how do i scrub my hard drive???

Question

i have a Emachines windows XP computer......But id also like to keep a couple of things from getting scrubed

Answer 1

I don't think the term scrub is really appropriate here. What you really want is to reformat the hard drive. There are free programs you can gget that will do what is called a DOD (Department of Defense) format that will make all previous information unrecoverable. That is good if you are getting rid of it. But if you are keeping the machine, then you can reinstall WinXP and choose to totally replace all existing files, which will literally format the drive, or you can choose to simply repair the damaged files. Hope this helps and Happy New Year

Answer 2

Hmm...are we doing something illegal? I assume that you want to permanently remove data so that it can't be recovered. These apps are called file shredders. Try downloads.com or MajorGeeks.com for these apps.
All jokes aside it's a good idea to shred your important data like credit card numbers and on-line bank account log in info. Simply deleting files is just that, simple. It just removes the read/write tags and opens the hard drive cluster to be reused by Windows. There are a ton of apps that can retrieve the info even if it's been written over several times and the authorities (the police for example) have even more ways including scanning electron microscopes for the really important stuff.
This being said, using a setting like USDOD Standard or better is your best bet. These algorithms offer the best bet for permanent data destruction. Try the links below.
Good luck and safe computing!

Answer 3

Not sure why you would want to scrub your machine. Backup any files that you want to save onto a disk. Than put in your installation CD...have it format your harddrive and re-install your operating system.

Answer 4

Take it apart and use a wire brush. Dawn works the best

Answer 5

i wouldn't scrub it it will probably be broken if u scrubed it.