Formatting 2.5" External HDD

Three weeks ago I bought the HDD described my signature, and I removed the old 40GB, 4200RPM HDD and stowed it away in some ASD packaging. After finding a cheap ($20CDN), aluminum enclosure with a USB 2.0 to ATA-6 interface, and installing the 40GB HDD in it, I want to format the drive since it still has Windows XP and all of my old stuff.

The problem is that I'm getting these "access denied" messages and "Windows cannot format this drive. Quit any disk utilities or programs that are using this drive, and make sure that no window is displaying the contents of the drive."

Also, on some files I try to delete absolutely nothing happens. Is there a software that will just wipe it clean for me? I'm guessing that my XP installation might be thinking these files are its own.

 

Tried doing it in safemode?

 

https://iomega-na-en.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/iomega_na_en.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_sid=HgMv5Gai&p_lva=51&p_li=&p_search_text=&p_faqid=1151&p_created=1072727196

 

you can used the program called "unlocker." it can unlock any apps that is accessing your drive so that you can format it.

download here: http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/

 

You can also consider trying to format the drive from a different computer.

 

Sorry, but I think I was a little too quick to post my problem here. The drivers first failed to install b/c the one USB port was not providing enough power, however the manufacturers had included a Y-cable w/ two USB sockets, so I plugged them both in to get the HD working. This might be where the problem started, b/c I couldn't format after that. All it took was a reboot of the laptop and it formatted without a hitch. My bad!