skip to main content

How to wipe out a hard drive

19 years ago

How can I wipe out a hard drive to get rid of a lot of viruses?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

owbist
19 years ago
You need to stay with the one thread Rosie so everyone who can or might help you can follow along easily. Creating different threads causes confusion for yourself more than others as helpful hints and advice start to appear on each thread.

Give us some information on this computer please. Make, model, Windows version. Also what if any anti virus, firewall or other safety programs you are running and if they are up to date and used with any regularity.

Are you really looking for advice on wiping everything off the computer and starting from fresh? Or do you need help getting rid of viruses and/or Trojans and phone home spies so the computer is useable again with all your current data retained?
goldenbuckeye
Original Author
19 years ago
Sorry about that owbist. I didn't know if you'd be checking back that's why I started a new thread. My older son was on my old computer getting on sites I'd ask him not to because I know you get viruses from them. It has over 30 viruses on it and has been sitting in the closet for 4 years and I'd like to get it out of my way so I thought my young grandchildren might could play games on it using a CD. It's a Quantex with intel and about 9 years old and was running Windows 95. That's about all I can tell you without dragging it out of the closet and I don't want to do that until it's ready to leave home. Lol Please don't ask me what kind of viruses it has because it's been so long I don't remember. I don't want to put any money into because of it's age and the fact I don't need it. It was a very good computer for it's time but I bought a Dell to replace it. Maybe I should just take the hard drive out and put it out for the trash. Thanks for your input and help if you have any.
Related Discussions
Need simpler way to wipe my drive clean
Q
Comments (8)
Thanks everyone. I had left for work after my post - and when I got home late last night, apparently the drive was wiped clean or reformatted. I think going to my computer and right-clicking that drive and selecting reformat - worked. I didn't think it was working because when I selected it, it did not indicate that it was working or had started. Then the window closed altogether. But I came home - there was a window indicating that the drive had been reformatted. I checked the properties and it was reformatted - will all Bytes free. It's possible DBAN worked as well - again at some point in the selecting process, it seemed to just not respond or do anything. My better guess on that is that I did not do it right because I never made a boot disk - just went right to their menu. Great advice about unplugging the main drive (although I guess I would have needed the XP boot drive to open windows and run reformatting). Luckily it didn't delete anything on the primary drive. Ccleaner sounds easy too - I never knew it had that capacity. Thanks everyone. Lynn.
...See More
Wiping the hard drive...saving the OS
Q
Comments (5)
Your bigger problem will be the drivers. Get those first and save to external media. Assuming this is a store bought computer and not a home build you can use any XP Home CD to install the operating system. The difference is when it comes time to add the 25 digit code you use the one fixed to the computer case and not the one on the CD. After loading XP grab some security then go for the XP updates, there are well over 100 to install and most will install automatically. About half way through IE8 pops up asking you to instal and stops all progress until you give it instructions.
...See More
How to best use an external hard drive.??
Q
Comments (6)
Do you need to copy and paste things on the external HD? I shouldn't think so. Apart from the automatic backing up we have it set to do, if there is any individual file or folder we want to put on it, we simply left click on the file's or folder's icon and drag it to the icon for the external HD and it gets copied there. We installed the entire Oxford English Dictionary program on my husband's computer's external HD and it works fine, but a couple of other programs just wouldn't run right when we tried to install them on it. Come to think of it, the OED has a verification process by which you have to show the computer that you actually possess the CDs for it, and that may be why the company doesn't mind which drive you keep it on. We haven't tried downloading any programs to the ext. HD yet, but it seems likely to me that many--especially the expensive programs that don't provide for periodically proving that you have the CDs--will very likely not run well from there. However, from what Cboy writes, with the help of Acronis, it looks like you can backup the whole of your internal HD, which would include programs. So, being new to external HDs myself (a 500GB Maxtor One Touch 4), I'd like to ask Cboy if you can actually remove programs from C:\ (to save space) and then run them from the external drive instead, or if what Acronis does is only to save them so you can reinstall them in C:\ after a disaster and run them from there.
...See More
Getting Windows 7 on 2nd hard drive - main drive has XP?
Q
Comments (19)
More memory is good but at some point there is a diminishing return on the investment and that point is a function of what you are doing with your computer. Things like first person shooter games, video editing, photo editing (of very large files) all benefit from lots of memory. Writing an email to Aunt Betty doesn't require very much memory at all because the computer can process information far faster than you can type. Same thing for the Internet, your computer can render pages faster than your connection can supply the information. So if you have a slow internet connection, you're not likely to experience much, if any improvement. With that said, 4 gigs is probably a pretty good number. If you really want a WOW factor, get a solid state drive and use that for your O/S and critical applications. To try and answer some of your questions: - Windows doesn't care about the physical drive or any logical partitions. It does make good sense to install Windows 7 on the newer, faster drive. You'll get the best performance that way. When it comes time to get rid of XP, everything will be on one drive and that, if nothing else, should help you keep things mentally organized. - My understanding is that you have two physical drives, one with a functioning version of XP and the other blank. If that is not correct, say so NOW. - When you go to install Windows 7, it will recognize that there is another operating system (Windows XP) already installed. Windows 7 won't do anything to XP other than to set up the dual boot. Essentially it's computer language that says, "XP is there, Windows 7 is here, which one do you want to use?" - Logical partitions to a drive a largely a function of personal preference. Understand that it is more difficult (but not impossible) to non-destructively repartition a drive after you put data on it. If you, for example, have a partition for music, another for videos, and a third for pictures and find down the road that you have a lot more videos than music, it becomes more difficult to rearrange things. My suggestion is a single, large partition and use folders to organize your data.
...See More
owbist
19 years ago
Go to the link below and download the zipped Windows 95 start up disk. Unzip to a floppy. Insert the floppy in the old computer and start it up. Hopefully during the bootup it should ask if you want CD support - you do. (It has been a while since Win95 so the memory fades)

