Can't format drives...

Hi there,

I have a bunch of old HDD that I'm looking to format and set up as slave
drives. I have no idea how big they are or what is on the (in terms of an
O/S) at this point. However, none of them seem to want to let me format
them. I have a couple of different errors that show up... The main ones are
"No Operating System", which can be worked around with a boot disk... The
other ones that I get are just something along the lines of 'improper version
of DOS' or 'Bad command'. I've tried just about every syntax that I can find
and none of them seem to work. Any thoughts? I just want to wipe these
clean and start again...

Thanks.

Go into the BIOS setup and make sure the boot sequence is set to
"A:, C:". Be sure to save any changes when exiting. If this doesn't
help, try making a new boot floppy.

http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm

Ben

"Inquisitor" wrote in message =
...
Hi there,
=20
I have a bunch of old HDD that I'm looking to format and set up as =
slave=20
drives. I have no idea how big they are or what is on the (in terms =
of an=20
O/S) at this point. However, none of them seem to want to let me =
format=20
them. I have a couple of different errors that show up... The main =
ones are=20
"No Operating System", which can be worked around with a boot disk... =
The=20
other ones that I get are just something along the lines of 'improper =
version=20
of DOS' or 'Bad command'. I've tried just about every syntax that I =
can find=20
and none of them seem to work. Any thoughts? I just want to wipe =
these=20
clean and start again...
=20
Thanks.

Before trying to format the drives, you should partition them. Use FDISK to
remove the existing partitioning, create new partitions, then format.

If you can't remove the existing partitioning, then you may need to use WIPE
or ZAP to clear the drives. See:
http://www.digitalissues.co.uk/html/...-wipe-zap.html

All this is most easily and safely done from a boot to floppy with the new
drives as the only installed drive.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Inquisitor" wrote in message
...
Hi there,

I have a bunch of old HDD that I'm looking to format and set up as slave
drives. I have no idea how big they are or what is on the (in terms of an
O/S) at this point. However, none of them seem to want to let me format
them. I have a couple of different errors that show up... The main ones
are
"No Operating System", which can be worked around with a boot disk... The
other ones that I get are just something along the lines of 'improper
version
of DOS' or 'Bad command'. I've tried just about every syntax that I can
find
and none of them seem to work. Any thoughts? I just want to wipe these
clean and start again...

Thanks.