Can't format HDD (Ubuntu)

[Varpin]

Hello!

 

I have a PC with one HDD with Ubuntu installed on the HDD and I'm now trying to format the HDD to NTFS to support Windows. Everytime I try to format the HDD, the following error messages comes: 

 

Error unmounting /dev/sda1: Command-Line ' unmount "/dev/sda1""exited with non-zero exit status 32:unmount: /:target is busy

(In some cases useful info about process that use device is found by lsof(8) or fuser(1).

(undisks-errorquark, 14)

 

Thank you!

 

 

[Light-Yagami]

2 minutes ago, Varpin said:

Hello!

 

I have a PC with one HDD with Ubuntu installed on the HDD and I'm now trying to format the HDD to NTFS to support Windows. Everytime I try to format the HDD, the following error messages comes: 

 

Error unmounting /dev/sda1: Command-Line ' unmount "/dev/sda1""exited with non-zero exit status 32:unmount: /:target is busy

(In some cases useful info about process that use device is found by lsof(8) or fuser(1).

(undisks-errorquark, 14)

 

Thank you!

 

 

You're trying to format the same HDD that the system is running on?

[Varpin]

@Light-Yagami Yup.

[Light-Yagami]

Just now, Varpin said:

@Light-Yagami Yup.

Well, as far as I know, you can't format a drive when there's a system running on it at the same time (lmfao).

 

I don't know if that stands for partitions as well. For example if you had a System partition of 500gb and an empty 500gb partition that you wanted to wipe. You can only format a drive (erasing everything on it) with an OS being elsewhere.. You can't format a drive that has an OS running on it, it would also erase the OS, it just doesn't calculate.

[fuzz0r]

Yeah that's not going to happen.

What you need to do is get gParted on a USB and format with that.

Or format during the windows installation instead.

[Varpin]

@Light-Yagami Aaw looks like I have to buy another HDD then... Okay, well thank you anyway!

[Light-Yagami]

1 minute ago, Varpin said:

@Light-Yagami Aaw looks like I have to buy another HDD then... Okay, well thank you anyway!

Yeah. Pretty much. I'm laughing out laud man but on a serious note.. If you have a system running on a HDD that you're trying to format, you can't do that. Either you do a clean install and format the disc in the process or you get another drive, install an OS there and format your original HDD with that new system.

[Varpin]

@Light-Yagami Actually, I found an HDD from my old laptop, I will use that one.. Problem solved. lol

[jj9987]

You can not format the partition, that the operating system is running from. If you have other partitions on the drive, you can change and format them.

 

You don't need to format the disk prior to installing Windows. Start the Windows installation media and you have the option to delete existing partitions and create new ones, that have NTFS file system on them.