Download possible?
- Thread starter Oblivion
- Start date
The Gnome Partition Editor known as GPart will wipe a drive totally and create new partitions for the OS you plan to install. The installer for that operating system(XP/newer Linux distros) will have to format those for use.
Gnome Partition Editor
GParted is the Gnome Partition Editor application. Before attempting to use it, here is some basic background information.
A hard disk is usually subdivided into one or more partitions. These partitions are normally not re-sizable (making one larger and the adjacent one smaller) The purpose of GParted is to allow the individual to take a hard disk and change the partition organization therein, while preserving the partition contents.
GParted is an industrial-strength package for creating, destroying, resizing, checking and copying partitions, and the file systems on them. This is useful for creating space for new operating systems, reorganizing disk usage, copying data residing on hard disks and mirroring one partition with another (disk imaging).
GParted uses GNU libparted to detect and manipulate devices and partitiontables.
Several (optional) "file system" tools provide support for file systems not included in libparted.
These optional packages will be detected at runtime and do not require a rebuild of GParted.
GParted is written in C++ and uses gtkmm for it's Graphical User Interface (GUI). The general approach is to keep the Graphical User Interface as simple as possible. Every attempt was made to conform to the GNOME Human Interface Guidelines.
GParted comes under the terms of the General Public License http://gparted.sourceforge.net/
To download the iso image for cd-rs go to http://gparted.sourceforge.net/download.php
Gnome Partition Editor
GParted is the Gnome Partition Editor application. Before attempting to use it, here is some basic background information.
A hard disk is usually subdivided into one or more partitions. These partitions are normally not re-sizable (making one larger and the adjacent one smaller) The purpose of GParted is to allow the individual to take a hard disk and change the partition organization therein, while preserving the partition contents.
GParted is an industrial-strength package for creating, destroying, resizing, checking and copying partitions, and the file systems on them. This is useful for creating space for new operating systems, reorganizing disk usage, copying data residing on hard disks and mirroring one partition with another (disk imaging).
GParted uses GNU libparted to detect and manipulate devices and partitiontables.
Several (optional) "file system" tools provide support for file systems not included in libparted.
These optional packages will be detected at runtime and do not require a rebuild of GParted.
GParted is written in C++ and uses gtkmm for it's Graphical User Interface (GUI). The general approach is to keep the Graphical User Interface as simple as possible. Every attempt was made to conform to the GNOME Human Interface Guidelines.
GParted comes under the terms of the General Public License http://gparted.sourceforge.net/
To download the iso image for cd-rs go to http://gparted.sourceforge.net/download.php
Do you just have the XP cd key and not the CD, dont use a format program you wont have a operating system to put back on!
You don't need the installation disk to format a drive. There are 3ed party utilities available for that. But the question lacking here is why you need to format the drive and wipe the current installation in the first place. Are you having running Windows? Did you get hit with a virus, spyware, adware?
If it is for a Windows problem only the need for reformatting the drive may not even be there. For a freeware to simply wipe the current installation you can go to http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/Ranish_Partition_Manager/ranish.html for the program there. But you can't download Windows unless you go with the latest Vista RC1 beta release. http://download.windowsvista.com/preview/rc1/en/download.htm
If it is for a Windows problem only the need for reformatting the drive may not even be there. For a freeware to simply wipe the current installation you can go to http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/Ranish_Partition_Manager/ranish.html for the program there. But you can't download Windows unless you go with the latest Vista RC1 beta release. http://download.windowsvista.com/preview/rc1/en/download.htm
Holy...
Hahaha.
Magicman, what we do now is we find the nearest wall and we beat our heads off of it repeatedly.
Oblivion, to answer your question legitimately, if you don't have a Windows disk, no you can't download a Windows disk, even if you have the key. Unfortunately you are going to have to buy another one if you want Windows XP. You can try Linux if you want, but I have a sneaky suspicion that's not what you're after.
Also, you can ignore PC Eye's cut and paste Vista link too. You can't use that either, unless you got a product key from a previous build unfortunately... It's too bad though. It's quite nice.
PC Eye: It's a shame.. You cut and paste all this material. I affectionately call you Mr. Google for that reason, but you never read the thread properly so the answers are never pertinent. It's not that it's not good information, it just has nothing to do with the question.
Hahaha.
Magicman, what we do now is we find the nearest wall and we beat our heads off of it repeatedly.
Oblivion, to answer your question legitimately, if you don't have a Windows disk, no you can't download a Windows disk, even if you have the key. Unfortunately you are going to have to buy another one if you want Windows XP. You can try Linux if you want, but I have a sneaky suspicion that's not what you're after.
Also, you can ignore PC Eye's cut and paste Vista link too. You can't use that either, unless you got a product key from a previous build unfortunately... It's too bad though. It's quite nice.
