44 posts shown.
This computer science major can't figure out why Ubuntu won't run on a completely wiped Windows 7 drive but works fine on one that was just formatted... Honestly, it’s like they can’t connect the dots or use any common sense. Hahaha, I am seriously looking forward to your reply—it's been a week already and you still haven't come up with an answer, "Doctor."🐔
Jason Harris5 said:Anyway, I noticed there are so many different versions of Linux out there... does anyone know if OVO can be installed using the same method? And would those Windows installations have to be in American? 🤷 Honestly, I'm a little worried that since this is an American version of Linux, my English Windows setup might struggle with special characters like accented vowels or fail to recognize them when typing on the keyboard. 🤷
That’s basically child's play. Just go with Ubuntu; it’s solid in my opinion. It has its own software ecosystem where you can download everything directly through it... though it definitely feels different from Windows. If you don't like it, you can always just download something else. There are plenty of Linux distros out there, so just experiment with them. Or, as our resident IT expert Matthew Young35 would say, you'll get some sharp practice with these operating systems...
Matthew Young35 said:If I install this without SP1, do I need to wipe my drive before updating to the service pack, or is just formatting enough? I'm asking because I really don't want to end up with a black screen.
Hahaha, oh man, you're a regular computer genius! How much more explaining does it take for you to realize that formatting doesn't "erase" Windows 7... haha 🍿
Jason Harris5 said:Thanks for the info, ruggedfalcon62... hopefully it works out. I do have one question though—does the Windows 7 software actually need to be an original copy? I’ve heard that drivers for those unofficial versions can be pretty buggy and cause nothing but headaches for people. 🤷
Everything is running smoothly on my end. I’ve got two Windows 7 machines up and running without a single issue. My only advice? Make sure you use Service Pack 1. If you skip it, you'll end up stuck in a massive loop of updates later, but installing it right from the start saves you all that headache.
Matthew Young35 said:Yeah, but you have to format them first. You can see that ruggedfalcon62 isn't running Ubuntu unless they wipe Windows beforehand.
It works fine for me with Windows 7 as a dual boot... but if I completely wipe Windows 7 from my hard drive, then Ubuntu stops working altogether. That's what I mentioned earlier—if you aren't reading! My point was specifically proving that formatting Windows 7 doesn't delete everything, not whether Ubuntu will function alongside it or after one OS is gone.
Jason Harris5 said:Anyway, let me ask the experts here... does this process work for all versions of Ubuntu? And do I really need to be running Windows 7, or would Windows XP work too? To be honest, I have an old PC where Windows 7 isn't performing great—the screen looks weird, the windows don't have those rounded corners, and the colors look washed out. I want to try Ubuntu, but maybe an older version... so, is that possible, and if so, how?
I wouldn't call myself an expert; I'm just sharing my own experience and some logical takeaways. I installed Ubuntu on an older machine and ran into those driver issues, though it's entirely possible that newer hardware wouldn't have those problems. I have a more modern computer, but I haven't actually tried installing Ubuntu or experimenting on it yet...
I've downloaded several different Ubuntu versions. One I grabbed via torrent didn't work, so I went straight to the official Ubuntu website. My thought is that downloading directly from their site ensures you get the latest builds, so I can't say for sure what would work for older hardware. You also have the option to use a live DVD, which lets you test things out without actually installing anything...
If you run into a black screen issue while using Ubuntu, you might need to install Windows 7 first to get the right drivers. I haven't tried doing that with XP, so I don't have any firsthand experience there...
Matthew Young35 said:Ahaaaa... My bad, I totally misunderstood you. I thought you meant Ubuntu wouldn't run on a completely wiped drive, not that it failed on a formatted one. I definitely misread your point there.
Well, you're absolutely right. How could Ubuntu possibly function if those leftover Windows drivers from the previous installation were still lingering on the disk after formatting? It’s just basic logic—Linux can't work if it's tripping over old Windows drivers left behind by the format.
But weren't you just insisting that formatting wipes Windows 7 completely? 🤔
Now you're saying Windows 7 somehow survived the format... 😲
It’s pretty interesting—days are passing by and not one single IT genius or mechanic has stepped up to explain why Ubuntu runs fine on a formatted Windows 7 drive, but fails when the drive is totally wiped... I'm still waiting for someone to grace me with a smart, expert answer... nobody's saying a word... hahahahha 😵
You guys are so boring...
To wipe a hard drive means to completely erase the drive of all information. Deleting everything does not wipe a hard drive and formatting does not [always] wipe a hard drive. You'll need to take an extra step to wipe the hard drive completely.
When you format a hard drive or delete a partition, you're usually only deleting the file system, making the data invisible but not gone. A file recovery program or special hardware can easily recover the information.
