How to Erase a Hard Drive & Prepare to Load a New Operating System
When you want to install a new operating system in your computer, it is sometimes useful to completely obliterate any traces of what was once on your hard drive. By default, a new operating system will probably not securely erase old data during its install process, but for Macs and PCs, the process of completely wiping a hard drive is quite similar.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
Create DBAN boot disc
-
1
Download DBAN (Derik's Boot and Nuke). Note that for Apple computers made after 2006, you will use the "DBAN for recent Intel and AMD computers" file.
-
2
Burn DBAN ISO using your favorite DVD burning software, or download CDBurnerXP for Windows and follow the online tutorial. For Mac OSX computers, use the built in disc burning utility.
-
-
3
Back up any important files that you don't want to lose, and shut down your computer.
Erase Hard Drive
-
4
Turn on the computer on which you would like to install the new operating system, and access the boot menu. On a PC, press the key associated with "Boot Order" that shows on the first screen when you power on. On a Mac, you must press the option key immediately upon turning on your computer.
-
5
Insert your DBAN disc and choose to boot from the DVD drive.
-
6
Press any key when prompted to do so (on Windows), and press "Enter" once DBAN has loaded.
-
7
Choose the hard drive you would like to erase using the arrow keys. Press the space bar. Press "F10."
-
8
Restart your computer once the erasure process finishes, and boot from your Operating System disc by following the above instructions once more. Then, follow the instructions that it gives you, and make sure to choose the disc you just erased using DBAN when it asks where to install the OS.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If the "Boot order" option doesn't appear for you when you go to boot from your DVD drive, then access your system BIOS (review your computer's documentation for instructions), and set the DVD drive as the primary boot device.
If you want a simpler--but less secure--approach to installing a new operating system, simply boot from the OS disc and follow the instructions until you are given the option to erase and format your hard drive. Choose NTFS format rather than NTFS (quick) on Windows.
Back up your data before reinstalling.
Make sure you have the necessary product license keys to install your new Operating System; otherwise, you may end up with a nonfunctional computer.
Make sure you have the appropriate drivers for your computer's hardware before reinstalling. This should be on a disc that came with your computer or on multiple discs that came with its individual pieces of hardware.
