GBGhostwriter
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Partitioning a hard drive after a low-level format
I had to low-level format a SATA drive. I now have to partition the drive. I would like to partition the drive using an external USB hard drive. What program can I use?
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(Technically you did not low-level format a SATA drive, there is no such command in the ATA instruction set. The SCSI instruction set has such a command, but SATA does not. The purpose of the media init (the actual command) is to not only do media test, but to set the record layout and format for the known defect tables, and potentially rebuild them. SATA only has one layout, and you can not programmatically manipulate this information via the ATA/SATA spec.
This "low level format" is rather wasteful. If a block is bad, writing to it with data will remap it. If it is unreadable, then no issue, because your O/S won't read a block that it didn't already write to.
Only reason to do this at all is to clear out partitioning info, and that will get blown away after just one second or so.
If your intent is to do a diagnostic, then this is bad way to do it, because it is not a read test, nor is it a self-test. If you want to blow data away because it is sensitive and you are getting rid of the disk, do it properly with a secure erase program.
Sorry for getting on a soapbox. Just that this question hasn't come up for a while, and so I figure it is good for the KB.
This "low level format" is rather wasteful. If a block is bad, writing to it with data will remap it. If it is unreadable, then no issue, because your O/S won't read a block that it didn't already write to.
Only reason to do this at all is to clear out partitioning info, and that will get blown away after just one second or so.
If your intent is to do a diagnostic, then this is bad way to do it, because it is not a read test, nor is it a self-test. If you want to blow data away because it is sensitive and you are getting rid of the disk, do it properly with a secure erase program.
Sorry for getting on a soapbox. Just that this question hasn't come up for a while, and so I figure it is good for the KB.
Just stick it in the external enclosure and boot. This will work IF:
1) The O/S & hardware can boot from USB device (I,e. win7 can, WinXP SP1 or below can not). New PCs support booting from USB device, old ones dont.
2) make 100% sure you don't have a RAID controller involved in any way.
1) The O/S & hardware can boot from USB device (I,e. win7 can, WinXP SP1 or below can not). New PCs support booting from USB device, old ones dont.
2) make 100% sure you don't have a RAID controller involved in any way.
ASKER
All I have at the moment is a flashing cursor.
Sorry, I thought you wanted to boot the computer by putting the HDD inside of an external USB. Are you saying you want to run some partitioning software to do a live repartitioning of C? If so , there are products out there depending on the O/S, some free, others cost.
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As long as I can boot from the external drive, let's start with the free ones and work our way up.
ASKER
I can't get to a run menu. All I have is a flashing cursor.
flashing cursor means DOS? like c:\-
ASKER
Just _
few question.
did you mange to boot from USB? or your system is booting from your internet drive?
do you have access to any other pc. windows? xp or 7?
did you mange to boot from USB? or your system is booting from your internet drive?
do you have access to any other pc. windows? xp or 7?
So you aren't booted to an operating system?
Silly question, are you aware when you "formatted" the disk, you blew away everything? YOu have to reinstall the O/S. Better get a working CDROM, you'll need to do it from that.
Silly question, are you aware when you "formatted" the disk, you blew away everything? YOu have to reinstall the O/S. Better get a working CDROM, you'll need to do it from that.
ASKER
Is there free partition software that I can run off of an external USB hard drive?
Not that I am aware of (well, not one that will repartition windows. You can do this all day long with bootable LINUX USB sticks, they will let you repartition disks, but they can't write NTFS, so it won't work for you with windows formatting)
What do you intend to do with the drive after you partition it? I'm going to presume that you'll be installing some OS. I would expect that the OS installation CD will allow partitioning.
i would just replace the cd drive with a working one- 30$ and no more trouble..
Download trial version from here and install it: http://www.paragon-software.com/home/brh/
Run it - select full scale launcher - Tools - Recovery Media Builder.
Create bootable UB flash drive.
Boot the machine from it and format your drive as you want.
Run it - select full scale launcher - Tools - Recovery Media Builder.
Create bootable UB flash drive.
Boot the machine from it and format your drive as you want.
Could try getting PartedMagic onto the external drive
Go back to what @dlethe wrote in third comment 01/25/11 02:39 PM, ID: 34697187, because booting from external hard drive may not be possible, and your getting stuck at a fashing cursor certainly suggests that is the case here
See older systems knew how to boot from a usb if it appeared to be a floppy drive, then some later BIOSes could boot from a USB drive if it was a CD. This is the problem faced when trying to make USB flash sticks that can boot, if the hardware system is older they have to do a trick to make the stick look like it is a floppy with a floppy filesystem on it, which has a limit on it's size, or for some pretend to be a CD worked. That's why many external hard drives used to come with two partitions on them, first a small one about the size of a CD with a CDFS on it so it "looked" to the BIOS as if it was a CD, and then that would bootstrap what was necessary. Only the newer BIOSes can actually boot from large USB devices.
You might be better to replace the broken CD-RW drive, unless it's a laptop which gets expensive/tricky. Could try ensuring you have the latest BIOS too.
Go back to what @dlethe wrote in third comment 01/25/11 02:39 PM, ID: 34697187, because booting from external hard drive may not be possible, and your getting stuck at a fashing cursor certainly suggests that is the case here
See older systems knew how to boot from a usb if it appeared to be a floppy drive, then some later BIOSes could boot from a USB drive if it was a CD. This is the problem faced when trying to make USB flash sticks that can boot, if the hardware system is older they have to do a trick to make the stick look like it is a floppy with a floppy filesystem on it, which has a limit on it's size, or for some pretend to be a CD worked. That's why many external hard drives used to come with two partitions on them, first a small one about the size of a CD with a CDFS on it so it "looked" to the BIOS as if it was a CD, and then that would bootstrap what was necessary. Only the newer BIOSes can actually boot from large USB devices.
You might be better to replace the broken CD-RW drive, unless it's a laptop which gets expensive/tricky. Could try ensuring you have the latest BIOS too.
Ok, so noxcho, a few, answered a 500pt (not 50pt) question of "what program" can you partition drive from external.
You're now faced with another 500pt question which is: how are you going to install an OS without a drive you can boot off of?
Open that question and we'll endeavour to answer
You're now faced with another 500pt question which is: how are you going to install an OS without a drive you can boot off of?
Open that question and we'll endeavour to answer
a new cd drive would be easier - and faster..
much, much faster. Also you can probably cannibalize another PC to get one rather quickly.
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The original question was asked and answered, 'What program to use (to format a drive)' in #34697132 followed by another suggestion in #34697270
Points should have been awarded then. The rest involves loading an O/S and troubleshooting. Those are different questions.
Points should have been awarded then. The rest involves loading an O/S and troubleshooting. Those are different questions.
i thought my suggestion was staright forward - if not the best, since the computer does not boot
The question was about what program to use to partition the drive. #34697132 answered it directly. This is a common problem here where the question stated is not the real question that the author wants answered.
that seems to support my suggestion about a new cd drive - right?
very strange - i don' tunderstand that choice..
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