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixthe...hard-drive.htm
Matthew Young35 said:Are you saying Ubuntu isn't working because some old Windows 7 drivers were left on the drive after formatting?
I honestly can't think of anything more ridiculous.
You couldn't even fix a pencil, let alone a computer... "tech genius"... hahaha
So now you're going to explain to me why Ubuntu works when there are leftover Windows 7 files from a format, but won't work if the Windows 7 installation was totally wiped? I am dying to hear your expert, brilliant explanation... hahaha, just a grease monkey... hahaha 😵
Whether it's just leftover drivers or the whole Windows 7 partition doesn't matter; what matters is that Ubuntu runs fine on a formatted drive, and we don't know what exactly stayed behind after the format. I'm no expert, but realize that formatting doesn't always wipe everything completely—not Windows 7 or any other OS. It's just logic. You self-proclaimed IT experts really need to stop attacking the mechanics. 👏
Windows drivers won't work on Ubuntu. That black screen you mentioned earlier points to a hardware issue, but you really need to provide more details than this.
Seriously? Are you actually suggesting that Windows would throw a "not Genuine" error just because of formatting?
But they work on Windows 7... which stayed on the drive after the format... that's the whole point. I didn't wipe Windows 7 off the hard drive during the format... there isn't much more to say about it.
Look, if you really want me to explain, I wiped the entire hard drive using DBAN, which took about a full day. Then I installed Ubuntu on a totally clean drive... everything worked fine. The drive was recognized and installed perfectly. But after a reboot, I got a black screen—like the system was dead. It took me two days to figure out what happened. Just so you know, I didn't ask anyone for help; I read online that black screens on Ubuntu are usually related to the graphics card, so I even swapped out my GPU, but nothing worked. Since I couldn't get anything else to happen, I went back to Windows 7 and saw that about five or six drivers were malfunctioning, including the one for my old graphics card, so I updated them. Since I had the chance to run dual boot, I reinstalled Ubuntu, and it worked! Given I had the time, I was curious how Ubuntu could work alongside Windows 7 but fail as a standalone OS. I read somewhere that formatting doesn't truly erase Windows, it just moves things to a different part of the drive. So, I formatted both Windows 7 and Ubuntu, then did a fresh Ubuntu install... and it worked again without any black screen. I logically concluded that the Windows 7 drivers I updated were still lingering somewhere on the drive because they hadn't been fully erased. There's no other explanation. Seriously, for everyone listening, it wasn't some hardware failure or nonsense. It's simple: Windows 7 was still stuck on the drive. It's logic, man. Do Windows drivers work on Ubuntu or not? Ubuntu works. If I used DBAN to wipe the drive again, Ubuntu wouldn't work. What more do you need? I've been fighting this for weeks and you're telling me fairy tales.
Are you high? My Windows XP was a pirated version and kept showing "not Genuine." I got a new Windows XP—also pirated, but tested on another PC—and it didn't show "not Genuine." However, once I formatted the old Windows XP and installed the new Windows XP, it started showing "not Genuine" again. I couldn't wrap my head around why. Then I wiped the drive with DBAN, waited a whole day, and installed that same new Windows XP, and it didn't show "not Genuine" anymore. Therefore, it's obvious that formatting doesn't delete all the data that can affect future operating systems. It's just logic. Stop feeding me these stories.😵
If a new Windows XP shows "not Genuine" after formatting an old Windows XP, but stops showing it after wiping the drive with DBAN, then logically the new Windows XP was throwing that error because the formatting didn't completely erase the old XP. It's basic logic, man... are you a child?
If you guys consider yourselves tech experts, then I guess I’m a total genius compared to you...🙂
nimbleskipper5 said:An MBR virus can be wiped out with a low-level format... it’s really not a big deal.
Are you guys actually listening? Some viruses just won't go away even after formatting...
Here's another example: I installed a pirated version of Windows XP, and it kept flagging me as not Genuine. I tried formatting it and installing different versions of Windows XP, but man, it kept showing up as not Genuine every single time. Finally, I did a full DBAN wipe on the hard drive, reinstalled that other Windows XP, and then—presto—the problem was gone. Look, the whole internet is full of info explaining that standard formatting doesn't completely wipe all data... let's get real here.😵
Drew Allen77 said:ruggedfalcon62 is honestly such a joke.
Gosh, you guys are being so tedious... let me explain this so you can come to your own conclusion about whether formatting actually wipes Windows...
