Wipe Out Hard Drive

[Lazywolf]

I can't remember the finer points in wiping out the hard drive and re-installing the OS. Can you help me out?

[doddsy]

which os?

[RicheemxX]

it really doesn't matter which os it is the key points and advantages are always the same.

you get a fresh registry with no uneeded hooks or keys. you get rid of all unneeded proccesses as well as any unused files folders and leftovers from all your old installs. you also get ride of alot of old drivers and basic junk

[doddsy]

it really doesn't matter which os it is the key points and advantages are always the same.

you get a fresh registry with no uneeded hooks or keys. you get rid of all unneeded proccesses as well as any unused files folders and leftovers from all your old installs. you also get ride of alot of old drivers and basic junk

yes, but an older os will need boot disks, xp will not.

best to make backups of any new drivers or important docs.

setup will then allow reformating and a nice clean reinstall with a nice fresh registry.......including that all important alexa key.

[Lazywolf]

It would be either Windows ME or 2000.

[Uncle Bob]

Make note of the manufacturer and model number of your Hdd. You should be able to download a diagnostic program from the manufacturers web site. The
program would have a zero write feature. If you have a boot disk . You can use
fdisk to delete the partition/s. Your OS will most likely format during the install.

[jmichna]

www.killdisk.com will wipe hard drives to all zeros ('as shipped from manufacturer' condition). W2K and XP installation CDs work assuming you have bootable CD drives. Older OSes like W95, W98 and WinMe may require boot disks to load CD drivers. You can get these at www.bootdisk.com.

[Hungrycookpot]

why not just format and reinstall? Lazy are you asking how to do it?

[Lazywolf]

yes. Format and re-install would be nice to know too.

[jmichna]

yes. Format and re-install would be nice to know too.

Very good walk-through guide to FDISK: http://fdisk.radified.com/

Walk-through guide to partitioning (FDISK) and FORMAT: http://www.pcguide.com/proc/setup/hdd-c.html

What OS are reinstalling? Most of the newer ones (W2K, XP) don't even require you partitiona drive before installing, as you will be prompted to create partition(s) and format (NTFS or FAT32) during the OS installation.