HDD formating help

edwardopowers · 03-08-2008, 06:48 PM

okay so here is my problem, im about to install a new video card and i would like to get rid of everything on my hard drive including XP before i do, my computer has also been running slower and i had a virus that put god knows what on there, all i know is that it sure did give me some nasty popups. but anyway will this wipe out everything on the hdd and if so i need step by step instructions on how to format it.

Alvin.C · 03-08-2008, 07:35 PM

You can choose to format your hard drive when you install Windows XP.

What computer do you have? Do you have a retail version of Windows XP or did Windows XP come pre-installed on your computer?

If you have a retail version of Windows XP, then all you need to do is boot into the Windows XP installation disc and choose to format during setup.

If Windows XP came pre-installed on your computer and you have a set of recovery discs / a recovery partition, boot into the recovery discs / recovery partition, and perform a clean install of Windows XP (commonly called a 'destructive' system recovery).

edwardopowers · 03-08-2008, 09:51 PM

yeah its the retail version, thats what i was thinking of doing but i just wanted to make sure,, thanks

03-08-2008, 06:48 PM	#1 (permalink)
edwardopowers Junior Techie Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 89	HDD formating help okay so here is my problem, im about to install a new video card and i would like to get rid of everything on my hard drive including XP before i do, my computer has also been running slower and i had a virus that put god knows what on there, all i know is that it sure did give me some nasty popups. but anyway will this wipe out everything on the hdd and if so i need step by step instructions on how to format it. __________________ All Wars are civil wars because all men are brothers.

03-08-2008, 07:35 PM	#2 (permalink)
Alvin.C Master Techie Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Newcastle-under-lyme, Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Posts: 2,028	Re: HDD formating help You can choose to format your hard drive when you install Windows XP. What computer do you have? Do you have a retail version of Windows XP or did Windows XP come pre-installed on your computer? If you have a retail version of Windows XP, then all you need to do is boot into the Windows XP installation disc and choose to format during setup. If Windows XP came pre-installed on your computer and you have a set of recovery discs / a recovery partition, boot into the recovery discs / recovery partition, and perform a clean install of Windows XP (commonly called a 'destructive' system recovery). __________________ Alvin.C \|Desktop PC\| \|AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+\| \|Sapphire HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E\| \|Foxconn 6150M2MA-KRS2H\| \|Crucial Ballistix 2GB PC2-6400 CL4\| \|OCZ Stealth X Stream 500W PSU\| \|Seagate ST380815AS 80GB SATA II 7200RPM HDD\| \|Optiarc AD-7191S SATA Lightscribe DVD±R\| \|Notebook PC\| \|HP Compaq nx7300 Business Notebook\|

03-08-2008, 09:51 PM	#3 (permalink)
edwardopowers Junior Techie Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 89	Re: HDD formating help yeah its the retail version, thats what i was thinking of doing but i just wanted to make sure,, thanks __________________ All Wars are civil wars because all men are brothers.

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