Because the old computer of my dad caught a virus I need to format it. Well I backup my dad's documents and go into dos via an win 98 startup disk. I typed "format C:" and it gives me to common dos error (but in dutch^^). Now I'v tried everything but the stupid thing doesn't want to format. Am I forgetting something?

In this situation, I use a little program called gwscan.exe. If I'm not mistaken, you can simply run the program from the dos prompt after you've run your boot disk. What you'll want to do with this program is 'write zeros to the drive', this was originally intended to test the drive and scan for errors while erasing it at the same time, of which is does a great job. For security purposes, writing zeros to a drive is slightly better than formatting alone, but completely worthless if one really wants to secure data. Either way, this should fix your problem and test your hard drive at the same time. If your error code is anything other than 0000, you may have some bad sectors.

 

http://support.gateway.com/support/drivers...es&uid=95939695

 

Copy this program onto a floppy and run it after you put in the boot disk, and remember, it may take quite a while depending on the size and speed of your hard drive. Lastly, tell me how it works for you...

Most windows Setup discs also have the option to format the drive prior to installation.

 

 

Okay thanks all, I'll try that and report back in a few days

no hurries....I mean worries