usb bootable format tool

djshauny1 · 6 Mar 2012 at 13:12

hi guys i need to do a fresh instal of win 7 on one on my machines

i used to use a xp disc to format it as win 7 doesnt have the feature for a full format

i was wondering if theres any decent software that i can put on a usb stick so that i can format the hdd

thanks in advance

arctine · 6 Mar 2012 at 13:14

The Windows 7 disc does have full format function though?

Cosimo · 6 Mar 2012 at 13:17

For an ISO:

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/html/pbPage.Help_Win7_usbdvd_dwnTool

RomanNose · 6 Mar 2012 at 13:20

Unetbootin.

Cosimo · 6 Mar 2012 at 13:20

You should be asking in here:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=9

djshauny1 · 6 Mar 2012 at 13:34

Guys im wanting something just so i can format my hardrive

d_brennen · 6 Mar 2012 at 13:38

Why is the 7 format not good enough for you?

iKettles · 6 Mar 2012 at 13:39

Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Computer Management - Disk Management...
Simples

djshauny1 · 6 Mar 2012 at 13:41

d_brennen said:
Why is the 7 format not good enough for you?

because i dont want to use the fast format feature mate

djshauny1 · 6 Mar 2012 at 13:42

It has to be bootable guys

anything that i can use?

Smoking Man · 6 Mar 2012 at 13:42

IIRC, the only difference between a full format and a quick one is that is does a scandisk.

Sin_Chase · 6 Mar 2012 at 13:42

djshauny1 said:
i used to use a xp disc to format it as win 7 doesnt have the feature for a full format

'Full Format' ?

As in Not-Quick?

No idea why you want to do this but eitherway use SARDU with an XP ISO or a bootable environment.

labcoattech · 6 Mar 2012 at 13:45

http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=203931

d_brennen · 6 Mar 2012 at 13:47

There's no reason to full format for installing 7. But if you must you may as well go the whole hog an use Dan's Boot and Nuke (DBAN) from CD and do a full 0 write. Allow a few hours though

Sin_Chase · 6 Mar 2012 at 13:52

Smoking Man said:
IIRC, the only difference between a full format and a quick one is that is does a scandisk.

Windows XP and earlier this is correct.

From Vista onwards it's not just bad sector scanning.

In Vista/Windows 7 onwards:

Quick Format marks the space as usable only.

Full Format will do a low level format and write 0s to the entire disk.

If the low level format is what the OP wants then he needs to use a 3rd party tool or Vista onwards setup tools. XP will not do a low level format whether Quick or Full is selected.

lcg · 6 Mar 2012 at 13:52

djshauny1 said:
i used to use a xp disc to format it as win 7 doesnt have the feature for a full format

Yes it does. If you want to do a regular format, open Command Prompt and type 'format c:', assuming C is the drive you want to format. The only difference between a regular format and a quick format is that a regular format scans the drive for bad sectors.

If you want to securely format your hard drive then use DBAN. Windows XP's install disc doesn't format securely though, so I don't think this is what you want. You can install DBAN to a USB drive by following this guide.

Sin_Chase · 6 Mar 2012 at 13:55

lcg said:
Yes it does. If you want to do a regular format, open Command Prompt and type 'format c:', assuming C is the drive you want to format. The only difference between a regular format and a quick format is that a regular format scans the drive for bad sectors.

See above.

And from the horses mouth:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/941961/en-us

djshauny1 · 6 Mar 2012 at 14:00

Ok thanks guys

lcg · 6 Mar 2012 at 14:02

Sin_Chase said:
See above.

And from the horses mouth:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/941961/en-us

Oh, I see. Thanks.

bledd · 6 Mar 2012 at 15:00

Parted Magic is the best multi-tool disc for the job. It has gparted as part of it, amongst a whole load of other tools.

However, I'd just do the quick format that the W7 provides