How to erase hard drive?

[santa]

I have a computer that runs XP. I want to erase everything on the computer and then reinstall XP so basically it is like new. Certain siblings and friends have installed so many programs and downloaded so many songs, videos, games etc...that the computer runs at turtle speed. I am not sure how to do this. Is this called formatting? There is really nothing important on the computer which is why I am ok with erasing everything and starting from scratch.

 

[hornface]

Just start installing XP again. It will prompt you with a list of partitions, and ask which one you want to install on. You should be able to pick a partition and format it.

 

[UTinBigD]

you should be able to just insert your XP CD and then reboot to start the process.

You need to make your PC boot from the CD drive, which you can do from the BIOS screen.

 

[rice97ut02]

Does deltree *.* still work?

 

[linux]

I doubt Microsoft allows for some system files to be deleted that way, short of using a boot disk of course.

I do not appreciate enough the little things that complete control affords, life is less frustrating.

#rm -rf /

 

[TexasOwnzYou]

cant u just

format c:
?

i'm guessing this would require an NTFS boot disk though :/

 

[superwick]

easiest way is what the above posters said.. boot up with winxp cd and choose to install on the same partition that the existing windows xp is on.. and choose to format it.

 

[HenryGandorf]

I recently cleaned up my ex-girlfriend's computer because it was running slow. She basically wanted to erase everything as well out of frustration.

A couple hours of deep adware/spyware scanning and elmination of old programs she doesn't use, as well as changing her start-up (she didn't know how much crap was running all the time), and it was faster than all hell. She's got 1000+ MP3's and all sorts of other garbage still on there.

If you'd rather not erase everything, this can be a good option.

PM me if you want to know exactly what I did. It took about 3 hours, but I got to hook up with her after. Manipulative *****.

 

[wherzwaldo]

Don't forget disk defragging and more memory. That can make a big difference.

However, the scorched earth method of reformat/reinstall is pretty satisfying, although it could take you an entire day to get all your data and programs back up and running.

 

[2xHORN]

In my past experience with M$, you probably do not want to "reinstall" using the Windoze CD. That will just put another copy on a different partition or try to write over what youve got.

Make a boot disk. Get to the DOS prompt. Format c:. You might have to delete partitions first, depends on if there are partitions.

Deleting megabytes of crappy M$ code is one of the great small pleasures in life.

HOOKEM

 

[Fan4life]

2XHorn you do not have to format the drive like that with XP. Just boot to the cd and it will detect the previous install and give you the option to repair or not. You just choose not to repair then continue with the setup. It actually gives you the option to format the drive or leave the current file system intact. If you choose to format it formats the partition you chose to install on then continues with the install.

 

[wherzwaldo]

I think his point was that there's a certain satisfaction in typing "format c:". And I agree.

 

[jcdenton]

This is why I always have a small C: partition just for Windows. That way I can keep all my stuff on my D: and E: drives and wipe out my C: without having to worry about losing anything important.

Using Norton Ghost to create an image of a clean installation is also a must (after reinstalling necessary programs and getting everything configured just right). That way you can restore it to a "like new" state any time you want in just 5 minutes by restoring the Ghost image, instead of several hours to reinstall the OS and everything else.

 

[Fan4life]

In reply to:

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[Gadfly]

You old DOS guys remind me of my dad.

deltree and format c:

Thanks for making me feel young.

Boot to Windows CD and follow prompts to delete all partitions and create a new partition using all the available space. During the install the OS will prompt for the format to use. I suggest NTFS but it will offer FAT32 as another less secure, less efficient option.

I must admit, there is a little something to striking the enter key after typing format c: that you just don't get using the Windows CD. 1337 w00p

 

[M00kiE]

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