How do I format a secondary hard drive with a different OS

holidayhawk

New Member
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11
My laptop has to terabyte hard drives, one which has Windows 8 and one that has Ubuntu 14.04. I use to use Ubuntu quite a bit, but all the more I really use my laptop for is to play games, so Ubuntu has been getting used less and less over the last couple of months. I've thought about getting rid of Ubuntu, and turning that hard drive back into simply being a secondary hard drive for Windows, but I can't seem to find out how to do it? Should I decide to do this, how do I?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Does Windows Explorer even SEE that drive?

If it does, you can right click on that drive in Windows Explorer (MyComputer) and select "Format".

Since the drive does not have a DOS or NTFS compatible format, working with it from Windows may not be possible. I've had that problem before, with Linux formatted drives.

I could remove that Linux partition with FDISK, a DOS program that I keep on my DOS Utilities CD.
Then make just one partition using FDISK and then DOS Format the drive, then windows could see it and reformat it as NTFS, if indeed that's what you want.

Personally I keep my extra drives formatted FAT-32, so I can access them and the files I store on them, even from a DOS boot disk. (not so, with NTFS) For instance, most USB Drives come already formatted FAT-32.

If you were local, I could fix that problem for you. :dinesh:

Good Luck, and Happy Holidays

:cool:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win-8.1/Pro/64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer X-1200
    CPU
    AMD 2 Core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    Crucial, 4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDEA GeForce 9200
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Acer
    Hard Drives
    Sandisk, SSD 500GB
    PSU
    Acer
    Case
    SFF Slimline
    Keyboard
    emachines 101 key
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Internet Speed
    5 Meg
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Using Classic Shell on Win-8.1 /pro/64
You would just format the other drive under Drive Management. Or use a Linux Live DVD and use Gpartd, to format the drive as a Fat32 or NTFS drive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
Try 3-rd party partition software like Partition Master or Gpartd on Windows system. Or create the winpe disk USB of partition or Gparted on windows hard drive, then restart the computer on Ubuntu, in Winpe you can format the external disk.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
One problem will be your GRUB menu after you destroy the Ubuntu partition. Your computer will not be able to find an OS after. I know there are commands to rebuild the MBR in windows 7, but you might want to research how to do that in windows 8 with GPT if you´re using it, otherwise you´ll have to reinstall windows or reimage.
Check this out at Ubuntu forums.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Update Pro in Hyper-V/Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Cliff's Black & Blue Wonder
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-9900K
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
    Memory
    32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
    Sound Card
    (1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
    E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
    D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
    G: System Images -> HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
    Case
    hanteks Enthoo Pro TG
    Cooling
    Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 3 Corsair blue LED fans
    Keyboard
    Trust GTX THURA
    Mouse
    Trust GTX 148
    Internet Speed
    25+/5+ (+usually faster)
    Browser
    Edge; Chrome; IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as a
    Other Info
    Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
    Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
    Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR
You can do everything you want with Windows disk management. Delete all the partitions and create new one(s) as desired.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
You can do everything you want with Windows disk management. Delete all the partitions and create new one(s) as desired.

That was already suggested in post #3 and in post #4, the OP said that it does not see the drive.

No. He said the drive doesn't show in Windows. I can assure you if the drive isn't damaged it will show the Linux Partitions in Disk management. I dual boot Linux and have for many years.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Does Windows Explorer even SEE that drive?


Personally I keep my extra drives formatted FAT-32, so I can access them and the files I store on them, even from a DOS boot disk. (not so, with NTFS) For instance, most USB Drives come already formatted FAT-32.


:cool:

I just thought I would through my 2 cents out here...you can boot from a floppy and access a NTFS drive using NTFS for DOS. It's not pretty but it does work. Here is a link:

Free NTFS Bootdisk, NTFS4DOS, NTFS Boot CD

Enjoy!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASRock 990FX Killer
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    ASRock 990 FX Killer
    Memory
    32gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte GTX 750i
    Sound Card
    Realtek (Stock on MB)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 27 HD Monitor & a 37" LCD HD TV Screen (For movies)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1 250 GB SS hard drive for OS
    1 1TB hard drive for data / mirrored to a second 1 TB hd.
    PSU
    650W
    Case
    No name tower
    Cooling
    Enermax Liqtech 240
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    Dnload 10.48 Upload .48
    Browser
    IE 11 and Chrome when IE doesn't work
    Antivirus
    F-PROT
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