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Windows XP

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DrkCloud

Junior Member
I'm looking to sell my old computer and I'm trying to completely Format the Hard drive, I had Windows XP Home Edition installed and here the weird thing... I would constantly used Windows 98 and 95 Boot disks on it with an FDISK.exe on them and then I would run FDISK Delete the Partition, Create a New One, Then Format it and delete it once more, then Install a new Windows XP Installation on to it. However and here?s the weird thing, ever since I put my old computer into a new Case none of my 9 or so Boot disks work on my computer, I put it in and it just gives me a message saying I need to put in a proper Media Device, or it gives me a message saying I/O Error... Now I'm curious as to what could have happened I had at least one boot disk that has always worked for me, it was a Windows 98 Boot disk with FDISK.exe on it, but that one doesn't work anymore either. Should I get a special boot disk for Windows XP? And if so from where? Also does the Windows XP Format the hard drive automatically every time you delete the partition and install a new one from the Installation CD? Or do I require a Boot disk to completely clean my HDD from all the old files? I'd appreciate any help... Thanks
 
Could be a copy protection problem. But, there is a solution, I think - download and run the Hitachi DFT and run the detailed full, low level format routine. It takes a long time, but returns the HDD to a factory new, unformatted condition. Then if you reformat - do not install YOUR XP Home - let the buyer install his. You can't sell your XP to another, technically, without getting a new activation code and dispensation from Microsoft.

DFT
 
Whats Confusing me However is the Fact that it was Working Earlier... With the same Hard Drive and the Same Boot Disk... No Computer Part was changed. No Copy Protection Problem would come out of the Blue. Especially when you don't have Windows XP installed let alone Updated.
 
Originally posted by: DrkCloud
I'm looking to sell my old computer and I'm trying to completely Format the Hard drive, I had Windows XP Home Edition installed and here the weird thing... I would constantly used Windows 98 and 95 Boot disks on it with an FDISK.exe on them and then I would run FDISK Delete the Partition, Create a New One, Then Format it and delete it once more, then Install a new Windows XP Installation on to it. However and here?s the weird thing, ever since I put my old computer into a new Case none of my 9 or so Boot disks work on my computer, I put it in and it just gives me a message saying I need to put in a proper Media Device, or it gives me a message saying I/O Error... Now I'm curious as to what could have happened I had at least one boot disk that has always worked for me, it was a Windows 98 Boot disk with FDISK.exe on it, but that one doesn't work anymore either. Should I get a special boot disk for Windows XP? And if so from where? Also does the Windows XP Format the hard drive automatically every time you delete the partition and install a new one from the Installation CD? Or do I require a Boot disk to completely clean my HDD from all the old files? I'd appreciate any help... Thanks
Click to expand...

Why not just boot from the XP Home CD and choose the option to format the hard drive?
 
Originally posted by: dclive
Originally posted by: DrkCloud
I'm looking to sell my old computer and I'm trying to completely Format the Hard drive, I had Windows XP Home Edition installed and here the weird thing... I would constantly used Windows 98 and 95 Boot disks on it with an FDISK.exe on them and then I would run FDISK Delete the Partition, Create a New One, Then Format it and delete it once more, then Install a new Windows XP Installation on to it. However and here?s the weird thing, ever since I put my old computer into a new Case none of my 9 or so Boot disks work on my computer, I put it in and it just gives me a message saying I need to put in a proper Media Device, or it gives me a message saying I/O Error... Now I'm curious as to what could have happened I had at least one boot disk that has always worked for me, it was a Windows 98 Boot disk with FDISK.exe on it, but that one doesn't work anymore either. Should I get a special boot disk for Windows XP? And if so from where? Also does the Windows XP Format the hard drive automatically every time you delete the partition and install a new one from the Installation CD? Or do I require a Boot disk to completely clean my HDD from all the old files? I'd appreciate any help... Thanks
Click to expand...

Why not just boot from the XP Home CD and choose the option to format the hard drive?
Click to expand...

Exactly what I was thinking.

Why not just to the delete partion, create partion

Don't forget to push "l" 😉
 
Not necessarily. It might do a quick format in which case extra data or data "in between the cracks" can still survive.

