Format Startup Disk without Installion CD

Hey guys,
I'm currently out of town and don't have access to my Mac OS X installation disc and of course I've run into a bit of rough road recently which has lead to me needing to format my startup disk, zeroing out all data.
I partitioned my 500G Western Digital and made a fully bootable backup of my disk using SuperDuper!. I booted from the drive and it works completely fine "I'm using it now". I proceeded to open disk utility needing to format the internal disk with the zeroing out data security option. I set the format to Mac OS X (Journaled), gave it the same name as before, and clicked erase. It prompted me with an error stating "Cannot erase because the drive could not be unmounted". So I attempted to unmount the drive and it prompted me with another error stating "Could not unmount the drive because it is in use... please close all applications...etc., which didn't work".
After doing a bit of research I've read that to erase your hard drive you need to use your installation disc and follow the instructions, etc, etc.
Now, as previously stated I don't have access to my Leopard disc so that's not an option, at least for another 3 weeks, when I return home.
So my question is: Is it possible to format/erase your startup disk "My internal drive" without the use of your OS installation disc, and if so how would one go about doing it?
Thanks in advance.
Kind Regards,
Rich

Yes, that should work. It seems like some files are in use on your internal drive. I suggest you drag the icon for your internal drive into the trash to unmount it before you run Disk Utility to erase it. If you can't unmount it that way, try rebooting first. If that doesn't do it, try booting up in [safe mode|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455] by booting up while you hold down the shift key.

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jsmurphy06 wrote:
Left startup disks home, unable to get access to administrative settings. How do I reset password without startup disk?
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nikasv wrote:
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Format Startup Disk without Installion CD

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