How to make a PC safe to sell? EDIT: Appear to have broken it now....

lilmissmup

The Hard Drive to see if i can get the recovery disk to work.

I have got it formatting now with help of http://robertyeates.co.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=recovery

tradetime

Surely reformatting the hard drive would remove all partitions.
Try this site to see if there is anything of use to you.
I'm not really sure where xactly you are in this procedure. You erased the drive with Dban, and now you have managed to partition the empty drive and replace the recovery software? How did you achieve this?
Surely if you had the means to replace the recovery partition, whatever made that possible must have given you the means to access it in order to activate the recovery?

lilmissmup

Nope.

I used Dban which wiped it all.

The Master DVD has allowed me to place a partition (not sure if its recovery or not TBH) on the hard drive and i am now formatting the drive but i can't run the recovery disc to restore windows as its giving the Glue Part Error message still so i am formatting in the hope i can do what is said here.

http://robertyeates.co.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=glue_part_error

To be quite honest i am probably screwed but trying what i can, thank god its an old pc. :rolleyes:

tradetime

Hmmn, I have no idea about this glue thing, I hate hidden partitions personally, give me the real OS disks any day, but you work with what you've got. Your PC is really not that old at only 4 years. I'm not sure how relevant that posting is likely to be as he is talking about Win98. But I guess an error is an error, and if you are getting the same error messages then the same technology must be employed.
If memory serves me, formatting the drive,or a partition of the drive is usually done as par of the installation of the OS when done from say, an XP cd

lilmissmup

When i start the PC at the minute it says starting Win 98 so maybe it will work, worth a try anyway

tradetime

lilmissmup wrote: »

When i start the PC at the minute it says starting Win 98 so maybe it will work, worth a try anyway

LOL, now you really got me confused, where did that come from? I thought you said your PC was XP, to see that message unless I am mistaken (which would be no surprise) there must be an OS installed, namely Win98 with no oS you would see something like a blank screen, blinking cursor and the words NTLDR missing at the top left.

lilmissmup

I am giving up for tonight :rolleyes:

The computer is now recognising there is a Hard Drive and its been formatted but i still can't restore just getting that error message still and have tried some things found on another Packard Bell forum thread.

http://forum.packardbell.com/en/viewtopic.php?t=56449

Will try again tomorrow night when maybe i can understand it better :rolleyes:

nomoneytoday

ok,

start pc
go into bios and boot from cd
put operating system disc in cd
it will partition and format
install os
voila

(if you have no windows disc, then download Umbuntu for free and use instead)

lilmissmup

Wish it was voila but i can't install the OS due to a glue part error as mentioned thanks to using DBAN.

I don't have original OS disc just a packard bell recovery disc.

Think i am just going to sell without hard drive, i am not technical enough to know what i am doing

lilmissmup

WOOHOOOOO No idea how i have managed it but its it now has windows back on it! :j

Can sell now, thanks for all advice!

If anyone wants me to fix the PC key (i hit escape a lot tonight that seems to work) i am willing to give it a go :rotfl: