So, I can't reformat

[rdeckert]

Well, I can't seem to reformat my hard drive and I need to. I bought this hard drive from someone else and it's still got the old stuff on it and I need a password to even log onto it. So I was like, "What the hell? I'll just use an EBCD and get into the DOS and reformat from there." Well, the problem is, when I tell it to reformat it's telling me C: is a network drive. Actually, I can't even get the damn thing to recognize the hard drive is there, anywhere. I know the hard drive is hooked up correctly because I can load my pc up into Windows and everything, just not past the log on screen. And it's recognizing it through the BIOS as well. What is the problem here?

[Hagar]

If a drive is formatted with NTFS then it is not visible from DOS. If you have other drives connected that are FAT32 then it may show up as C: in DOS even though it has another designation in Windows. Many novices have found they have formatted the wrong drive by using DOS.
So I guess you get the idea: DO'NT USE DOS!

If this is a slave drive you should format it from Windows.

[rdeckert]

There is only one hard drive hooked up. I got rid of the other one. I cannot not format the drive from Windows. Again, this is a hard drive I bought which still has info on it. I cannot get past the login screen for I do not posess the password. I can't reformat from Windows. Is there any other way to reformat?

[Paul Komski]

Do you know if it is the Drive or the Motherboard that is requesting a passport and is this a desktop or laptop PC?

A prompt about a network drive usually means that the hard drive is not (yet) recognised in the BIOS setup since such a setting nearly always follows any fixed hard drives.

The format of any partitions on the drive is irrelevant if the drive is not detected in the BIOS setup. If you can't enter the BIOS then try resetting the CMOS or try removing the CMOS battery for 10 min with the PC not attached to any power. If the drive itself is password protected you will need to find it out (there is usually a generic password that can overcome a user password set on a hidden and non-accessible area of the drive or in its firmware).

Are you sure you are jumpering the drive correctly when on its own since it appears you could boot up to Windows (which version??) with both drives attached. If Win2K/XP then check disk management (diskmgmt.msc in the run box) and device manager (devmgmt.msc in the run box) to see if the drive is recognised in either window. You could also try BiNG (in my sig) if the PC is not stalling at the startup screen; P.S. (or the disk manufacturer's own disk utility).

[rdeckert]

solved the problem. Came across a Western Digital "Date Lifeguard Tools" cd and used it to reformat my hard drive. All is well again. Thanks for the help!