Need to wipe hard drives

Now that I have my new rig up and running, I need to refurbish on old P4 machine, which I've promised to this little white-headed senior citizen (it will be here first computer). I have three hard drives on the old system, and I need to wipe then clean before I load Windows XP.

... and I ain't got no budget for this.

Anyone know of some free software that will do the job?

 

Step 1: Make sure you have your Windows XP disk. I then backup all my important data and all the installers onto a portable hard drive or you can use DVD’s or CD’s. Make sure you have everything backed up and then disconnect the portable hard drive.

Step 2: Insert your windows disk into the Master CD drive (if you have more than one) and turn the computer off. Make sure you are disconnected from any networks. You will need to have your cd drive selected as your first boot device. If it not already selected, you will need to go into your bios and set the boot priority to cd/hdd, then with your Windows cd in your cd drive, save and exit bios.


Step 3: Turn on your computer. A screen will come up saying “Press any key to boot from disk”. Press any key (where’s the “Any” key gone?!). Now wait about 10seconds for the setup utility to be loaded. When asked if you want to set up or repair, hit Enter to set up Windows. Read the license agreement and hit F8 if you agree. If the setup program detects an existing installation of Windows and asks if you want to repair it, hit Esc to skip the repair. The setup program will ask you where to install Windows. Highlight the existing "C: Partition1" partition and hit D to delete it. Hit L to confirm. Next, hit Enter to install Windows on the "Unpartitioned Space". Format the space as NTFS - You will get an option to choose full or quik format. My experience is that quick format is for disk that have previously formatted. If the disk has not been formatted, then you will have to use the standard format option. Usually you will get a popup message "This disk can not be quick formatted" or something along that line. Then continue the installation. Please note: During the installation process, your computer will reboot. You will then see a message to press any key to boot from cd. Do not press any key a second time, otherwise the installation will start from scatch again. Complete the next several screens on the setup process and make sure you do not leave the administrator password blank. After following these steps, setup should be complete.

Step 4: Firstly you should install your antivirus software. Also enable the windows firewall by going to Start>Control Panel>Network and Internet Connections>Network Connections (icon on the bottom-right)>Right-click the Local Area Connection>Properties>Advanced tab>Check the box next to "Protect my computer and network...">OK. After this has been done, install all updates from the Microsoft website (including windows XP service Pack 2). Then install all drivers from your motherboard utilities CD. Now it is time to install your programs.

 

Thanks for the info TechDawg ... what I need to do is some stuff BEFORE I insert the XP restore disk. I have some info on the hard drives that I want wiped clean.

A little research has let me to Darik's Boot and Nuke ("DBAN") -- I'll download it and give it a try.

 

During reinstallation of WinXP it wipes clean the hard drive first. That is what "Reformatting" means.

 

The guy who built my rig specializes in reading original data from systems that have had the OS reinstalled. There is nothing too critical on those drives (except to me). Usual stuff like old tax returns (TurboTax), some credit reports, and passwords to about 20 web sites.... I'm not concerned about the lady that will get the computer, but where it goes after that is unknown. Back in the day, in CP/M and early DOS days, I used to probe stuff like that. I gave up those activities for more productive stuff. At least with the free version of KillDisk you can overwrite an entire partition with zeros ... but I want to go further. So I'll give DBAN a try and see what my options are.

 

What if you do not have an OS to put on right away?? My boss gave me a really old computer to setup for my daughter. Problem is that I need to wipe the drive before he'll let me take it home. The I plan on putting Fedora or something similiar on it. But he has to be sure its empty because it could have patient data on it.

 

First, let me share that Darik's Boot and Nuke seems to meet my needs. It is running as we speak, and wiping all three hard drives at the same time. As far as you boss is concerned, it has the DoD 5220.22-M method, which is good enough for the military, and ought to make your boss happy. And it is a free download.

http://dban.sourceforge.net/

I suspect most Linux distros will have a format capability ... but I have no firsthand knowledge ... yet. I have a friend (a free-lance sys admin) who's on the look out for a hobby machine for me ... some P3 or P4 thing that is otherwise on the way to the landfill. Then I'll have some experience with the Linux stuff. I've read some of the Fedora documentation, and it is not clear regarding formatting the hard disks ....

 

well you seemed to figure this out by yourself

 

Hi nvrsummer2,
Use Darik's Boot and Nuke as others mention to clear it. You can get a copy of Ubuntu (Linux operating system) installation disc for free or for a voluntary contribution from Ubuntu :
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu

Richard.

 

Darik's Boot and Nuke
Eraser
Terabyte CopyWipe (copy or wipe a drive)
[email protected] Killdisk (Free version makes only one pass)
No File Recovery