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Hard Drive Wipe

That is not hard - it takes time, however. If your are just reformatting to install a fresh OS, and are not selling the machine - then it may not be worth the time and trouble. Here's a pretty good tutorial:

Wipe

I have several programs that will do it. My favorite is ZTree. A low level format will also do it. Basically it fills the entire drive with zeros overwriting anything on it.
 
Put windows cd in computer.. boot up.. press any key to load from cd. Go through windows setup process and select which drive to install windows on and select format
 
Get True Image 9 from newegg and backup your current HD content to an image on another HD or do a 1:1 clone to another HD. It costs $30. Yes, using DBan will wipe EVERYTHING.
 
If you have corruption (spyware, viruses, etc.) I wouldn't recommend a clone. You'll just end up with all of the crap you were trying to get rid of in the first place.

What I would do is burn your data to a cd (doc's, photos, music, etc..). Burn your bookmarks, favorites from your browser, and burn your inbox folder from Outlook Express.

If you are satisfied with your backup, wipe the disk and then set the bios to boot from the cd. Put your WinXP disk in the drive, boot the machine. Create 2 partitions (most likely you'll end up with a C: and E: drive) Make your C: partition about 20 MB. Format NTFS and insatll windows. Load all of your programs and drivers, and run Windows update. Then as Baked says, get a copy of True Image and back up everything to the E: drive (or the Secure Zone). You'll have a bulletproof backup if things become corrupt....
 
what if your data is more than 8GB worth, how do you back that up. If you back it up to a seperate hard drive and then you reformat one hard drive, how do you access the other hard drive and restore your data?
 
Originally posted by: ChAoTiCpInOy
what if your data is more than 8GB worth, how do you back that up. If you back it up to a seperate hard drive and then you reformat one hard drive, how do you access the other hard drive and restore your data?
Click to expand...

Wit a DVD burner, you could do that with 2 pieces of media......4483 MB capacity per piece

 
Originally posted by: ILikeElfenLied
I dont really care for anything on my computer atm... I just want to clear everything and make 2 partitions.
Click to expand...

You don't really need to wipe it. If you are ready for a fresh install, boot from your WinXP cd. Delete your current partition and create 2 new ones and format them. The format will wipe the corruption away...
 
Originally posted by: Mucker
Originally posted by: ChAoTiCpInOy
what if your data is more than 8GB worth, how do you back that up. If you back it up to a seperate hard drive and then you reformat one hard drive, how do you access the other hard drive and restore your data?
Click to expand...

Wit a DVD burner, you could do that with 2 pieces of media......4483 MB capacity per piece
Click to expand...

It's easier to just put it on a different hard drive, because I want to backup my iTunes Library (30GB) worth. Plus my personal data (13GB) and some other stuff. Just putting it on another internal hard drive is all I could do. I don't have an external hard drive, no iPod or other external drive. Please help. My comp is freaking out on me.
 
For ChAo:

Oh, I thought you were saying it was just over 8 GB. Still wouldn't be a bad idea to backup that to optical media (DVD) for archiving. Afterall, mechanical devices can break and leave you high and dry...
 
Originally posted by: ILikeElfenLied
Originally posted by: Mucker
Originally posted by: ILikeElfenLied
I dont really care for anything on my computer atm... I just want to clear everything and make 2 partitions.
Click to expand...

You don't really need to wipe it. If you are ready for a fresh install, boot from your WinXP cd. Delete your current partition and create 2 new ones and format them. The format will wipe the corruption away...
Click to expand...

Whenever I try to delete the partition it wont let me and says it wont because I only have one.
Click to expand...

Well, use dban and nuke it. Everyhting will be destroyed and you can start fresh....
 
I know, but the whole process of reformatting should only take a day, two at the most. I just need a way to access the data on the other drive after I reformat. Because I know that the drive will not be accessable through Windows. Once I get enough money, I'll get an external drive that I could backup to.
 
Originally posted by: ChAoTiCpInOy
I know, but the whole process of reformatting should only take a day, two at the most. I just need a way to access the data on the other drive after I reformat. Because I know that the drive will not be accessable through Windows. Once I get enough money, I'll get an external drive that I could backup to.
Click to expand...

Why not get an internal burner? They are dirt cheap $30. If you really want external one, you can buy an enclosure for it down the road and put it in that....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827101002
Recommend this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827101008

Enclosure: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817145011
 
Right now, I want to reformat my 1st hard drive. So i need a way to get back my files on the 2nd hard drive where i am storing the files temporarily. Once i get back active, then i'll figure out a way to backup all my files externally.
 
Yes, first set the computer bios to boot from the floppy to use dban. Just do a one pass wipe, that will be the fastest and destroy everything. After that, reboot into the bios and set the boot to CD-ROM. Make sure the WinXP cd is in the drive. Then create your 2 partitions and format both of the partitions using NTFS. Install the operating system on the c: drive.......
 
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