How to Clear Out a Hard Drive on a Computer

Computer hard drive.

The hard drive is where all of the programs, files, data and your operating system are stored on your computer. The hard drive is like a big digital notebook although physically it is not that large. The best thing about any hard drive is that any or all of the information can be deleted and your hard drive will be like new for most practical purposes.

Things You'll Need

• Windows CD

Instructions

1. Delete all of the files. Right click on the Start menu and choose "Explore" and the Windows file Explorer will be opened. You can select folders and subfolders to delete the files in them or the whole folder. Click on a file to select it.You can select one file at a time or select several by holding down the "ctrl" or "shift" button. The "shift" key lets you select several files in between two files at once. Select your first file by highliting it and then select the last file in the list you want while holding down the shift key. To do certain files but not all of the files, hold down the "ctrl" key while clicking on each file. Use the "delete" key and the files will be deleted.

2. Empty the Recycle Bin to make sure the files are actually deleted. Click on the Recycle Bin and then choose "Empty Recycle Bin" from the file menu.

3. Format the hard drive. Once files are deleted they are easily recoverable. The drive is cleared out for use but if you are trying to keep the files from being seen or accessed by anyone else you should at least format the drive. To do this, run the Windows install from the Windows CD. Restart the computer with the Windows CD in the drive. Follow the instructions to install Windows. During the Install you can choose which hard drive to install Windows on. Choose the drive you want to clear out. You will then be given an option to format the drive. Choose the full format. You do not, however, have to actually install Windows if you are not formatting your main drive. However, if you format your main drive with the operating system on it, it will be cleared out but you will need to restore the Windows operating system to be able to use it.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't have a Windows CD, borrow one from a friend. You do not need the license key because you are not installing Windows, just using the format tool.

References

• Henry Amon; Information Systems Specialist; Salisbury, Maryland
• Whitecanyon.com: How do I format a hard drive?
• Microsoft.com: Delete files you don't need anymore