How to COMPLETE wipe out NTFS?????

I have a corrupted, mangled, destroyed XP home edition on a 6gb hard drive and need to complete the task of nuking NTFS so that I can fresh-load Win ME. I read the various articles about mangled NTFS, directing one to load the XP recovery console [Executive] from CD but that fails [I have tried it many times already]. Always gives errors for one file or another.... duhhh.. the hard drive was reformatted/fdisked without proper removal of ntfs.

is there a disk utility from Norton or anywhere that can simply NUKE all bits so I can start from scratch?

thanks xperts!
zapp

 

Got it.
Call off the troops, guys.

For anyone term-searching, here is how it happened:
downloaded the utility delpart.exe
Ran that utility to delete the last failed partition
Rebooted, and instead of trying WinME [which had failed to create partitions on other attempts], I installed Win98 CD, it correctly recognized that no partitions were present, set a bit, asked for a reboot, when it came back up it confirmed we wanted to create a large partition, did so, and then I went back to the WinME CD on a reboot. All is well.

z

 

>> Got it. Call off the troops, guys. For anyone term-searching, here is how it happened: downloaded the utility delpart.exe. << zapp

Great News! That is a terrific tool - one of the few things Microsoft got right!

The Delpart.exe tool is used to delete NTFS partitions that defy FDISK. It is mentioned in several Knowledge Base articles, and is really the only tool Microsoft has ever released that will effectively delete an NTFS partition.

For anyone reading this who wants to learn more about how to use actually it; I'd suggest Googling the search term: DELpart.exe in order to find out how it works. There are many webpages devoted to provide the ‘step-by-step’ of the process of using delpart.exe, some with pictures and all!

Note: This tool is pretty safe to use; however you should keep in mind and be aware that delpart.exe is the proverbial and literal blunt instrument. Delpart.exe sole purpose in life is to wipe out ALL partitions - especially NTFS ones. FDISK has trouble wiping out NTFS ones. So if you consider using it make sure that you investigate how it actually works before trying it out.

Another program that works pretty well and is a pretty good is called 'Free FDisk'. It's available at "Free FDisk: The official FDISK of FreeDOS" webpage. However "Free FDisk" can be a little trickier to use than delpart.exe and FreeFDisk only supports hard disks up to 128GB in size.

Good Luck!

 

DELpart.exe sounds like it will come in hangy to have laying around. Thanks for the heads up.

 

>> DELpart.exe sounds like it will come in hangy to have laying around. Thanks for the heads up. << Hipster Doofus

Oh yeah, definately Hipster.

I keep a copy of the actual .exe file as well as instructions on how to use it in a folder on all of my computers at home and at work. That way, if I need it I don't have to go hunting for it!

The DELpart.exe tool actually comes with the "Microsoft Windows NT 3.1 Resource Kit." You can get from Microsoft; that is, if you don’t mind spending forever using Microsoft’s useless search technology trying to locate the Windows NT 3.1 Resource Kit (which is over 4 MB for the whole package).

Or, just go to this site: Delpart Partitioning Tool which is run by Russell Smith a.k.a. "The Delpart Man" and download the very tiny delpart.exe file (which is only a little over 120 KB) as it is the only tool you actually need for this task.

Note: Additionally, this site: All about DELpart.exe - Using the MS DELPART.exe Utility gives excellent 'step-by-step' instructions (including pics!) on how to use the tool. The only problem is that "All about DELpart.exe" webpage is a geocities site and is often down due to the limited bandwidth; so you may have to try it a few times before you actually reach it. When you do finally reach it, just copy the entire page or save the webpage to your computer.

Good Luck!