- A tool called "Ranish Partition Manager" might help you. If the
partitions are NTFS, to use the tool; put RPM on a floppy, boot the XP CD to
the "recovery console" (I think it still has that, basically a dos prompt.)
Go to the floppy, start Ranish. Ranish can then help you find and delete
overlapping or otherwise damaged partitions. If the partitions are FAT32,
then you can use a Win98 boot disk and a Ranish disk instead. (It won't
"see" the partitions if they are not compatible with the little OS you are
booting to.)

- If your pal has a "recovery CD" and not a "XP cd" then just use that, most
of the time it will simply re-create everything, including the partitions.

Good Luck

"UnderDog" <> wrote in message
news:__CcncY1OcSQlaOiU-...
> I was asked by a friend, how to wipe the hard drive on a Dell computer
> running Windows XP. I'm still running Win98se, so I'm a little behind the
> times. I advised to use his XP recovery disk, do a new install, and
choose
> format from there. He said it didn't work. He then told me something I
> couldn't believe. He attempted to format using fdisk. Keep in mind, I'm
> not expert when it comes to computers, but he's a lot worse. He pretty
much
> rendered his computer useless. Also, I thought fdisk was a dos command, I
> had no idea it was available on XP. This is pretty much all the info I
> have. I did go over to try to help. I used his recovery disk, set the
bios
> to boot from cd, and installed windows again. I was able to format, so I
> don't know why he couldn't.
>
> Here's the problem. XP is back on his machine, but when the computer
boots,
> he has two choices for XP and is told the highlighted choice will start in
> 20 sec. If you let it start, it starts fine. If you hit enter prior to
the
> 20 sec it starts fine. But if you scroll down to the second XP and hit
> enter, it starts with the same errors he had after he foolishly used
fdisk.
> He said he created and deleted partitions, and who knows what else. He
also
> said he tried to format the c: drive, but it only formatted about 8meg and
> said it was complete. I'm assuming he just formatted some partition he
> created.
>
> My question is this. Can I use fdisk/mbr to fix what he did, and then
> format all over again? Will that get rid of the 2 choices? I've also
come
> across a program, called Wipeout,
> http://www.lurkhere.com/~nicefiles/index.html which is supposed to do this
> automatically if you boot with a Win 9x boot disk. It supposed to wipe
> everything, overwrite the MBR, and make sure there are no partitions. Has
> anyone tried it? Either way, if anyone can lend their expertise, it would
> be greatly appreciated. I apologize for the length of this post.
>
>

all he has to do is boot with the XP cd and choose install

there *is* an option for format the drive first
he just missed it!

"JabberSmith" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> "UnderDog" <> wrote in message
> news...
> > Thanks. That sounds like it will do the trick. The fdisk/mbr article
was
> > informative as well. I've only heard the dangers. One more question.
> > After trying this, will any damage he may have created by using fdisk be
> > wiped away? Thanks again.
> >
> >
>
> There are a couple bits of information that may be useful to you:
>
> - Dell is using hidden partitions to do the "Welcome to Dell, get ready to
> launch your computer for the first time" sequence on their newer
computers.
> To do a flat install of XP you may need to get rid of that partition as
> well. Especially if it is damaged.
>
> - Once the partitions are yacked up, it's pretty hard to get any worse.

> So don't worry.
>
> - You could try putting the hard drive in a different computer running
Win2k
> or higher, then use the Disk Manger to kill the partitions with an easy
> interface. Moving a drive is relatively easy, but careful of mounting it
(I
> usually dont, just let it hang out the sides of the open case like a shot
> pig. Just dont bump or touch stuff while the PC is on.)
>
> - XP can boot from the CD rom, and does have a utility in it to add or
> remove parititons, it's at the "where do you want to install" part. Just
> read all the instructions carefully and it is easy to use.
>
> - A tool called "Ranish Partition Manager" might help you. If the
> partitions are NTFS, to use the tool; put RPM on a floppy, boot the XP CD
to
> the "recovery console" (I think it still has that, basically a dos
prompt.)
> Go to the floppy, start Ranish. Ranish can then help you find and delete
> overlapping or otherwise damaged partitions. If the partitions are
FAT32,
> then you can use a Win98 boot disk and a Ranish disk instead. (It won't
> "see" the partitions if they are not compatible with the little OS you are
> booting to.)
>
> - If your pal has a "recovery CD" and not a "XP cd" then just use that,
most
> of the time it will simply re-create everything, including the partitions.
>
> Good Luck
>
>

