Reseting my hard drive

[darkshelby]

Hey guys i have a 500gb of hard drive and i used up 490gb and im planning on selling my system to a friend. How do i get my 500 gb back? Do i just re install my os? I want my whole system to be like new again.

 

[pdxalex]

Right, reinstall your OS and when prompted have it format the drive prior to installation. If you're nice, install all the drivers and update Windows too

All data on the drive will obviously be lost. 490GB is quite a bit of stuff... I trust you've already backed up your personal files.

 

[darkshelby]

Thank you, and yes i plan on updating windows for him and also all the driver. File are also back up on my new rig. Quick question though, i plan on selling my old rig for $500 here are the spec, let me know if i should boost it up a litte higher or lower it.
Mother: xfx 790i ultra sli socket 775
Cpu: pentium 4 quad core 2.66
Gpu: gtx 280
Psu: 1000 w
ram: 8 gb of ram 1600
Case: antec full tower
Cpu cooler :h60
Hhd : seagate 500 gb
Also comes with gaming mice and key board

 

[popatim]

Just formatting the drive won't destroy the data on it very well, esp if there are things on there you dont want anyone else to see. Do a milirary wipe with a bootable cd like DBaN. Start it at night and come back in the morning as its a long slow process.

 

[pdxalex]

mmm... I'm not too familiar with older boards and CPUs, but $500 strikes me as a bit steep. PC components unfortunately don't hold their value well.

I would guess around $300 but don't take my word for it. You might want to include the brand of the GPU, PSU and RAM, and post the specs in one of the other forums someone with a little more knowledge can give a better estimate.

@Popatim, I had that in mind as well but considering it's being sold to a friend, I wouldn't be too concerned about it really. Edit: Scrap that. While I personally wouldn't be too concerned selling it to my friends, that's poor advice. That said, you're spot on.

 

[darkshelby]

thanks guys these are really helpful, i just want to know if formatting the drive would at lease get my drive to 400 free space or more?

 

[pdxalex]

Once you format you'll basically have the 'advertised' 500 GB back... the actual amount will be more like 470 or so.

 

[popatim]

$500 sounds spot on to me. Theres some high end parts in there from the sounds of it and the core2 quad sells for a nice penny even today, just about as much as you paid for it, sometimes more.