the right stuff
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points!!!? I have an averatec 3700 laptop which currently has no operating system on it, and it seems that I need to delete a single existing system partition in order to install an operating system. However nothing I do will delete the system partition, instead I always get errors. I tried to run fdisk and it said "error running fixed disk". I also tried and failed to delete the system partition from two different windows xp installation disks.
Now I have 2 questions. First question is I ran 'fdisk /status " from a windows 98 boot disk, and it indicated my hard drive capacity and the amount of free space, which were equal, and the amount of used space was simply listed as " %" with no number. I also used another program to analyse my hard drive, and the program indicated that my hard drive was attached to the computer but that it was in "secure lock" mode and could not be accessed. I am hoping that this information means that my hard drive is still good, but that I simply can't delete the partition because it is in "secure lock" mode. So my first question is, can anyone tell me for sure if my hard drive is still good? The program I ran did indicate that my hard drive was attached, but that it could not be accessed because it was in lock mode, and also running "fdisk /status" does show the hd capacity. Does this mean for sure that my hard drive is okay, or could it still be bad?
Question 2: If my hard drive is for sure still good, then how do I unlock it so that I can possibly delete the system partition [as required to install an operating system]? Note that I did run "unlock c:" from an a:\ prompt and a d:\ prompt, but both times I got a message that said "locking operation failed". I also tried to run "lock c:" which gave me a warning message, then it said "are you sure? [y/n]?" I typed y and pushed enter, but it said "unlocking operation failed". I also tried to use a program to unlock the hd, but with the program I have to unlock it using either the ,"user password" or "master password".
i'm not sure how to get the "master password," or if I'd even be able to successfully unlock the hd with it, because I recall that I was given the option to set a user password but was still not able to unlock the hd with it. Nonetheless, if someone can tell me how to get the "master password", or how else I can unlock the hard drive, then perhaps I can try it anyhow. Keep in mind that I already tried and was unable to unlock the hard drive using the "lock/unlock c:" command.
Also note that I have no more access to burn/download or run any more programs, so don't tell me to burn/download/run any more programs to unlock my hard drive. Just tell me how I can possibly get the "master password" and/or unlock my hard drive without having to burn/run any other programs.
Also note that I already did try to install ubuntu, but it will not install either, I assume this also has to do with the partition needing to be deleted.
Now I have 2 questions. First question is I ran 'fdisk /status " from a windows 98 boot disk, and it indicated my hard drive capacity and the amount of free space, which were equal, and the amount of used space was simply listed as " %" with no number. I also used another program to analyse my hard drive, and the program indicated that my hard drive was attached to the computer but that it was in "secure lock" mode and could not be accessed. I am hoping that this information means that my hard drive is still good, but that I simply can't delete the partition because it is in "secure lock" mode. So my first question is, can anyone tell me for sure if my hard drive is still good? The program I ran did indicate that my hard drive was attached, but that it could not be accessed because it was in lock mode, and also running "fdisk /status" does show the hd capacity. Does this mean for sure that my hard drive is okay, or could it still be bad?
Question 2: If my hard drive is for sure still good, then how do I unlock it so that I can possibly delete the system partition [as required to install an operating system]? Note that I did run "unlock c:" from an a:\ prompt and a d:\ prompt, but both times I got a message that said "locking operation failed". I also tried to run "lock c:" which gave me a warning message, then it said "are you sure? [y/n]?" I typed y and pushed enter, but it said "unlocking operation failed". I also tried to use a program to unlock the hd, but with the program I have to unlock it using either the ,"user password" or "master password".
i'm not sure how to get the "master password," or if I'd even be able to successfully unlock the hd with it, because I recall that I was given the option to set a user password but was still not able to unlock the hd with it. Nonetheless, if someone can tell me how to get the "master password", or how else I can unlock the hard drive, then perhaps I can try it anyhow. Keep in mind that I already tried and was unable to unlock the hard drive using the "lock/unlock c:" command.
Also note that I have no more access to burn/download or run any more programs, so don't tell me to burn/download/run any more programs to unlock my hard drive. Just tell me how I can possibly get the "master password" and/or unlock my hard drive without having to burn/run any other programs.
Also note that I already did try to install ubuntu, but it will not install either, I assume this also has to do with the partition needing to be deleted.