In order to completely erase partitions on your hard drive, you must have a bootable disk that contains the debug command.

1. Click the file name below to download a program that creates a boot diskette that will contain the debug command:

CDENAB.EXE (EXE)

After clicking the file above, the File Download window appears. The window prompts you to choose Run this program from its current location or Save this program to disk.


2. Click Save this program to disk, and then click OK.
   The Save As window appears.
   
   
3. Click to specify a download location for the file, and then click Save. Common locations for Internet downloads include: My Documents, Downloads, and the Desktop.
   
   
4. When the file download is complete, find the file from its download location and double-click the icon to begin creating a boot disk.
   The Bootable DOS Diskette for CD-ROM Support window appears.
   
   
5. Click the Setup button.
   A black window appears and advises that you obtain a blank, formatted disk.
   
   
6. Press <Enter>.
   
   
7. Place a floppy disk into the floppy disk drive, and then press <Enter>.
   
   
8. When you are advised that the disk in the floppy disk drive is about to be overwritten, press <Y>, and then press <Enter>.
   
   
9. Press <Enter>.
   This command prompt window exits and the Bootable DOS Diskette for CD-ROM Support program closes.

The following debug script removes DOS and non-DOS partitions on the hard drive. This debug script allows you to convert a drive from an incompatible partition structure to one that will work with FDISK.EXE such as converting Linux partitions to MS-DOS partitions.

1. Insert the boot disk that contains the Debug command into the floppy disk drive.
   
   
2. Restart the computer.
   A black screen with the Microsoft Windows® 95 Startup Menu appears.
   
   
3. Press <5>, and then press <Enter>.
   The boot process concludes with an A:\> prompt followed by a blinking cursor (underline).
   
   

4. From the A:\> prompt, type the following commands, and then press <Enter> after each command:
   
   

   	Note:
   	Type the bolded text only (the debug prompt is a dash). You may receive an error if you type anything other than the bold text. The non-bolded text represents the system response that will appear after typing each command and pressing the <Enter> key.

debug
-F 200 L1000 0
-A CS:100
xxxx:0100 MOV AX,301
xxxx:0103 MOV BX,200
xxxx:0106 MOV CX,1
xxxx:0109 MOV DX,80



	Note:
	Type 80 for the primary hard drive - HD 0, or type 81 for the secondary hard drive - HD 1. In most cases, the primary hard drive is what must be erased to resolve the issue.


xxxx:010C INT 13
xxxx:010E INT 20
xxxx:0110 (Leave this line blank. Press <Enter> to continue.)
-G



5. When the message Program terminated normally appears, press the power button to turn off your computer.
   

6. On the ensuing startup, the hard drive must be partitioned and formatted. Refer to the Additional Information section below for further instructions.

• For information on partitioning your hard drive, refer to the Dell KB Article: "Create or Remove Hard Drive Partitions with FDISK" Article ID: 153276
  
  
• For information on formatting your hard drive, refer to the Dell KB Article: "How to Format a Disk or Drive in MS-DOS®" Article ID: 149120
  
  
• To help you install your operating system, drivers, and related software for your Dell system, view the Step-by-Step Wizard: "How to Reinstall Microsoft® Windows®, Drivers, and Software on a Dell™ Computer" Wizard ID: 295204
  
  If you have installed additional hard drives that required the use of a special hard drive overlay utility and the Debug script above does not seem to have successfully cleared the partitions, you may want to refer to an alternative Debug script available from Microsoft.
  
  

  	Note:
  	Dell does not recommend the use of the Microsoft Debug script with Dell-provided operating systems and hard drives. For more information on the alternative Debug script, refer to the Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: "Removing Non-DOS Partitions with Debug" Article ID: 106419.