I assume you'll still need to reformat the hard drive before doing anything else with it after erasure, so keep that disk handy.
 
Originally posted by: Psych
Not necessarily. It might do a quick format in which case extra data or data "in between the cracks" can still survive.
Click to expand...

In that a determined someone could recover data from the machine, sure. But the average user will not, and since you're going to immediately write about 2-4GB of data to the volume in random areas (since you're installing Windows XP) it doesn't seem terribly risky. Unless you need government or corporate protection, it seems low risk.

I assume you'll still need to reformat the hard drive before doing anything else with it after erasure, so keep that disk handy.
Click to expand...

Why not use XP's formatter?
 
Originally posted by: dclive
Originally posted by: Psych
Not necessarily. It might do a quick format in which case extra data or data "in between the cracks" can still survive.
Click to expand...

In that a determined someone could recover data from the machine, sure. But the average user will not, and since you're going to immediately write about 2-4GB of data to the volume in random areas (since you're installing Windows XP) it doesn't seem terribly risky. Unless you need government or corporate protection, it seems low risk.

I assume you'll still need to reformat the hard drive before doing anything else with it after erasure, so keep that disk handy.
Click to expand...

Why not use XP's formatter?
Click to expand...

I have the same problem as DrkCloud...

Windows XP's Formatter?

And I'm don't think that Deleting the Partion and Creating a new one even if you don't use a quick format while installing Windows XP would delete all the extra crap off an HDD, I think the only way to fully be sure that your HDD is fully Formatted is to use an FDISK but none of mine work, and I'm not sure which one that you've all listed, I should use. Any help would be appreciated
 
Originally posted by: BlackMagic

I have the same problem as DrkCloud...

Windows XP's Formatter?

And I'm don't think that Deleting the Partion and Creating a new one even if you don't use a quick format while installing Windows XP would delete all the extra crap off an HDD, I think the only way to fully be sure that your HDD is fully Formatted is to use an FDISK but none of mine work, and I'm not sure which one that you've all listed, I should use. Any help would be appreciated
Click to expand...

FDISK and XP's formatter are essentially similar. As I've said, when you're formatting, using the quick format, the file entries are removed and the disk appears blank to the OS, but the data is still there; doing a full format removes even that leftover data. Just what national secrets are you folks protecting that this is such an issue? Just do a quick format, overwrite your data (you're installing an OS, after all) and quit worrying.

What am I missing here? What's the issue that causes you so much concern over wiping your data?
 
You are able to do a complete format or a quick format with your Windows XP installation CD. That said, I don't beleive that 'just' formatting makes your disk even partly secure. If you have any sensitive data on a drive I would recomend one of the programs designed to overwrite the entire drive with 1's and 0's. I've used Maxtor's "Maxblast" before.

http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/maxblast3.htm
 
Because, I just sold my old computer for 600 over ebay... And there are people out there with the skill to uncover hidden data left within a HDD after someone Quick Formats it... Its left there so that some Backup Softwares can recover them. So, people with enough of a know how can buy used computers and recover old data such as Names, Telephone Numbers, E-mails, Credit Card Numbers, and even Social Security Numbers... Pretty much anything anyone put into there computer at one point in time, wether in a document or over the web. So before I send my old computer off to the person who purchased it I want to make sure no left over Data is on there like my Credit Cards Numbers that someone can recover and use.
 
All I know is that an FDISK.exe program will completely erase your HDD of all those leftover Datas, I just don't know which one to get and from where to get it. My Harddrive is a Western Digital 120 GB Caviar Edition Hard Drive and my Windows is Windows XP Home Edition.
 
Originally posted by: gpgofast
You are able to do a complete format or a quick format with your Windows XP installation CD. That said, I don't beleive that 'just' formatting makes your disk even partly secure. If you have any sensitive data on a drive I would recomend one of the programs designed to overwrite the entire drive with 1's and 0's. I've used Maxtor's "Maxblast" before.

http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/maxblast3.htm
Click to expand...

Unless you're carrying national secrets on that drive, what's the issue with just doing a normal format? You'll be writing an OS on the partition anyway....
 
