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afterdawn.com > forums > pc hardware > other pc hardware > wiping out hard drive? how to reformat completely
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wiping out hard drive? how to reformat completely
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choxx888
Suspended due to non-functional email address
_ 		23. October 2005 @ 05:55 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
I did a reformat of my pc 5 days ago so all my programs were erased. But all I want really is to start from scratch, I deleted the partitions but when I finished all my folders were still there and I still have very low memory space. Is there such thing as to completely wipe out my hard drive so I get back my 160Gb free memory??
THANKS!
[ + quote]
DELL Dimension 8400 P4 HT(3.00GHZ,800fsb,1MB cache)
Windows XP Home
1024MB DDR400 dual channel memory (2X 512)
160GB (7200rpm)Serial ATA Hard drive with 8MB cache
128MB PCI Express x16 ATI Radeon X300 SE
NEC 8x/4x DVD+R/+RW and SAMSUNG 16x DVD-ROM
AOL BB Gold
Linksys WRT54G wireless router
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bojan087
Member
_ 		23. October 2005 @ 06:39 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
when you put in ur windows cd in ur computer, restart it and it should run it before windows load, than do a system format there and not on windows which i believe you did because that happened to me before, it seemed like it erased everything but the files were still there just the icons were gone lol
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DemonDog
Member
_ 		23. October 2005 @ 07:32 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
Do a google search for DBan it will create a bootable floppy that will wipe out all hard drives connected to your computer, so make sure that any hard drives you DON'T want erased are disconnected. I use the quick erase option (single pass) versus the three pass DOD option. Still it will take HOURS to perform. Then you need to do a FULL format, not the quick version under windows.
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choxx888
Suspended due to non-functional email address
_ 		23. October 2005 @ 09:03 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
I have downloaded DBAN to cd so I will have a go later tonight. dont understand about DOD, first pass, etc.. but hopefully I can figure it out when I feed the cd.

[ + quote]
DELL Dimension 8400 P4 HT(3.00GHZ,800fsb,1MB cache)
Windows XP Home
1024MB DDR400 dual channel memory (2X 512)
160GB (7200rpm)Serial ATA Hard drive with 8MB cache
128MB PCI Express x16 ATI Radeon X300 SE
NEC 8x/4x DVD+R/+RW and SAMSUNG 16x DVD-ROM
AOL BB Gold
Linksys WRT54G wireless router
DemonDog
Member
_ 		23. October 2005 @ 14:29 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
DOD is the USA Dept. of Defense. On the load screen write down the three commands then read up on the help file, because once you hit ENTER the program starts wiping. PERIOD. The program is simple and self explanatory, just don't get in a rush, and read a little before hitting enter. It has a prompt (forget what it says) followed by a ":", after the colon I type "quick" (maybe fast?) then hit ENTER and it does the one pass wipe since I'm not worried about meeting DOD standards.
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choxx888
Suspended due to non-functional email address
_ 		23. October 2005 @ 23:54 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
I tried what Bojan807 said but I didnt have any luck on it so my other option was to use the DBAN software. I wasted 2 cd's on downloading the software but i got there in the end. Wiping out my 160GB hard drive took roughly about 6 hours but its worth it!!! I just used the autoscan and everything went all successfull!!!
Thank you Demondog and Bojan807!
More power to afterdawn.com!!!
[ + quote]
DELL Dimension 8400 P4 HT(3.00GHZ,800fsb,1MB cache)
Windows XP Home
1024MB DDR400 dual channel memory (2X 512)
160GB (7200rpm)Serial ATA Hard drive with 8MB cache
128MB PCI Express x16 ATI Radeon X300 SE
NEC 8x/4x DVD+R/+RW and SAMSUNG 16x DVD-ROM
AOL BB Gold
Linksys WRT54G wireless router
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