Once you are at the A:\ prompt type in format c: /s and notice the space between the : and / - this will format the hard drive wiping everything off and will install the necessary system files on the hard drive. On completion of this task, again at the A:\ prompt type setup and the install should start.

Now I am not 100% sure on this with Windows 95 but it should do the trick.

Before you do all this though, do you really think the grand children will use this terribly slow computer? That is not intended to be rude but kids are more savvy than we older folks and with electronic things they will not gladly settle for second best. If there is already a computer in the home then the parents will be relegated to the PII you are offering LOL while the younguns use the better machine.

Here is a link that might be useful: Win 95 boot disk

Related Stories

LANDSCAPE DESIGN How to Choose a Fence That Feels Right and Works Hard

Making a thoughtful fencing choice now can create happiness for years to come

LIFE Hard Winter? 9 Ways to Battle Cabin Fever

By Becky Harris

We know a lot of you are trapped where it just won’t stop snowing. Here are some ways to survive

REMODELING GUIDES 9 Hard Questions to Ask When Shopping for Stone

By Ventana Construction LLC

Learn all about stone sizes, cracks, color issues and more so problems don't chip away at your design happiness later

KITCHEN DESIGN Chef's Kitchen Works Hard Yet Stays Pretty

By Bryan Anthony

A butler's pantry complete with refrigerator and dishwasher helps a restaurateur contain the mess when cooking and entertaining at home

KITCHEN DESIGN Kitchen Details: Out-of-Sight Paper Towel Holder

By Mary Jo Bowling

See how some homeowners are clearing the counter of clutter while keeping this necessity close at hand

LIFE We Can Work It Out: Living (and Cleaning) Together

By Alison Hodgson

Run a household without fussing and fighting with these ideas for how to work together on household chores

KITCHEN STORAGE Get It Done: How to Clean Out the Pantry

By Becky Harris

Crumbs, dust bunnies and old cocoa, beware — your pantry time is up

ARCHITECTURE The Hidden Factors Driving Your Home's Design

By Duo Dickinson, architect

Before you can talk aesthetics on a new build or remodel, you've got to open the floor to rules and requirements

DECORATING GUIDES Cleaning Out: The Right Way to Get Rid of Electronics

By Vanessa Brunner

Learn how to dispose of worn-out electronics in a safer, more Earth-friendly way

DECORATING GUIDES How to Decorate When You're Starting Out or Starting Over

No need to feel overwhelmed. Our step-by-step decorating guide can help you put together a home look you'll love

Sponsored

The Steele Group

1 Review

Industry Leading General Contractors in Franklin County, Ohio

More Discussions

Tired of MS Office 365 Monthly Fees?

1