Originally posted by: BlackMagic
Because, I just sold my old computer for 600 over ebay... And there are people out there with the skill to uncover hidden data left within a HDD after someone Quick Formats it... Its left there so that some Backup Softwares can recover them. So, people with enough of a know how can buy used computers and recover old data such as Names, Telephone Numbers, E-mails, Credit Card Numbers, and even Social Security Numbers... Pretty much anything anyone put into there computer at one point in time, wether in a document or over the web. So before I send my old computer off to the person who purchased it I want to make sure no left over Data is on there like my Credit Cards Numbers that someone can recover and use.
Click to expand...

Any of that would be password protected, and would be tied to your Windows XP user account. Not only would someone need to undelete the data, but they'd also need to reconstuct it in just the right way, put all the files in the right places, hack your XP user account, and do god knows what else to put it back into place and really get it going.

Someone with that level of skill isn't going to be bothering with buying computers off e-bay to hack an odd credit card or two. They're going to make $5,000 for every hard drive they recover, honestly, thru a data recovery center, or they're going to scam the data in other ways on a vastly larger (and more lucrative) scale.

I think this level of concern is wayyyyy overblown. I'm all for formatting the hard drive, and then putting an OS on it to overwrite the data to make recovery incredibly difficult, but it sounds like some people have national secrets on their machines, to hear you talk about it.

If people put half the effort into securing their machines with the latest Windows Update, and if they bought a router/firewall to put between their machine and the public internet, it would be a lot safer. That being said, if someone wants to steal your data, there are vastly easier ways of doing it than eBay and old hard drives.
 
Originally posted by: BlackMagic
All I know is that an FDISK.exe program will completely erase your HDD of all those leftover Datas,
Click to expand...

No it doesn't. It does the same thing XP's format command does. If someone put enough effort into it, it's possible they can reconstruct data on the drive. Bear in mind that unless you've got national secrets on your computer, nobody's going to bother. It just isn't worth it. It's too much work.

I just don't know which one to get and from where to get it. My Harddrive is a Western Digital 120 GB Caviar Edition Hard Drive and my Windows is Windows XP Home Edition.
Click to expand...

We've answered this several times. Just boot from the XP CD, and go thru the options to format the drive prior to a reinstallation. Then reinstall.
 
Originally posted by: DrkCloud
I'm looking to sell my old computer and I'm trying to completely Format the Hard drive, I had Windows XP Home Edition installed and here the weird thing... I would constantly used Windows 98 and 95 Boot disks on it with an FDISK.exe on them and then I would run FDISK Delete the Partition, Create a New One, Then Format it and delete it once more, then Install a new Windows XP Installation on to it. However and here?s the weird thing, ever since I put my old computer into a new Case none of my 9 or so Boot disks work on my computer, I put it in and it just gives me a message saying I need to put in a proper Media Device, or it gives me a message saying I/O Error... Now I'm curious as to what could have happened I had at least one boot disk that has always worked for me, it was a Windows 98 Boot disk with FDISK.exe on it, but that one doesn't work anymore either. Should I get a special boot disk for Windows XP? And if so from where? Also does the Windows XP Format the hard drive automatically every time you delete the partition and install a new one from the Installation CD? Or do I require a Boot disk to completely clean my HDD from all the old files? I'd appreciate any help... Thanks
Click to expand...

The answer to this is FAT32 vs. NTFS. You originally had FAT32 on there (with Win98) which is why your boot disks could see the drive and work on it; with NTFS, that capability is gone, so you're getting the errors you report.
 
I don't understand why everyone is debating this with me... Honestly, you can say I'm paranoid or whatever, I frankly don't care I came to this forum to ask if someone could help me with using an FDisk or GDisk or anything else that could wipe my computer clean. It doesn't matter wether I have Top Secret military data on it or just a credit card number or two. I want everything gone, if I wanted a debate I would tell you, but I just wanted help... not criticism.
 
The link I gave you was wrong. Here is the link to a bootable .ISO image file from Maxtor. You have to run this in DOS I believe. I do understand your paranoia(sp). I returned a laptop last year and used the Maxtor software to write 0's and 1's on the drive before I reformatted and then reinstalled windows and returned the laptop.

See link below.
 
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