HD question

[barnacle]

if i wanted to clear my computer of everything, could i just replace the HD with a new one?

 

[Malfunction]

I'm pretty sure you can do that, but you have to reinstall everything, OS, drivers, software.

 

[barnacle]

makes sense

 

[blahblahblah]

why don't you reformat?

 

[barnacle]

i am not sure how to reformat properly.

 

[Daegon]

If you format your hard drive, you WILL delete every single file that is on it.

Keeping that in mind, the most common way to format your hard drive is using a program called fdisk (see lovely tutorial here: http://www.perfectdrivers.com/howto/fdisk-format.html)

and since the download is down for the boot disk, here is another link to one, off bootdisk.com: http://www.biazzi.org/docs/boot98se.exe

 

[Cyanide]

What operating system are you using (what version of windows)? Do you have a CD burner or some other way to backup your data?

If you answer those questions I can help you with a reformat. If you buy a new hard drive, you're still going to have to format it. So there's no avoiding formating and partioning if you want to wipe all the data off your computer.

 

[blahblahblah]

Link from Microsoft (#2 on the list)

Reformat the hard drive

Reformatting a disk prepares it to accept a new operating system. It also wipes out everything on the hard drive. That's your goal.

Past versions of Windows (up through Windows Me) allow you to create a startup disk. You'll need one to reformat your hard drive. Click Start > Settings > Control Panel. Double-click Add/Remove Programs. Click Startup Disk. Click Create Disk.

On Windows XP, you'll need to download the disk information. Go to BootDisk.com and click "DOS — Windows 9X/NT4/2000/XP Excellent Bootdisks." Download the Windows XP Custom Install Disk and save it to a floppy.

On all systems, shut down all open programs. Restart the computer with the floppy in the A: drive. At the A: prompt, type Format: C. Answer "yes" to the warning; you want to wipe out all the data. When the reformat finishes, put the Windows installation CD in the CD drive and remove the floppy. Restart and re-install Windows.

Reformatting will keep most people out of your old files. But specialized shareware exists to reclaim files after reformatting. If you do not know who will get the computer — or you do know and you don't trust them — stronger measures are required.

That is to just reformat your harddrive (if you want to throw away your harddrive or sell your computer).

If you want to reinstall windows, put in your windows disk and follow the prompts. There will be an option to reformat your hard drive.

 

[barnacle]

Yes, i have a CD burner. I am running windows XP.