I have no idea what happened to my OS...  Nothing will save...  I tried creating a new user and when I restart the PC, that user is gone.  I install updates, even Windows Updates, and after restart all the updates are gone.  I try to install apps and after restart, they are gone.  I try uninstall apps and after restart they are back.  The OS boots up just fine but it seems to be locked in a perpetual state.

I tried running system recovery, even advanced options and nothing works.  Sometimes I get errors about the disk being locked, sometimes I can run a "format" on the drive and it completes 100% success but on restart, Windows is back.  I even tried 3rd party apps that write 0's to the drive and after a 3-4 hour wait, Windows 8 is still there.

I do NOT have a virus and I've tried every guide and solution I could find regarding "hard drive locked" and "settings not saved".  None of the proposed solutions are working for me.  The manufacturer of my hard drive refuses to even look at it for me.  I have a 128gb SSD from Kingston that is now completely worthless...

After talking with a Microsoft Tech on the phone, we determined the issue is that the main drive that Windows 8 is installed on somehow got switched to be a "GPT Protective" partition.  I've tried every guide I could possibly find on the internet and nothing worked...  90% of guides tell me to:

Open a CMD window as Administrator.

Run "DISKPART", "LIST DISK" and "SELECT DISK 'X'" where 'X' is the drive number in question, then "CLEAN".

I tried this multiple times and every time, immediately after running a "FORMAT", the GPT IS BACK!  I cannot get rid of it for the life of me!!  I even tried AOMEI Partition Assistant which claims it succeeded but my Microsoft Disk Management utility still says it is protected, all of my files are still on the disk, the partition won't change, the format won't work...

It should be noted that I've been trying all of this stuff with the drive in an external enclosure using Windows 7 Ultimate 64.  This was the original OS I had on my computer until I did an "upgrade" install to Windows 8.  Windows 8 was working fine for a while but I THINK this might have started when I installed Norton Ghost...  I could be wrong.

Does anyone have any clue how I can wipe this drive completely back to factory settings?  I'm open to try ANYTHING...

Hi,

If you want to convert the disk to mbr disk, please see if the Convert mbr syntax of diskpart command works:

Convert mbr
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc731427(v=ws.10).aspx

Change a GUID partition table disk into a master boot record disk
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc737510(v=ws.10).aspx

Thanks.

Hi,

If you want to convert the disk to mbr disk, please see if the Convert mbr syntax of diskpart command works:

Convert mbr
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc731427(v=ws.10).aspx

Change a GUID partition table disk into a master boot record disk
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc737510(v=ws.10).aspx

Th

Have you tried any non-windows tools?

I sometimes use a live linux distro to remove partitions that either Windows or OS X can't deal with (or refuse to touch because they are "protecting" you from yourself).

I've heard of lots of people suggest a Linux Emergency boot disc or some such thing but I don't have one and haven't tried to look yet.  I did get a "Ultimate Boot Disc" that contained many different apps that run on DOS or at least boot up before Windows but none of those worked either...  I'm willing to try ANYTHING that will reset this SSD to factory settings so I can put my OS back on there... It certainly does run faster on a SSD vs my older (and smaller) SATA drive (which is almost completely out of space)...

If you happen to know where I can get a Linux disk and maybe a guide to using it to wipe out this drive, it sure would be appreciated! :)

Do you happen to run your OS from an SSD drive?

I've had such an issue once, and it had to do with a firmware issue of the disk.

Do you happen to run your OS from an SSD drive?

I've had such an issue once, and it had to do with a firmware issue of the d