Completely clear and reset harddisk??

[dan03]

I've been having a lot of issues with my hard disk and I want to try resetting it back to the way it was when it was new out of the factory. As in remove all partitions, all data, any errors that might be on there and anything else I can do to remove any trace of anything that could cause any problems in the future so I can reinstall everything from scratch.

What is the best way to do this?

Btw the computer is a netbook which came without any OS so no boot partitions or anything I care about loosing (that I know of).

 

[jmacavali]

Well, installing the OS fresh (assuming you aren't looking to really "wipe" the hard drive) will allow you to format the drive and that should take care of 99% of the issues.

You can always run something like diskwipe.exe or DBAN (Derek's Boot and Nuke) and that will wipe the drive too.

 

[dan03]

Well I tried reinstalling windows many times but I noticed there are about 5 or 6 partitions, half of which I don't even know what they are! I thought if I "wipe" the whole thing clean, and reinstall the OS then there can not be any software related problems.

 

[OS-Wiz]

DISKPART, a MS Utility for handling your issue(s). e.g. deleting partitions and wiping the drive.

 

[dan03]

Diskpart is a windows software right? How do I use that to completely wipe my harddisk? Sorry, I would google it but I have no idea what to search for.

 

[OS-Wiz]

Find diskpart commands here: DiskPart
Note: 'clean all' to wipe the drive and 'delete' to delete partitions.
Examples for each as you scroll down.
To raise a CMD window: left click start > type CMD in search box > right click CMD and left click 'run as administrator'.

 

[iPwn]

Well, installing the OS fresh (assuming you aren't looking to really "wipe" the hard drive) will allow you to format the drive and that should take care of 99% of the issues.

You would think so... and it should be that way...

When formatting during Windows Install, the only thing done is File Allocation Tables are removed. Scumbag Windows then goes searching the drive for kernel files, not using a FAT dir, but reading contents. Corrupt Windows installations are never fixed until...

You [...] run something like [...] DBAN

'DoD 5220.22-M Short' works just fine for this purpose.