[solved] How to tell if disks formatted?

[Soleron]

I have a laptop with an SSD (primary) and HDD that I want formatted.

I'm sending a laptop back for repair and I want the disks to be formatted before I do so. It overheats within ~2 minutes of turning on with a ungodly loud system beep and crash.

This isn't enough time to tell if the disks are formatted.

I used the Windows CD and pressed format on the pre-installation screen. It didn't seem to take any time to do so. Upon restarting it it says MBR not found. Does this mean both disks are erased sufficiently?

Is there a better method for erasing them?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[paul878]

I have a laptop with an SSD (primary) and HDD that I want formatted.

I'm sending a laptop back for repair and I want the disks to be formatted before I do so. It overheats within ~2 minutes of turning on with a ungodly loud system beep and crash.

This isn't enough time to tell if the disks are formatted.

I used the Windows CD and pressed format on the pre-installation screen. It didn't seem to take any time to do so. Upon restarting it it says MBR not found. Does this mean both disks are erased sufficiently?

Is there a better method for erasing them?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Take the drive out and keep it, they don't need it to repair your laptop unless the problem is with the drive.

 

[Bubbaleone]

I have a laptop with an SSD (primary) and HDD that I want formatted.

I'm sending a laptop back for repair and I want the disks to be formatted before I do so. It overheats within ~2 minutes of turning on with a ungodly loud system beep and crash.

This isn't enough time to tell if the disks are formatted.

I used the Windows CD and pressed format on the pre-installation screen. It didn't seem to take any time to do so. Upon restarting it it says MBR not found. Does this mean both disks are erased sufficiently?

Is there a better method for erasing them?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

You should post the make/model of your laptop if you expect any specific help, and you should also be aware that most newer laptops contain a factory recovery partition which allows you to restore your laptop to the same condition it was in when you first bought it. Drive wiping will destroy the recovery partition, as well as all the other data.

The MBR not being found doesn't ensure anything except the computer won't boot. When you format a disk using the Windows installer, only the first and last few MBs of data on the disk are actually deleted but all the remaining data is very much intact and recoverable. To erase a disk so that data is not recoverable, the entire disk should be overwritten using an algorithm which will (at minimum) defeat software recovery tools. The best way to do that is by running a disk wipe program from a bootable CD or USB stick, and one of the best bootable CD/USB utilities for doing that is PartedMagic.

Note: Be sure to review the documentation on that page so that you understand how to use the available drive wiping tools provided with PartedMagic.

.

 

[Soleron]

You should post the make/model of your laptop if you expect any specific help, and you should also be aware that most newer laptops contain a factory recovery partition which allows you to restore your laptop to the same condition it was in when you first bought it. Drive wiping will destroy the recovery partition, as well as all the other data.

I don't expect help on the issue, and this does not have a recovery partition (and in fact this is certainly a hardware problem that will not go away after doing that)

The MBR not being found doesn't ensure anything except the computer won't boot. When you format a disk using the Windows installer, only the first and last few MBs of data on the disk are actually deleted but all the remaining data is very much intact and recoverable.

Yeah I thought so. That's probably OK though unless they actually try and recover it.

To erase a disk so that data is not recoverable, the entire disk should be overwritten using an algorithm which will (at minimum) defeat software recovery tools. The best way to do that is by running a disk wipe program from a bootable CD or USB stick, and
one of the best bootable CD/USB utilities for doing that is PartedMagic.

Note: Be sure to review the documentation on that page so that you understand how to use the available drive wiping tools provided with PartedMagic.

.

It costs $5..

 

[Bubbaleone]

PartedMagic is freeware under the GNU license and can be downloaded directly from SourceForge: http://sourceforge.net/projects/partedmagic/files/

 

[C1]

Jeezus just go to Frys and buy one of the bottom end external enclosures (cost you $7 plus tax) and put the HDD in it and inspect using a known good computer. If the drive is any good you will be able to back off files (or even image it) and wipe it if that's what you're intending.

About sending the unit in, they probably couldnt care if the HDD is formatted or not, but you should include it as it might be part of the issue. The whole shebang should be returned to you working correctly and hosting a factory install that includes restoration partition. At that time make your back up disks and restore from your saved image if applicable.

 

[Soleron]

I'll use PM, thanks Bubbaleone.

C1, there's too many complex steps for me to remove the hard drive and particularly the SSD. There's a decent chance I'd break it altogether.

I've already backed up, yes.