Selling my PC advice in formatting the drives...

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vonbleak101

vonbleak101

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Dec 13, 2014
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Hi guys...

Soon i am selling PC to friend and want to format the drives before i give it to him. I have 2 drives C:\ (my main system drive) and D:\ (secondary drive) - i have no issues formatting D:\ that's easy, i can do that from within windows no problems...

With C:\ I am unsure of the best method of formatting. Can i just put in my Windows install DVD and in the initial process where i can format the drive - do that - format C:\, can i just exit and shut down the PC after that? Or is there another/better way of doing it? I just want it at the point where the drives are formatted and my friend needs to install windows....

Thanks for any advice/tips...

N
 
Solution
bjsm



dont mind that, it would take a lot of time + knowledge, your giving it to a friend you are good to go with a normal format. If you want to be 110% safe use this:

http://www.killdisk.com/downloadfree.htm
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bjsm

bjsm

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Jul 25, 2011
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Yes you can use the install cd and once you get to the menu just format your C drive and shutdown the pc after. If you want to be nice to your friend dont shut it down and let windows install. This way he will get a clean windows install and you will be at peace with your old files etc
 
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bjsm

bjsm

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Jul 25, 2011
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dont mind that, it would take a lot of time + knowledge, your giving it to a friend you are good to go with a normal format. If you want to be 110% safe use this:

http://www.killdisk.com/downloadfree.htm
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

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Jul 30, 2014
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Hey there, N!

You can perform a full erase of the drives using a third-party software. Some HDD manufacturers offer formatting tools on their websites. So I'd suggest you to check yours.
Another way you can do this is, as you mentioned, using the Windows Installation media to access Command prompt. You can use some formatting commands to wipe out your system drive as well. Here's a tutorial that might help you with the procedure: http://www.thewindowsclub.com/format-drive-run-check-disk-using-cmd

Either way, since you are selling your PC, I'd advise you to use a third-party software tool that will allow you to fully wipe the drive by writing zeros to the sectors a.k.a. low level formatting. I can suggest you to read through this article from our KB that explains the process and the different types of writing zeros to the HDDs. Here's a link: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=6cV4aZ

Hope it helps you! Best of luck! :)
SuperSoph_WD
 
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mcnumpty23

mcnumpty23

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Jul 15, 2011
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use something like boot and nuke

just because its a friend doesnt mean they might not try to recover your data even if its just out of curiosity

 
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