How to Delete a Drive

Deleting a hard drive from a Windows computer enables the user to start fresh. This is an ideal way to clean spyware or viruses off the computer, or it can be used to delete the information from the hard drive and install a new operating system. Deleting a hard drive requires you to use a Windows XP CDROM or a Windows Vista CD-ROM. These devices enable you to boot to DOS and delete the hard drive.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Windows Vista or XP CD-ROM

1. Insert the Windows CD-ROM or DVD into the computer. Click the Windows Start button and select the "Restart Computer" option. This turns off the computer and boots it using the CD-ROM or DVD.

2. Press "F8" at the opening screen at the Windows startup application. This is the first screen seen when you boot with the DVD or CD-ROM. Press the "Esc" key at the next screen. This brings you to the DOS command prompt.

3. Type "format c: /s" at the DOS command prompt. This deletes all the information on the hard drive. The "/s" switch makes the hard drive bootable after the drive is deleted.

4. Press the "Y" key when the format application verifies you want to format the drive. This step begins the format process. It may take several minutes for the hard drive to format, depending on the size of the hard drive.

5. Reboot the computer once the format process has completed. This will start the Windows installation process again. If you want to boot to DOS, ensure the CD-ROM or DVD is removed from the drive before rebooting.

References

• Microsoft: Windows Format and Partition Instructions