Best way to wipe drive clean

[fluxcapacitor]

I got a new Dell that I want to wipe the drive clean and install W7 Ultimate I have. Is there a good free program to wipe the drive clean? Or is using the windows cd to reformat good enough? I want to get all the Dell stuff off and start over. Thanks

 

[Ubrales]

Do a complete NTFS format. Since the computer is still operational, go to Control Panel ---> Administrative Tools ---> Computer management ---> Disk Drives. Then select the hard disk that you want to wipe clean. NTFS format it.

Yes the Windows CD will do fine for formatting the drive.

 

[Hawkeye22]

I'd just do it from the windows installation. You will be given the option to create/delete partitions and format.

Also, make sure on;y one drive is attached in the system when you install the OS, otherwise the boot loader and OS can end up on different hard drives. Attach the rest of your drives after windows is installed.

 

[jreston68]

Windows will do just fine but there are some good third party utilities that wipe securely and are really thorough. And Free. CCleaner and I think Nirsoft makes one too.