Need help formatting my 2nd HDD

[draxfen]

So, i got Windows 7 64 bit, if that's of any relevance

My main HDD is 1TB, partitioned into 2, first being 200~GB and second one being 750~GB. This is where my OS is.

Now, my second HDD is 3TB, and had 2 partitions as well. Some time ago, i managed to get a virus on the second one, and it was really bad, to the point of the computer restarting pretty much every time about a minute after loading up.

I disconnected both disks separately to check which presents an issue, and without the second one everything works fine.

However, i want to use the 2nd HDD again. It had Windows 8 installed on it, however, do i really need it? Can't i just use my main HDD and OS (Win7) and have the second HDD be user purely and entirely for storage?

So, my 2 questions/things i need help with are the following.

1. Do i require to have an OS installed on my 2nd HDD for it to be usable?
2. Since i'll have to format the HDD through my USB, at startup (seeing as i cant do much when it loads up as it restarts quickly), what program do i use/put on my USB to format my HDD?


Thank you very much!
Regards

 

[Ralston18]

1) No. An OS on the 2nd HDD is not necessary.

2) Should not need a program to reformat the 2nd HDD with Windows 8.

Disconnect the 2nd HDD and allow your system to boot into Windows 7 via the Main HDD.

Reconnect the 2nd HDD. The drive should appear and allow you to use Disk Manager to reformat the drive.

Just be very careful that you do indeed select the correct drive to reformat.

If not sure then do not execute any partition changes or formatting.

Stop and post accordingly.

 

[draxfen]

1) No. An OS on the 2nd HDD is not necessary.

2) Should not need a program to reformat the 2nd HDD with Windows 8.

Disconnect the 2nd HDD and allow your system to boot into Windows 7 via the Main HDD.

Reconnect the 2nd HDD. The drive should appear and allow you to use Disk Manager to reformat the drive.

Just be very careful that you do indeed select the correct drive to reformat.

If not sure then do not execute any partition changes or formatting.

Stop and post accordingly.

Thank you so much for the response!

Unfortunately, the issue of the computer restarting happens even when the main bootable HDD is the one with Windows 7, no matter what, so long as the 2nd HDD is connected, the computer will restart around a minute after startup. I'd have done this first but seeing as it's not possible i opted for formatting before Windows even loads up.

I'm perfectly fine with removing Windows 8 (infact i'd like that if possible - seeing as you told me it isn't necessary), too.

Since doing anything about the HDD is impossible after the computer starts up (at least im lost), what/how would i go about doing it (for example) via usb booting?

Thanks again for the help
Regards

 

[Ralston18]

Since you are willing to completely wipe the current Windows 8 drive you could use DBAN.

Dariks's Boot and Nuke.

Reference:

https://dban.org/

More information / "how-to":

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-erase-a-hard-drive-using-dban-2619148

Follow the instructions very carefully to ensure that you do not "nuke" the wrong drive.

Physically disconnecting the good drive (Windows 7) is a good safeguard.

 

[Eggz]

The surest way to do this is to just connect your second drive to another computer using an external USB drive enclosure. They are about $10 for a 2.5 in and $20 for a 3.5 in. I put Amazon links to both sizes for you.

Once you put your second drive in the enclosure, connect it via USB to another working computer and format it there. If you have access to a Mac, the Disk Utility is actually very easy to use and highly effective. Windows' Disk Management also works, but it's a little clunky. Either way, just format the entire drive using one of those. As an alternative, you can use bootable media from a Windows installation disk to format the drive. Just act like you're going to install Windows and format the drive at the screen where it asks which drive you'd like to install Windows on. Just to be 100% sure you don't accidentally eras your system drive, be sure to have only the secondary drive plugged in when you do this. Any of these three methods will work.

After formatting, you'll essentially have a "new" drive. It'll still have some miles on it, so the mechanics won't survive any longer. But at least the data will be fresh. Don't bother trying to do any of this while running off your current computer. The drive is tied to your operating system if you had it plugged in when Windows was installed, so not everything will get erased in a format.

2.5 in enclosure - https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-Screwless-Enclosure-Attachment-RX-200-APU3-25B/dp/B00N1Q2KSU/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1513714900&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=2.5+in+hard+drive+enclosure&psc=1

3.5 in enclosure - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A4Y0HDG/ref=twister_B073PX8R1Y?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1