Help with hard drive

[edgg]

I just bought a new Gateway computer that had vista 32 bit preinstalled, I installed Vista 64 bit on a new partition but now I cannot get rid of the partition that Gateway had those preinstalled files on, I tried using Acronis Disk Director to format and merge it with another partition but no matter what I do it always reappears, I've tried deleting it using Vista's built in disk utility, I've wiped and rewiped it over a million times already, I used the Linux LiveCD to try Nuking it
but it is very stubborn and refuses to go, It's using about 40 gig of my hard disk and I cannot ignore that, I've got to get rid of it.


Thanks for any help.

[lainlives]

format the entire disc completely, as in fully written to zeros

[Twey]

That's erasing, not formatting. Formatting (or initialising, although that term doesn't seem to be very common any more) a partition involves setting it up for use with a particular filesystem.

[lainlives]

That's erasing, not formatting. Formatting (or initialising, although that term doesn't seem to be very common any more) a partition involves setting it up for use with a particular filesystem.

its still formatting when it puts a fs back on it, just a safer way to go about doing it

[djr33]

Frequently the processes are done together, and it is referred to as formatting, at least on windows.

[Twey]

its still formatting when it puts a fs back on it, just a safer way to go about doing it

It is formatting when a filesystem is put on it, and that's the only time.

format \format\ v. t.

to set into a specific format; -- of printed matter or data
recorded on a data storage medium.

[lainlives]

ANYWAY, writing the ENTIRE disc to zeros would be the only way i could think of.