collins Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 I had wanted to reformat an hdd (slave) which was infested with a malware. However all attempts to get it reformated has failed, even when formatting process was executed using DOS. When I try formatting using right-click->format it will be going through the formatting process and when it seems like it is about to be completed I get the message "formatting of disk could not be completed". What should I do to reformat this disk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 I've had some disks like this. One of them was completely intractable and didn't respond to anything further that I tried. One or two of the others I managed to recover by doing a low level format and then formatting to a recognised file system (FAT or NTFS).Low level formatting is best done using the disk manufacturers own software which can be found on their website. Failing that, a Google search will bring up some independent programs to do it.The disk that didn't respond to a low level format was replaced under warranty by the manufacturer. Depending how old the drive is, you may be able to get it replaced. Check the serial number of the drive on the makers website and that will tell you: 1) if its possible and 2) the procedures for obtaining the replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Are you actually trying to format while Windows is running? Boot into the Windows install disk, and formatting should succeed. Make sure you format the existing partition, and not create a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collins Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Are you actually trying to format while Windows is running? Boot into the Windows install disk, and formatting should succeed. Make sure you format the existing partition, and not create a new one.This disk under discussion is not the system disk (ie C-drive) but the slave. Should I go through with this install disk stuff for this disk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 No; sorry, I misunderstood – follow -pops- advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collins Posted March 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 If you log on to windows then you can't format it, but if you want to format the complete hard drive then boot your computer with bootable cd and select the option of formating that should full format with NTFS format. If you go for full format then it will remove all the virus from your hard drive.How do I get a bootable disk? pls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collins Posted March 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 I've had some disks like this. One of them was completely intractable and didn't respond to anything further that I tried. One or two of the others I managed to recover by doing a low level format and then formatting to a recognised file system (FAT or NTFS).Low level formatting is best done using the disk manufacturers own software which can be found on their website. Failing that, a Google search will bring up some independent programs to do it.The disk that didn't respond to a low level format was replaced under warranty by the manufacturer. Depending how old the drive is, you may be able to get it replaced. Check the serial number of the drive on the makers website and that will tell you: 1) if its possible and 2) the procedures for obtaining the replacement.Hi Pops,My disk is a Maxtor 4K080H4 (80gb) disk. I went to the Maxtor site but was unable to get the low level formating software. How do I get the software for your recommended process? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 How do I get a bootable disk? plsYour Windows install disk is bootable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 Having just checked the (updated) Maxtor/Seagate site, it may be best for you in the first instance to download and try the Seatools software.http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collins Posted March 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 How do I get a bootable disk? plsYour Windows install disk is bootable.Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collins Posted March 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 I've had some disks like this. One of them was completely intractable and didn't respond to anything further that I tried. One or two of the others I managed to recover by doing a low level format and then formatting to a recognised file system (FAT or NTFS).Low level formatting is best done using the disk manufacturers own software which can be found on their website. Failing that, a Google search will bring up some independent programs to do it.The disk that didn't respond to a low level format was replaced under warranty by the manufacturer. Depending how old the drive is, you may be able to get it replaced. Check the serial number of the drive on the makers website and that will tell you: 1) if its possible and 2) the procedures for obtaining the replacement.Hi Pops,My disk is a Maxtor 4K080H4 (80gb) disk. I went to the Maxtor site but was unable to get the low level formating software. How do I get the software for your recommended process?I got a low level formatting software installed from HDDguru.com but I got the error message "seek error occurred at offset 2147483648". What do you advise I do again. Or is the hdd beyond repair or reformatting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seshomaru Samma Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 try gparted live cd and as a last resort - the nuke and boot CD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collins Posted March 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 I've had some disks like this. One of them was completely intractable and didn't respond to anything further that I tried. One or two of the others I managed to recover by doing a low level format and then formatting to a recognised file system (FAT or NTFS).Low level formatting is best done using the disk manufacturers own software which can be found on their website. Failing that, a Google search will bring up some independent programs to do it.The disk that didn't respond to a low level format was replaced under warranty by the manufacturer. Depending how old the drive is, you may be able to get it replaced. Check the serial number of the drive on the makers website and that will tell you: 1) if its possible and 2) the procedures for obtaining the replacement.Hi Pops,My disk is a Maxtor 4K080H4 (80gb) disk. I went to the Maxtor site but was unable to get the low level formating software. How do I get the software for your recommended process?Hi,I was able to do the low level formatting with the version 2.36 of the low level format from the hddguru.com site. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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