Here’s the deal: I installed Ubuntu as my OS... but before that, I had wiped the entire hard drive completely. Every single time I tried to boot Ubuntu, I just got a black screen, even after running updates... So, I formatted the Ubuntu partition and installed Windows 7 instead. I noticed some drivers weren't working, so I ran Windows 7 Update to fix them... After that, I formatted Windows 7 and went back to Ubuntu... and the problem was gone! It turned out to be motherboard and graphics drivers. So, now you tell me, "expert," why does Ubuntu work fine over a formatted Windows 7 installation, but fails when the hard drive is totally wiped? It's logical—because Windows 7 wasn't truly erased. Stop acting like you know everything when you clearly don't... hahahaha
I can't wait for your brilliant and witty comeback...😵
Matthew Young35 said:You don't even know how to post a link, you amateur.
"page not found"
http://forums.cnet.com/7723-6132_102...he-hard-drive/Or just type it out if you can: Can any virus survive reformatting the hard drive? - CNET
☕
http://gr8idea.info/os/tutorials/security/erase.htmlGetting Rid of Malware
Most of the time, you can wipe out Malware Malware just by doing a clean reinstall of your operating system. However, there are those rare, nasty cases where a simple reinstall isn't enough. If you want to be absolutely certain the infection is gone, I'd recommend using DBAN to totally wipe the hard drive clean before you start the OS installation process again.
Also, a quick heads-up if you're planning to sell or get rid of an old machine: simply deleting files isn't enough. People Who know How to Use Thes recovery programs May get The computer and recover much of that Information.
DBAN is the way to go because it scrubs every single bit of data from every hard drive in the system. Once you run DBAN, there is zero chance of recovering anything that was stored on that drive.
Matthew Young35 said:It’s not necessarily true. It’s entirely possible that the new Windows installation gets written right onto the same physical sectors where that virus is hiding.
That doesn't really matter, though, because a virus that heavy wouldn't be able to access the OS or execute itself once you've formatted everything, regardless of whether it's still sitting on the disk.
Can any virus survive reformatting the hard drive?
I have heard from a couple of sources that some viruses or perhaps worms or Trojans can remain intact on a hard drive even after it has been reformatted. I recently inherited a computer running Windows 2000 that was badly infected with over 1000 viruses. Norton Antivirus was able to clean, repair or quarantine all of the viruses, software was reinstalled, the computer seems to be working normally, and no viruses are now found on a comprehensive full system scan.
Yes, it is possible but it depends on what infection you got before because some virus (rare but there is) can survive an FDISK & FORMAT. See a very interesting and useful discussion
http://forums.cnet.com/7723-6132_102...he-hard-drive/🤦
Matthew Young35 said:It’s not necessarily true that you don't know what you're talking about. It is entirely possible that the new Windows installation gets written directly onto the same physical sectors where your virus is currently hiding.
But honestly, that doesn't matter. If you're dealing with a heavy-duty virus that's inaccessible to the OS, it won't be able to launch itself once you've formatted, even if its files are technically still sitting on the disk. Don't be so sure, buddy.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/...t-remove-virusHi there,
I've been fighting a virus for about a week now and I'm getting nowhere. I even tried formatting the drive, but the virus keeps coming back. If it's tucked away in the boot partition, how can I wipe the entire hard drive and truly start from scratch? I feel like I've tried every trick in the book, but nothing works.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
You could just run DBAN and call it a day... it's way quicker than installing Linux over IT.
Is it actually possible for a virus to survive a hard drive reformat?
I've read in a few places that certain viruses, worms, or Trojans might stick around on a hard drive even after a total reformat. I recently took over an old machine running Windows 2000 that was absolutely crawling with over 1,000 different viruses. Norton Antivirus was able to clean, repair or quarantine all of the viruses, software was reinstalled, the computer seems to be working normally, and no viruses are now found on a comprehensive full system scan.
Yeah, it can happen, but it really depends on the specific infection. Some types—though they're rare—can actually survive an FDISK & FORMAT. Check out this super helpful thread:
http://forums.cnet.com/7723-6132_102...he-hard-drive/hahaha, such a novice. 🍿
Larry Ortiz5 said:If you just delete the partition and recreate it or run a format, that’s standard procedure when you're installing Windows. You’d only really bother running DBAN if you were selling the hard drive and were worried about someone using specialized software to scrape your private data..
But look, if you still have a virus hanging around after a format, your only real option is to use a tool that wipes the entire drive... which means that virus is still hiding somewhere. It makes sense—it's likely tucked away in some leftover sector from that old Windows installation. How is that possible if this tech expert Matthew Young35 claims formatting wipes everything? It's because pieces of that old OS stay on the drive along with its viruses. It's simple logic, man. It wasn't fully wiped; whether it was partially or totally, it clearly wasn't gone...
Matthew Young35 said:🤦
hahahahaaaahhha 😂
Please don't tell me you actually work in IT... that would be a total disaster..
Matthew Young35 said:🤦
Partitioning and formatting a drive also aren't foolproof ways to wipe data completely.
http://www.nist.gov/cybersecurity-resources/data-sanitizationHaha, someone clearly doesn't know what they're talking about...