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Windows Forum / Windows XP / Hardware / April 2008formating hard drive
i have a Sony vaio with Windows xp home. . . the hard drive is divided into two drives. . ."C" and "D", , , drive "C" having "windows", "program files", etc, etc. . drive "D" is where i keep personal records, etc. . .can i format drive "D" without comprimizing drive "C" ?? If so can i just do it by the drop down window when clicking on properties for the drive??? thanks for any info yes > i have a Sony vaio with Windows xp home. . . the hard drive is divided > into two drives. . ."C" and "D", , , > drive "C" having "windows", "program files", etc, etc. . drive "D" is > where i keep personal records, etc. . .can i format drive "D" without > comprimizing drive "C" ?? If so can i just do it by the drop down window > when clicking on properties for the drive??? thanks for any info Yes you can, just keep in mind that formatting the D drive will result in the loss of any personal data files stored on D: So make a backup (to a DVD) of anything on D: you would like to keep. JS > i have a Sony vaio with Windows xp home. . . the hard drive is divided > into two drives. . ."C" and "D", , , > drive "C" having "windows", "program files", etc, etc. . drive "D" is > where i keep personal records, etc. . .can i format drive "D" without > comprimizing drive "C" ?? If so can i just do it by the drop down window > when clicking on properties for the drive??? thanks for any info Thak you JS. . . one other question. . does formating a drive wipe the drive "clean". .??? > Yes you can, just keep in mind that formatting the D drive will result in > the loss of any personal data files stored on D: [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >> comprimizing drive "C" ?? If so can i just do it by the drop down window >> when clicking on properties for the drive??? thanks for any info It does wipe the drive clean but ..... If you are concerned that someone may gain access to the data files, yes then can with special software. In which case you should run a special disk wipe software package (see below) after you format the drive. Eraser: http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/ Also see: http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Best/dod-erase-free.html Note: Use the DOD method (at least 7 passes) for 'Unused/Free' space, in your case the entire D: partition will be unused/free space. Make absolutely certain that you have selected the D: drive!!! JS > Thak you JS. . . one other question. . does formating a drive wipe the > drive "clean". .??? [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >>> comprimizing drive "C" ?? If so can i just do it by the drop down window >>> when clicking on properties for the drive??? thanks for any info While what others have said is generally correct (in that if the system is set up like you got it from Sony), you can safely delete anything on drive D, including formatting the drive. If you have changed any of the default file locations for your data (Documents & Settings, email storage location, or installed any of the programs to D, etc.) from the default as the computer was shipped, there may be issues when you format the D drive and destroy those logical connections with the operating system. > i have a Sony vaio with Windows xp home. . . the hard drive is divided > into two drives. . ."C" and "D", , , > drive "C" having "windows", "program files", etc, etc. . drive "D" is > where i keep personal records, etc. . .can i format drive "D" without > comprimizing drive "C" ?? If so can i just do it by the drop down window > when clicking on properties for the drive??? thanks for any info Thanks. . .glad i saw your message before i did anything. . .not sure if i've "moved" anything or not. . .what could happen if i have . . and formated the drive??? thanks again > While what others have said is generally correct (in that if the system is > set up like you got it from Sony), you can safely delete anything on drive [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >> comprimizing drive "C" ?? If so can i just do it by the drop down window >> when clicking on properties for the drive??? thanks for any info Sorry . . .forgot to ask this. . . how do i find if i'm running 32 or 64 bit version? (does that make any sense to you?). . you can see i'm no tech >>>thanks again. . . > While what others have said is generally correct (in that if the system is [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >> comprimizing drive "C" ?? If so can i just do it by the drop down window >> when clicking on properties for the drive??? thanks for any info The Sony Vaio that I have (2.4GHZ) came with XP Home on it. I am relatively sure that yours has the same since this is what you said in your OP. Home is 32 bit version of XP. If you have moved any of the default folder locations it could cause XP to not start or more probably the OS will recreate the folders but all the information that had been in them would be lost. If a user installed program happened to be installed on the D drive due to limited space on C the program would no longer run. IIRC the original setup on the physical 80 GB drive installed in my VAIO was a 20 GB C partition and 60 GB D partition. I changed the size of the partitions to allow more space on the C drive using Partition Magic to 30/50 GB respectively right after I got the machine. Good thing about this system was that it did come with a true XP OEM installation CD. > Sorry . . .forgot to ask this. . . how do i find if i'm running 32 or 64 > bit version? (does that make any sense to you?). . you can see i'm no tech [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >>> comprimizing drive "C" ?? If so can i just do it by the drop down window >>> when clicking on properties for the drive??? thanks for any info |
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