how to completely erase everything off my hard drive?

Question

I have really pulled the rug from under myself this time.

i have a lenovo ideapad laptop that i bought a few months ago that came with windows 8. I didn't like windows 8 from the start so i decided to experiment with Linux.

a few weeks ago, i tried to install Linux Ubuntu along side windows 8. Apparently, i didn't do something right and i installed it in the wrong drive. windows 8 is still there but it will not start. so i was using Ubuntu 12.04 for a while and then i updated to 12.10. so from there, i was using Ubuntu 12.10. It was working great and i was happy with it.

now i don't have the slightest clue what possessed me to do this but its too late to go back. this morning, i for some reason, decided to try to upgrade to Ubuntu 13.04..... something went wrong. I don't know if it's my fault or the computer's fault or who's but now Ubuntu will not start up. It begins to start load up and then when it finishes, the screen goes black.nothing happens. I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT I HAVE DONE WRONG!

I spent a good hour or two messing with everything in the recovery menu but so far, nothing i have done changes it at all. I have decided that the only thing left to do is wipe my hard drive clean. i want to GET RID OF EVERYTHING and then re-install either Ubuntu or Windows from a live CD.

now keep in mind, NEITHER UBUNTU OR WINDOWS 8 will work. so i can't use any of my operating systems. PLEASE GIVE ME ADVICE. if my mom finds out that i have screwed up my computer like this, she will kill me.

Answer 1

First of all Congrats to Moving to Ubuntu Linux!



Second you should have stayed with 12.04 because its LTS = Long Term Support Version and the most stable.



Third 12.10, 13.04 are all experimental so unless you are a Linux Specialist don't play with them! Trust me you are not missing much staying with 12.04!



Just go to http://Ubuntu.com to download 12.04 and burn it to a cd/dvd or a USB Flash Drive via http://pendrivelinux.com



then boot from one of those two that you decide to burn and re-install Ubuntu Linux with a complete wipe and fresh clean install!



and if you still like to have Windows then why not install Virtualbox to run Virtual Machines of different operating systems whenever you need them!



if you watch the end of my youtube video below you'll realize I am running Windows 8 in virtual machine on Ubuntu Linux

Answer 2

boot a ubuntu dvd/usb, install gparted, use it to see if Windows is still there, right-click and delete the linux partitions which will be to the right of Windows.



now close gparted and start the installation wizard. choose the something else option to manually install ubuntu.



i cant help you with any specifics about maybe needing a special efi boot partition. but normal installs are:



logical

filesystem: ext4

mount point: /

size: what you want for the system, except leave space for swap...



logical filesystem: swap

mount point: none

size: of ram, or ram + 1/2. but if you have lots of ram, 4 gb should be fine.

Answer 3

Lauch GParted from an Ubuntu live session and reformat your entire hard drive into either ext4 (for an Ubuntu installation) or NTFS (if you decide to go with Windows). While running GParted you can also set up partitions if you know what scheme you want to use.

Answer 4

1Click the "Start" menu and click "All Programs." Under the "All Programs" folder click on "Accessories." In the "Accessories" menu click "System Tools. 2. Use Disk Defragmenter to ease up clustered files on your hard drive. Use System Restore to return the system to previous settings. Use Disk Cleaner to free up some more hard drive space on your computer. Open the control panel under the system tools folder. 3. Find the tool for uninstalling programs. Open this tool and begin uninstalling all useless programs that you don't want. 4. Open your documents and downloads folder and manually delete all the files that you do not want. Make sure to erase all the files within the Recycling Bin, or they'll still be available on your computer. Open the Internet browser and clean the history and all stored files. 5. Transfer your settings with the Windows Easy Transfer tool found in the System folder. Back up the settings to a media device of your choice and continue with the instructions within the tool. Erase the operating system completely by formatting the hard drive. 6. Reinstall the operating system and then load up the settings from Windows Easy Transfer Tool. You've effectively erased the entire hard drive, while still retaining the operating system settings. Technically the operating system setting should be a carbon copy.

Answer 5

lol calm down



if your using a windows CD u should be able to do a fresh installation of windows from boot and automatically it will erase anything or operating system that you currently have on that system