Starting again...(partitioning...)

Looks as if my best option is to start my software installation again
from scratch!!

Using Vista Ultimate 64, can anyone advise on how to delete everything
on my HDD...then install Vista...


--
MikeTAD

That is an intererting site you identified..
I'm wondering if it would be better to format the whole HDD and the
boot from the Vista Disk

--
MikeTAD

I'm getting myself into a real pickle here..
Currently trying to get Vista to do what I want...i.e. Give me
partitions of a size that I want...so far no joy..

--
MikeTAD

Thanks John,

I'm getting there...deleted all the partitions except an extended one
(did not have that option...was greyed out). Currently Vista is
installing on on a 760GB Drive (of 1TB)....I will have to sort out this
stupid extension partition...


--
MikeTAD

Aha..
Now got my OS installed onto a 1TB HDD. Back to square one really a
this is where I began...However I am now going to try GParted to divid
the HDD into a total of 4 partitions, each of a size that I want them t
be..
I'm learning a lot about Vista and partitions that's for sure..

--
MikeTAD

OK.
Using GParted I have produced 4 partitions:
Drive 0 is at 149GB and will only hold the Vista OS.
Drive 1 is at 148Gb and will hold 'Utility' software.
Drive 2 is at 327GB and will hold Programs and associated data.
Drive 3 is at 306GB and will hold Flight Simulation programs and
associated data.
Currently GParted is grinding through setting this up and formatting to
NTFS (I know...I know...could not see a way around it with GParted...).
Thank you for the input...much appreciated...


--
MikeTAD

Download some HDD utilities - major HDD manufacturers have such tools on
their websites. Then, if you are sure you do not need the hidden partition,
zero out (write 0's) on the entire HDD... will take a few good hours on a
1TB HDD - leave it overnight, maybe. Now, you have a pristine HDD (no
worries about junk, malware etc.

Plan your number and size of partitions (ex, 1.Vista, 2.Media, 3.Work,
4.PCTools/Backups, 5.Games etc) such that you do not have to defrag, virus
scan, backup etc partitions where you do not change files to often. Ex. it's
a waste of time to virus scan 400GB of movies or songs every day/week.

Leave 100 GB for Vista... it takes some 20GB alone + programs + page file, +
20% free for defrag; later, you can reduce ("shrink") the size from Vista
HDD manager.

Michael


"MikeTAD" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> Thanks John,
>
> I'm getting there...deleted all the partitions except an extended one
> (did not have that option...was greyed out). Currently Vista is
> installing on on a 760GB Drive (of 1TB)....I will have to sort out this
> stupid extension partition...
>
>
> --
> MikeTAD

I'll quote from some abstract: "Disk drive capabilities and processing power
are steadily increasing, and this power gives... the possibility of using
disks as data processing devices rather than merely for data transfers."
Michael

"John Whitworth" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> "Phillips" <> wrote in message
> news:0AD62382-4B12-4DC9-A2B0-...
>> Download some HDD utilities - major HDD manufacturers have such tools on
>> their websites. Then, if you are sure you do not need the hidden
>> partition, zero out (write 0's) on the entire HDD... will take a few good
>> hours on a 1TB HDD - leave it overnight, maybe. Now, you have a pristine
>> HDD (no worries about junk, malware etc.
>
> Absolutely no point doing this whatsoever. How exactly is some old malware
> (that still exists but has no pointers to it on the disk directory) going
> to become active? It's just a collection of unloved and unused bits and
> bytes. If your OS suddenly looks somewhere it's not supposed to on your
> hard disk, then you have bigger problems than malware!
>
> As I said before, the only reason to worry about old inaccessible data is
> if you think police forensics are going to crawl all over your drive. Or
> if you are disposing of a PC, and have confidential data on it.
>
> JW

and more: "... erasing past history is simply a matter of writing zeros over
the entire disk before installing the operating system from installation
media. After that, no remote intruder is going to be able to see files from
a previous life of the machine. Overwriting with zeros also has the benefit
that disk image copies compress better, and that deleted files are easier to
find."
From: http://www.porcupine.org/forensics/f.../chapter4.html

Of course, the "past history" remains available for those who get the actual
HDD; only physical destruction of the HDD would make that data
unrecoverable... of course, other machines on the network will still
preserve some of your "history."

Michael


"Phillips" <> wrote in message
news:94552096-D17F-4FF5-A389-...
> I'll quote from some abstract: "Disk drive capabilities and processing
> power are steadily increasing, and this power gives... the possibility of
> using disks as data processing devices rather than merely for data
> transfers."
> Michael
>
> "John Whitworth" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>>
>> "Phillips" <> wrote in message
>> news:0AD62382-4B12-4DC9-A2B0-...
>>> Download some HDD utilities - major HDD manufacturers have such tools on
>>> their websites. Then, if you are sure you do not need the hidden
>>> partition, zero out (write 0's) on the entire HDD... will take a few
>>> good hours on a 1TB HDD - leave it overnight, maybe. Now, you have a
>>> pristine HDD (no worries about junk, malware etc.
>>
>> Absolutely no point doing this whatsoever. How exactly is some old
>> malware (that still exists but has no pointers to it on the disk
>> directory) going to become active? It's just a collection of unloved and
>> unused bits and bytes. If your OS suddenly looks somewhere it's not
>> supposed to on your hard disk, then you have bigger problems than
>> malware!
>>
>> As I said before, the only reason to worry about old inaccessible data is
>> if you think police forensics are going to crawl all over your drive. Or
>> if you are disposing of a PC, and have confidential data on it.
>>
>> JW
>

I will quote myself "Now, you have a pristine HDD (no worries about junk,
malware etc[)].

The point was that zeroing out would eliminate a source of incertitude ("no
worries" is the benefit), say "maybe there's crap in a hidden partition
whatever" when something goes wrong. And since the issue was partitioning
and clean install, why not zero out while at it given some advantages that I
already mentioned.
Michael




"John Whitworth" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> "Phillips" <> wrote in message
> news:94552096-D17F-4FF5-A389-...
>> I'll quote from some abstract: "Disk drive capabilities and processing
>> power are steadily increasing, and this power gives... the possibility of
>> using disks as data processing devices rather than merely for data
>> transfers."
>> Michael
>
> OK...I'll wipe my entire hard drive now. Thanks for the tip off.
>
> Seriously...do you really think this is applicable in the OP's case? The
> last time I started a low-level format using Seagate's tools on just a
> 300GB drive, it took absolutely AGES.
>
> And back to your response...what is that supposed to mean?