Hard drive problems

i was kinda wondering if anyone knows how to just like wipe out a hard drive i tried to format it but my computer said that it cant format because my computer has programs that are in use so i was wondering if there was another way to do it

When you say format, do you mean you want to re-install windows or you want to format a secondary partition?

Also, what method did you use to try to format the drive?


To format your hard drive in Windows XP click on start. After that right click on My Computer and choose Manage.
Next click on Disk Management and you will see all hard disks and other drives mounted on your system.
Right click on the partition you want to format and click on Format.... After that follow the instructions to format your drive.

Warning: All data on the partition formatted will be lost.

i have windows vista and i tried going to the area where it shows all the drivers and shared folders and i right clicked the hard drive and clicked format but it didnt let me it brought up that message.

You cant format a drive/partition within Vista that has your windows install on it!

You will need to boot from an install disc to do this!