Low level formatting for failing Linux

Hi:
I have a machine with Ubuntu and Windows XP. I have a list of Os´s to choose from at the start. Ubuntu failed and I lost 50 Gigs of usable space. I am a researcher that enjoys the power of Linux at work (clusters, grid, etc) but I am not CS trained. Now I am doing work abroad and have no technical help.
I need windows on this machine and I would like to reformat the entire HD. But Partition Magic gets stuck. It seems to me that Linux places the OS selector before windows so I am wondering how do I reformat the entire hard drive to reinstall XP.
Any help on this matter will be apreciated

 

:wave Welcome to Major Geeks! :major

From what I can tell, you just want to completely wipe the drive of every last bit of info. I'd recommend using either Darik's Boot-n-Nuke or Active Killdisk. Both programs are free, and both will create a boot disk that completely wipes the hard drive down to the last bit. Naturally, you'll ned to create the boot floppy (or CD) on a functional PC, then boot to it on the PC you want cleaned. Just be sure that you have NOTHING on the hard drive you want to save. Even if the drive has two (or more) partitions... these programs COMPLETELY wipe out the ENTIRE drive and ALL DATA WILL BE ERASED FOREVER.

You can also download a partitioning/formatting tool from the drive manufacturer's web site (for free) that should do the job just fine. Most the major hard drive makers have these tools on there support pages....

Good luck! I hope this helps!
:-D

[dlb]

 

Since you know Linux, I would also suggest that you use a Linux Live CD and use GParted for partitioning work rather than Partition Magic.

Puppy Linux live cd is a small download (95Mb) and will boot into ram only.

Good Luck

 

Linux is not the cause of your data loss , A failed Hard drive is. Run the manufacturers hard drive diagnostic which can be downloaded for free and I bet it returns with a failure diagnostic code.



Otherwise , you would be the first person in history to loose data while using the EXT3 file system which just so happens to be known for it's bullet proof data retention.

Cheers.