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formating hd before selling

post #1 of 15
5/7/04 at 8:09am
Thread Starter 
a little silly question, but what is the best procedure to format the hd before selling it.

i know you can do it with windows boot cd, but it starts installing windows right after.

also, theres a plug adapter on the hd i need to remove\install on the new one.?
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post #2 of 15
5/7/04 at 8:55am
Boot to DOS (with a boot disk or a boot CD) and do a "format c:" If you have multiple partitions, use fdisk to wipe them out first or just format each partition separately.

Tim
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post #3 of 15
5/7/04 at 9:02am
Be aware that the Dos and Windows format does not actually erase any data. It only verifies what parts of the disk can be read then builds allocation tables.

If you really want the disk erased you should use one of many programs that do that. I haven't used them for a long time but there used to be several shareware or freeware programs available. I believe Norton System Works used to contain a utility for that purpose.
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post #4 of 15
5/7/04 at 1:50pm
http://www.killdisk.com - they offer a free version that will keep all but the most determined snoops out.

If you need to prevent the DEA from ever recovering anything off of it either spring for the pro version or disassemble the drive and smash the platters <--Note: this will greatly reduce the resale value.
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post #5 of 15
5/7/04 at 5:19pm
Thread Starter 
yup, i already got a tip on killdisk.
ive burned the boot image, and it boots fine.
ill wait for the last minute, just confirming that i have a sale on the hd. And ive also talked to a shop in town thats holding a hitachi 60g 7200 for me.

just hope ill manage to get the norton ghost image dvds to work, i made them the last time i reformated and installed my main programs and updates.

also used backup now, and backed up entire c:\ to ext hd. so im set to go
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post #6 of 15
5/7/04 at 8:34pm
do dell computers come with a win xp disc or just a system restore disc?
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post #7 of 15
5/7/04 at 8:55pm
they come with the xp cd.
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post #8 of 15
5/7/04 at 10:18pm
i suggest u stab the harddrive with a hammer couple times itll be formatted
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post #9 of 15
5/7/04 at 10:36pm
I ran over one of my old ones with a car.... it took a few goes but it worked in the end!
stu
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post #10 of 15
5/7/04 at 10:37pm
kewl, i bet it went back to manufacturer settings
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post #11 of 15
5/7/04 at 10:44pm
Well it was formatted pretty well after being run over 5 times. After 8 it was back to manufacturer settings. I dunno why no-one believed that it was unused though.......
stu
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post #12 of 15
5/7/04 at 10:46pm
because people dont kno wat they are doing
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post #13 of 15
5/7/04 at 10:47pm
I know, no matter what I said I couldn't convince anyone to buy it... had to chuck it...... oh well, their loss
stu
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post #14 of 15
5/8/04 at 4:49am
Put it on your roof during a lightning storm. If you can manage to find it afterwards, it will probably be formatted.
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post #15 of 15
5/8/04 at 6:00am
Yeah, I would say so.
stu
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