[TheZee]

Can anyone give me some information on how to wipe a HD ??? I know this is sacralidge to discuss PC issues but I am trying to help a friend out who recently bought a Gateway desktop computer from a private party. She noticed that the HD still has a lot of the previous owners files and so she wants to wipe the HD then start fresh. Is there a good application that can accomplish this for her? She said that the seller did not give her the original system disks that come with a new computer. Does she have to have them in order to do an erase and intall? She has the Windows Millenium Operating System install disks. Are those all she needs? I told her that I think she has to have the install disks that came with the computer. Am I correct in assuming that? Again, my deepest apologies for even mentioning anything about PC's here. It will never happen again. Peace out . . .

[ghporter]

Wiping a PC's hard drive can be done pretty easily. For security, your friend should do two things. First, she should repartition the drive. Using a tool like "fdisk" which is usually included in Windows boot disks, it is very easy (though not as quick as I'd like) to change the partition settings of the disk. This effectively makes the old data on the drive inaccessible; it removes the previous indications of where to start looking at the data on the drive, replacing them with a new start point, so any data left there will seem to be random.

After that, she'll need to format the drive-and if the drive is fairly large and she chooses to set up more than one partition, she'll have to format each partition. Have her stick with the NTFS format if it's available with the version of formatting tool she'll be using; it's much more robust and secure than any FAT version.

Both fdisk and format should be available on any good-quality boot disk. However, there's a way to do pretty much the same thing straight from Windows XP through the Management Console. The problem is that Windows won't let you delete/format the drive it's running on, and even if you could you'd still need an OS to put on it.

My best advice is to buy a copy of Windows XP and do a fresh installation. This will 1)get rid of all the crap the previous owner left on the machine, 2)produce a fresh install without any boneheaded options the previous owner did to the OS, 3)get your friend started with a machine that will not bog down because its registry is full of garbage. And the previous owner should give her the disks that came with the machine; the license for the OS goes with the computer. Gateway may be able to help her out with replacement restore discs, too.

[turtle777]

Yeah, stay away from Windows Millenium Ed. That's crap. Even worse than Win 98.

-t

[TheZee]

Many thanks my Mac Brethren. Your words of wisdom are very much appreciated. So, if I understand correctly, she can simply use the Windows XP install disks to do everything she wants to do? That would be fantastic. Apparently, she said the person who sold her the computer can't find the boot disk that came with it. Is she S.O.L. or will the Windows XP install disks be sufficient for her needs? Any more guidance, feel free to give. Peace out . . .

[ghporter]

The XP install disc is ALL she needs. It will automatically offer to repartition and format the drive at the begining of the process. It can take a while for XP to install, but it's mostly painless and all your friend needs to tell it really is what time zone she's in. (And the CD Key-that huge and hard-to-type monstrosity Microsoft needs for the OS to install because so many people think their prices are overinflated. Funny, at school I can get a copy of XP for less than $10, so why do they figure they need to gouge most people for so much more?)

[TheZee]

Awesome my Mac brother !!!
Many thanks for your guidance. I asked my friend if she has XP and she does so we are going to follow your instructions. I would have never known about that if it wasn't for you and MacNN. You both ROCK !!! I totally agree with you on the price of certain software being outrageous in price. Another feather in the cap of Mac. Their pricing is reasonable I think. I feel that other apps like PhotoShop and Illustrator are out of control when it comes to their cost. $799-$1200 for regular consumer software ??? Insane. I think if they came out with a lite version for beginners that was reasonbly priced then another more advanced version for industry consumers we all would win. And software makers wonder why there is so much piracy ??? Hello ??? Definitely a good forum topic. I think if more consumers would discuss these issues they'd maybe make an impact on future pricing. Hopefully. Thanks again for all your help.