OS Partition Question

Dingos_Kidneys

Hey Gang.
So I got a new MoBo/ CPU installed And Windows is running OK (thanks to Prof ) but the C Drive has a bunch of crap on it from the previous owner, so I am going to partition/wipe it and and re-install a clean XP, I have all the stuff I want to keep backed up or moved to my slave HD, so my question is, when I use PM 7 to make a primary partition for XP (for when I re-install it), will it/ can I completely wipe that drive with PM 7 and if so how?
Thanks
DK
PS sorry, I still have a bit of geek training to go through, but its always good to learn something new

Junner2003

I installed a 64 bit Linux distribution on my COMPAQ PRESARIO V2000. Since then I have a problem: When ever I try to install Windows XP (32 bit) or a 32 bit Linux distribution, I get a message on my screen, what says, that I try to install a 32 bit software on a 64 bit system. It still installs, but my machine is very slow since then ...

Formated the hard drive several times already with FAT 32 and even NTFS - no changes!

Anybody an idea, how to get my "system back" to 32 bit?

fatcat

when you install winXP, you can create a partition for c: without using PM7, just specify the size you want c: to be when you format. deciding what size c: will be depends on the size of ur hdd and if you are going to install all programs etc on different partition.

for example my setup...
40gb hdd> 6gb C: / 34gb files
200gb hdd> 2gb pagefile / 150gb programs / 48gb downloads

Dingos_Kidneys

hey fats, how about wiping that drive, will PM 7 do that? I was snooping around and I didn't see it mentioned in any options . I could be extremely blind, but I don't think I saw it.

profdlp

If you delete the partition using PM7 it accomplishes the same thing. Make sure the drive isn't set to "Read Only" first - and be very sure you've got the right partition. The only significant difference would be if you had sensitive data that you wanted to be sure was completely unrecoverable, but most people don't have that type of problem. Then just create a new partition in the blank space and go to town.

Flintstone

There is really no reason to use PM7 when setting up a fresh install. Just use the setup routine in the std XP install, as Fatcat6 said, and specify the partition size for "C", format NTFS, and install. Once you're done, inside disk management, you can specify the sizes of any additional partitions, format them, and then start using them. PM7 would only be useful for resizing partitions AFTER the install is complete and the whole drive is partioned and formatted.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it!!

Flint

fatcat

Flintstone wrote:

There is really no reason to use PM7 when setting up a fresh install. Just use the setup routine in the std XP install, as Fatcat6 said, and specify the partition size for "C", format NTFS, and install. Once you're done, inside disk management, you can specify the sizes of any additional partitions, format them, and then start using them. PM7 would only be useful for resizing partitions AFTER the install is complete and the whole drive is partioned and formatted.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it!!

Flint

i like that opinion also...

Dingos_Kidneys

So I checked the properties of the HDD and I don't see anything saying it is read only...
If I run the windows XP cd , doing a clean install, it will wipe the drive? Even if I am using a 64 bit CPU?

Flintstone

When you use the XP CD to do a fresh install, IF it sees any partitions on the drive it will show them. At that point, tell it to delete the partitions, ALL OF THEM, and start fresh. You'll then have to create a new partition to install to, format it, and then proceed with the install. You can make the partition any size you want as long as it's big enough for what you intend to put on it. Don't worry about the left over space on the drive as you can partition it, as I said earlier, through disk management inside of XP after the install.

The fact that you are using a 64 bit CPU has no bearing on how XP will install (assuming it's either an AMD 64 bit cpu or an Intel 64 bit desktop processor) except that you have the choice of 32 bit or 64 bit XP operating systems (forgive me Linux guys!). Having not used the 64 bit version of XP as a lot of the programs I use aren't ported to it yet, I can't advise you on any specific pitfalls you may encounter with that OS.

Good Luck,

Flint

Dingos_Kidneys

I'd use Linux, but most of my games say they require a Windows based OS...NE way, so when I erase the partitions, it will erase the content between/ behind them?

Flintstone

You're not "erasing" the old partitions. You're writting new partition information over the top of them. This, in effect, eliminates them. When you eliminate the old partition information on the drive, it will be invisible to the new install as you'll overwrite them with new info for your new partitions.

Should you want to physically erase the old data completely, get a data shredder program that writes and rewrites 0s & 1s over and over all over the drive thereby making previous data unrecoverable. HOWEVER, this is totally a waste of time as it isn't a needed step unless you are paranoid about something.

So to recap, when you delete the existing partitions, all your data will, for all intents and purposes, be gone. Your new install will overwrite the old one and you can get on with your life. In the install process, doing a full format in NTFS of the partition into which you'll be installing XP will give you a clean start, if that's what you're concerned about.

Good Luck,

Flint