Rage against the Machine

Newser · 11-22-2004, 10:39 PM

Is there a nice easy way to format my hard drives and kill NT without needing, like, setup disks/CDs?

I'm auditing a storeroom full of obsolete machines that have none of their old config disks or anything, and .. well, I'm used to pressing F8 or F11, and going into a command prompt instead of windows, and just saying "format", but, I dunno, NT tends to make it nice and tricky for you to get to any command prompt but theirs, or maybe all these computers just don't .. have .. dos .. ???

... its a learning curve, I suppose.

appreciate your advice,
The Newbie User

I guess the other idea I had was to make, like, a boot disk that would format the computer on startup, before windows loaded, but to be honest, I haven't done too well at that, either.
Any ideas?

CTSNKY · 11-23-2004, 05:33 AM

Making a boot disk is simple and probably best for your situation.

Go here for a wide selection of free boot programs:

http://www.bootdisk.com

You may have to copy commands you'll need to the floppy after creation (like format, edit, fdisk, etc.).

rasputinj · 11-23-2004, 11:20 AM

why don't you use disk management in Windows? Or are you trying to do it quickly? If you are trying to do it quickly then a boot disk might be the best way to go. But the quick format for NTFS is much faster. I would also use a program to zero out the Hard drive also, use the diagnostic software from each drive to make sure the drives are ok also.

**johnwill** · 11-23-2004, 07:10 PM

Pick up Wipeout from here, put it on an MS-DOS boot floppy, boot and run.

11-22-2004, 10:39 PM	#1 (permalink)
Newser Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 8 OS: win2000	Rage against the Machine Is there a nice easy way to format my hard drives and kill NT without needing, like, setup disks/CDs? I'm auditing a storeroom full of obsolete machines that have none of their old config disks or anything, and .. well, I'm used to pressing F8 or F11, and going into a command prompt instead of windows, and just saying "format", but, I dunno, NT tends to make it nice and tricky for you to get to any command prompt but theirs, or maybe all these computers just don't .. have .. dos .. ??? ... its a learning curve, I suppose. appreciate your advice, The Newbie User I guess the other idea I had was to make, like, a boot disk that would format the computer on startup, before windows loaded, but to be honest, I haven't done too well at that, either. Any ideas?

11-23-2004, 05:33 AM	#2 (permalink)
CTSNKY Knower of all that is MS Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 10,755 OS: (multiple machines) 95, 98, 2K & XP Home & Pro	Making a boot disk is simple and probably best for your situation. Go here for a wide selection of free boot programs: http://www.bootdisk.com You may have to copy commands you'll need to the floppy after creation (like format, edit, fdisk, etc.). __________________ GO BIG BLUE!!

11-23-2004, 11:20 AM	#3 (permalink)
rasputinj Registered User Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 19 OS: XP Pro, Linux, 2000, 2003	why don't you use disk management in Windows? Or are you trying to do it quickly? If you are trying to do it quickly then a boot disk might be the best way to go. But the quick format for NTFS is much faster. I would also use a program to zero out the Hard drive also, use the diagnostic software from each drive to make sure the drives are ok also. __________________ Rasputinj Your Deal and Coupon code Svengali

11-23-2004, 07:10 PM	#4 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,748 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Pick up Wipeout from here, put it on an MS-DOS boot floppy, boot and run. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience