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Old March 24, 2008, 07:04 PM
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Default format hard drive question
ok so I need to format my system drive that has windows installed on it....

what's the best way to do this without having to install windows on a separate drive and then formatting my old system drive as a slave drive.

my problem is that I'm selling my current system drive and replacing it with a new one... but I won't be able to get the new drive before I need to ship out my current drive to the buyer.
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Old March 24, 2008, 07:23 PM
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Unless you have partioned your drive when you installed the OS save everything you want on the none OS part of the partition, I think you are pouched.

When you Format you will get the entire drive. There is no way to only format the OS.

Best run out and find a cheap used drive to store your essential files on.

If you are in Halifax I have about 6 old HDs kicking around that I am sure I could part with one. Small but will do the job. They range from 2.5 gig to 20 gig. Yuo they are old and small but still work for rough data storage.
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Old March 24, 2008, 07:28 PM
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Just download an app from the manufacturer of your HD and use it to wipe the HD else use a boot disk like UBCD or Hiren's BootCD.
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Old March 24, 2008, 07:35 PM
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Assuming you have a Windows installation CD, you can just pop that in. And then when it prompts you to choose the HDD, you can just delete the current partition and format it.
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Old March 26, 2008, 09:18 AM
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Do you have a floppy? There are lots of bootable floppy options for cleaning a disk.

Quote:
To erase the hard disk of a computer where Eraser cannot be installed onto:
You don't need to install Eraser onto the PC where you are going to erase.Take the following steps:
1. Connect to the Internet using your new PC and download and install Eraser.
2. Place a floppy (or CD) in the a: drive of your new PC.
3. Click on the Start button and then choose Programs->Eraser->Create Boot Nuke Disk.
4. Ensure 'Writing on Floppy' is ticked. Tick 'Formatting' if your floppy needs to be formatted.
5. Click OK. Result: Your Boot Nuke Disk has now been created.
6. Bring this Boot floppy to your old PC and place it in the a: drive. Now reboot the old PC.
Result: All drives will now be erased (including the Operating System)
IMPORTANT: USE WITH EXTREME CAUTION.
Eraser - secure data erase tool to scrub files on your hard drive - FREE
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Last edited by Jack Rabbit; March 26, 2008 at 09:20 AM. Reason: ooops... wrong button
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Old March 26, 2008, 10:41 AM
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This eraser program doesn't look as if it does any data shredding, so why use it at all? I'm assuming that you have a windows installation CD. Just boot from that, and use it to delete the partitions if you don't need the data shredded.
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Old March 26, 2008, 11:29 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thenewguy001 View Post
This eraser program doesn't look as if it does any data shredding, so why use it at all? I'm assuming that you have a windows installation CD. Just boot from that, and use it to delete the partitions if you don't need the data shredded.
umm...

Quote:
Eraser is an advanced security tool (for Windows), which allows you to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns.
emphasis added.

Eraser - Free secure data erase tool to wipe files on your hard drive
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