hard drive factory settings

artyboy · #1 02-21-2003, 12:23 PM

I bought a pc which had xp home pre-installed. I now have xp pro but I would like to get the hard drive back to factory settings because when I formatted the drive it still had files from the home edition installation which it seems can not be erased. I am told that if I go to the web site of the manufacturer of the hard drive, there is software which I can d/l which will put it back to factory settings. In device manager it says 'standard hard drives' as the manufacturer. Is this correct? my hard drive is:- WDCWD800BB-32CCB0 Also what exactly is the software called that I need and also will it effect the bios? I am a bit of a novice so a detailed explanation would be very helpful.
Thankyou very much.....

beeboy · #2 02-21-2003, 12:42 PM

All the hard drive manufacturers offer such software. Yours being a Western Digital drive is here http://support.wdc.com/dlg/facts.asp
You would simply download the tool to a floppy - reboot from the floppy and run the format tool. I would not make any changes in bios(it should already be set to boot from floppy first). Hope this helps.

artyboy · #3 02-22-2003, 02:06 AM

Thanks beeboy, you have been a great help. I am d/l the utility now from western digital. I will try this in a couple of week after I have saved my important files to cd.. I believe I have to do a low level format after booting from floppy..... hope it works ok
One more thing, I have partitioned my drive into 3. will the utility change my hard drive back to 1 drive? that is what I would like it to do.....

artyboy · #4 02-22-2003, 01:06 PM

message

beeboy · #5 02-22-2003, 02:32 PM

Sorry for the delay. I had to dig out the WD documentation - its been a while since I used it. I have the older version Data Lifeguard and it does recognize all drives and will partition and format. The newer version (10) should do the same and support NTFS. Hopefully they include a readme in the download to guide you. If not let me know and I will email you what I got with a new hard drive. Hope this helps.

artyboy · #6 02-23-2003, 01:27 AM

Thanks for your help, it is very kind of you.
The download was dlginstall_10_0.exe with no help file. I have lots of data files to save to cd's so it will be a while before I use the program. I just hope that it will get rid of the old installation files from Tiny computers which seem to be permanenetly fixed to my drive...

onesickpuppy · #7 02-23-2003, 07:44 AM

The reason your getting "prior" XP files is because of the master boot record still being intact.

When you get ready to do your install, follow these guidelines:

First type "fdisk/mbr" . This will wipe the master boot record clean.

Then type "fdisk" and delete your partitions. Remmember to delete your extended ones first, and then your primary last.

Recreate your partion as one large one (since you said you only wanted one now) and select NTFS as the format.

Install XP Pro

This will give you a solid pure install and no problems from prior installs.

There is no need for "factory software" as a boot disk from Windows will work (you can make one prior to starting), or use their utilities disk.

artyboy · #8 02-24-2003, 01:06 PM

I used the small utility from western digital and wrote '0's to all my hard drive. I installed win98se for use of my older programs then installed xp pro which gave me the duel boot system. Both platforms now work without a hitch at all, so thanks Beeboy for your advice, I don't think I would have risked it without your help.

beeboy · #9 02-24-2003, 01:09 PM

Right on! Good going.