Solved Don't have permission to format a drive

[jamd315]

I have 3 500GB WD drives; one with my old OS, one with my current OS, and one for extra junk. Working off my current OS, I want to format the old OS dirve. When I go to do that, it says that "Windows was unable to complete the format". So I deleted everything using a batch with

del /f/s/q foldername > nul
rmdir /s/q foldername

Except that I didn't delete everything, some stuff was Access Denied. So I tried running the batch with elevated permissions. It deletes a couple more. When I try to manually delete the files, it tells me that I need permission from Administrator, to TrustedInstaller, to SYSTEM. I really want to format and use this drive, and I'm not above data destruction software.

 

[AddRAM]

Use Partition Wizard to format it.

Best Free Partition Manager Freeware and free partition magic for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista and Windows XP 32 bit & 64 bit. MiniTool Free Partition Manager Software Home Edition.

 

[theog]

Can you post a screen shot of Disk management?

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9733-screenshots-files-upload-post-seven-forums.html
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/274797-disk-management-post-screen-capture-image.html

 

[jamd315]

Disk managment

Here it is

http://s24.postimg.org/u2i1v747p/disk_Managment.jpg
Drive A: is the drive I want to format, drive I: is the drive I use, and drive F: is for extra stuff

 

[whs]

Before you do anything, I would fix disk2 which is dynamic.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/26829-convert-dynamic-disk-basic-disk.html

 

[theog]

A: is for floppy drives.

If you have a OS on I: that should C:

A: is ACTIVE & SYSTEM Partition, you can not delete.

 

[gregrocker]

Drive A can't be formatted or deleted because it is booting Win7 on I now. You must have installed Win7 from another OS because it normally boots as C if it is correctly installed from its booted installer. If you dont' mind it this way you can keep it, otherwise unplug all other HD's to reinstall to DISK0 correctly following Clean Install Windows 7.

If you want to keep Win7 on I then to move its boot files there unplug all other HD's, boot the WIn7 installer or System Repair Disk to run Startup Repair - Run up to 3 Separate Times until Win7 boots on its own and holds the System Active Boot flags.

You can then plug back in the other HD's, mark A Inactive: Partition - Mark as Inactive - Windows 7 Forums .

To get A the cleanest I would wipe it using Diskpart Clean Command . Otherwise after marking it Inactive it should delete in Disk Mgmt. You can then repartition it for data.

Another problem is that DISK2 has converted to Dynamic which is only meant to span a partition across Multiple HD's. If you're not doing that then you'll need to use the non-destructive option 1 in Convert a Dynamic Disk to a Basic Disk.

 

[AddRAM]

That whole install needs to be done again, it is seriously wrong.

 

[jamd315]

Re-install

gregrocker, thanks for your help, I will start on that now. How do I tell apart the three drives? Unplug untill the right one is identified?:huh:

 

[gregrocker]

If you rightclick on the Disk Mgmt drive map panel which says DISK0/1/2 on it, then choose Properties, it will tell you the make/model of HD plugged into that port. You can then figure out which is which by their placement in the tower drive bays.

 

[jamd315]

I finished fixing the drives, and I sent my important files to a cloud based server, and a flash drive. THis i s my updated disk management screen, after renaming some partitions, deleting a bunch of junk, converting from dynamic to basic, and setting the correct order.

I plugged C: in first, botted, plugged in D:, re-booted, and then plugged in F: (I chose to skip E: because a couple of old programs I wrote before environment variables refer to F:/)

 

[AddRAM]

2 things I see, C: should read as Disk 0 ( actually just 1 now that I see you wanted to skip E: )

Having C: as disk 0 is just a pet peeve of mine, I don`t like to see it any where else.

Something else I always do, I change the letter of the cd/dvd drive to X, Y, or Z. Just so when you add another drive or make more partitions, they will grab the next letters of the alphabet.

And D: is still showing as active, did you get rid of the OS on that drive ? Did you format it ?

 

[gregrocker]

Yes, only the drive intended to boot the OS should be marked Active.

If Win7 HD is not in Disk0 position, then during Startup Repair or Reinstall the System boot files can be derailed to a preceding Primary partition - especially if that partition is marked Active, or the other HD's are not unplugged.

So if possible I'd switch cables between Disk0 and DIsk2, assure Win7 is then set first HD to boot in BIOS setup before trying to start it again.

 

[jamd315]

Ok, marked D: as inactive, formatting shortly

 

[gregrocker]

Remember to back up the data first.

If you're formatting it to use for data, I would make it a Logical partition so it can't become marked Active to derail the boot files: Partition / Extended : Logical Drives - Windows 7 Forums