Whose saying what?
"Ken" <> wrote in message
news:bie4j3$i27$...
>
> "JabberSmith" <> wrote in message
> news:...
> >
> > "UnderDog" <> wrote in message
> > news...
> > > Thanks. That sounds like it will do the trick. The fdisk/mbr article
> was
> > > informative as well. I've only heard the dangers. One more question.
> > > After trying this, will any damage he may have created by using fdisk
be
> > > wiped away? Thanks again.
> > >
> > >
> >
> > There are a couple bits of information that may be useful to you:
> >
> > - Dell is using hidden partitions to do the "Welcome to Dell, get ready
to
> > launch your computer for the first time" sequence on their newer
> computers.
> > To do a flat install of XP you may need to get rid of that partition as
> > well. Especially if it is damaged.
> >
> > - Once the partitions are yacked up, it's pretty hard to get any worse.
>
> > So don't worry.
> >
> > - You could try putting the hard drive in a different computer running
> Win2k
> > or higher, then use the Disk Manger to kill the partitions with an easy
> > interface. Moving a drive is relatively easy, but careful of mounting
it
> (I
> > usually dont, just let it hang out the sides of the open case like a
shot
> > pig. Just dont bump or touch stuff while the PC is on.)
> >
> > - XP can boot from the CD rom, and does have a utility in it to add or
> > remove parititons, it's at the "where do you want to install" part.
Just
> > read all the instructions carefully and it is easy to use.
> >
> > - A tool called "Ranish Partition Manager" might help you. If the
> > partitions are NTFS, to use the tool; put RPM on a floppy, boot the XP
CD
> to
> > the "recovery console" (I think it still has that, basically a dos
> prompt.)
> > Go to the floppy, start Ranish. Ranish can then help you find and
delete
> > overlapping or otherwise damaged partitions. If the partitions are
> FAT32,
> > then you can use a Win98 boot disk and a Ranish disk instead. (It won't
> > "see" the partitions if they are not compatible with the little OS you
are
> > booting to.)
> >
> > - If your pal has a "recovery CD" and not a "XP cd" then just use that,
> most
> > of the time it will simply re-create everything, including the
partitions.
> >
> > Good Luck
> >
> >
>
>

Osprey wrote:
> What!
What I didn't *really* tell tell you
Alternately it's probably in front of one of these ">". lol lol
Again, alternately, it's not very 'hot' rofl
> "Patrick" <> wrote in message
> news:_1x2b.4538$...
>> Osprey wrote:
>>> Whose saying what?
>> I just told you !!
>>> "Ken" <> wrote in message
>>> news:bie4j3$i27$...
>>>>
>>>> "JabberSmith" <> wrote in message
>>>> news:...
>>>>>
>>>>> "UnderDog" <> wrote in message
>>>>> news...
>>>>>> Thanks. That sounds like it will do the trick. The fdisk/mbr
>>>>>> article was informative as well. I've only heard the dangers.
>>>>>> One more question. After trying this, will any damage he may have
>>>>>> created by using fdisk be wiped away? Thanks again.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> There are a couple bits of information that may be useful to you:
>>>>>
>>>>> - Dell is using hidden partitions to do the "Welcome to Dell, get
>>>>> ready to launch your computer for the first time" sequence on
>>>>> their newer computers. To do a flat install of XP you may need to
>>>>> get rid of that partition as well. Especially if it is damaged.
>>>>>
>>>>> - Once the partitions are yacked up, it's pretty hard to get any
>>>>> worse. So don't worry.
>>>>>
>>>>> - You could try putting the hard drive in a different computer
>>>>> running Win2k or higher, then use the Disk Manger to kill the
>>>>> partitions with an easy interface. Moving a drive is relatively
>>>>> easy, but careful of mounting it (I usually dont, just let it hang
>>>>> out the sides of the open case like a shot pig. Just dont bump or
>>>>> touch stuff while the PC is on.)
>>>>>
>>>>> - XP can boot from the CD rom, and does have a utility in it to
>>>>> add or remove parititons, it's at the "where do you want to
>>>>> install" part. Just read all the instructions carefully and it is
>>>>> easy to use.
>>>>>
>>>>> - A tool called "Ranish Partition Manager" might help you. If the
>>>>> partitions are NTFS, to use the tool; put RPM on a floppy, boot
>>>>> the XP CD to the "recovery console" (I think it still has that,
>>>>> basically a dos prompt.) Go to the floppy, start Ranish. Ranish
>>>>> can then help you find and delete overlapping or otherwise damaged
>>>>> partitions. If the partitions are FAT32, then you can use a
>>>>> Win98 boot disk and a Ranish disk instead. (It won't "see" the
>>>>> partitions if they are not compatible with the little OS you are
>>>>> booting to.)
>>>>>
>>>>> - If your pal has a "recovery CD" and not a "XP cd" then just use
>>>>> that, most of the time it will simply re-create everything,
>>>>> including the partitions.
>>>>>
>>>>> Good Luck