PC Eye: It's a shame.. You cut and paste all this material. I affectionately call you Mr. Google for that reason, but you never read the thread properly so the answers are never pertinent. It's not that it's not good information, it just has nothing to do with the question.
Holy...
Hahaha.
Magicman, what we do now is we find the nearest wall and we beat our heads off of it repeatedly.
Oblivion, to answer your question legitimately, if you don't have a Windows disk, no you can't download a Windows disk, even if you have the key. Unfortunately you are going to have to buy another one if you want Windows XP. You can try Linux if you want, but I have a sneaky suspicion that's not what you're after.
Also, you can ignore PC Eye's cut and paste Vista link too. You can't use that either, unless you got a product key from a previous build unfortunately... It's too bad though. It's quite nice.
PC Eye: It's a shame.. You cut and paste all this material. I affectionately call you Mr. Google for that reason, but you never read the thread properly so the answers are never pertinent. It's not that it's not good information, it just has nothing to do with the question.
WIndows running on cd? Try React OS,
The ReactOS® project is dedicated to making Free Software available to everyone by providing a ground-up implementation of a Microsoft Windows® XP compatible operating system. ReactOS aims to achieve complete binary compatibility with both applications and device drivers meant for NT and XP operating systems, by using a similar architecture and providing a complete and equivalent public interface. http://www.reactos.org/xhtml/en/index.html
But then you still haven't bothered to even ask why Oblivion wanted to format the drive there in the first place.
If it is a simple Windows problem a drive wipe may not even be needed.Because if Oblivion felt we needed to know why he was formatting the drive I would hasten to suggest that he already would have told us. Is it above and beyond you to just answer the question?
I admit, though, that the ReactOS might be a viable alternative if he doesn't want to run Linux and doesn't want to pay for an O/S. How much Googling did you have to do before you found that? I've never even heard of it before.
I admit, though, that the ReactOS might be a viable alternative if he doesn't want to run Linux and doesn't want to pay for an O/S. How much Googling did you have to do before you found that? I've never even heard of it before.
I didn't have to do much of anything to have already download both live for cd and install from cd iso images. Gee? You haven't heard of it before?
http://www.reactos.org/xhtml/en/index.html
Once the drive was reformatted the idea of asking why was to find out if there was some problem that could be repaired instead since Oblivion didn't have the XP installation disk there. Without an OS you have no running system. The previous references were wiping the drive without the need to have the installation disk onhand. Maybe Obvion simply wants to clean stuff off of the drive before it goes inside another system?
Nope. Never heard of it. Funny thing, that, considering my love for free stuff. I don't think I'm going to download it though. I have enough on the go as it is, and plenty more I just plain haven't gotten around to. I'll keep it in the back of my head though. Might come in handy. Now if only beer was free, I think I'd be in heaven.
I'm glad to see you finally caught up with the thread. However I really didn't get the feeling that Oblivion was intent on saving the contents of his drive. If that were the case he would have specified such I think. I don't know, I shouldn't speak for him, but usually that's the way it works around here from what I've seen...?
I'm glad to see you finally caught up with the thread. However I really didn't get the feeling that Oblivion was intent on saving the contents of his drive. If that were the case he would have specified such I think. I don't know, I shouldn't speak for him, but usually that's the way it works around here from what I've seen...?
The answer is yes, theres all kinds of them, even get on from the harddrive site. (BUT) the dude doesnt have his windows cd, unless he want to load some shape form or fashion of Linux hes screwed, but then he could go buy a windows cd, but then he would not need the (FORMAT) program would he!!
If Oblivion simply wants to wipe the drive for whatever reason the links here will provide a free of cost method. The question posted simply asks if there is a program that can be downloaded to format the drive not save the current installation.If he needs to save the current installation there would have been a response already for help.
Not if he didnt know, now he has no OS to get back on line to ask what the hell happen!!
Iluvpenguins
New Member
He can borrow a CD from a friend and use his key can he not?
Not necessarily. Sometimes you can get away with that, sometimes you can't... A quick example. Microsoft gave me my XP Pro CD. I gave it to my friend to borrow it (shhhhh!!!! Don't tell anyone!!
) and told him to find his own key. Not one key he could find for that version of Windows worked on that CD. Not one. I even tried looking for him and I couldn't find one that worked either.I know, I'm naughty... But you get the idea.
"download a program that will reformat your computer...." "is there a program i can download that will do the same thing?"
In other words is there a program you can download to reformat your computer without using the XP installation cd. And most likely the reinstallation of Windows will come when there is time to return home to get the XP installation disk. After creetion of a new primary partition the XP installer will proceed to format it in NTFS and install a fresh copy of XP.