Should I reformat my hard drive before selling my desktop? Do I need my original Windows XP CD to do that?

Question

My original XP got lost and I've never reformatted a computer before, so I don't know if I need it.

... and even I did need it, I just don't have it, so I must work around that.

Answer 1

You must format. Many personal things including some info that may cause someone to steal you identity are stored on a hard disk.

Do not simply format with the xp disk as others have said. You must use an application to format it which specializes in near permanant data destruction. Otherwise people can use the traces of data to retrieve some of what you tried to get rid of. Use Killdisk....@ http://www.killdisk.com/

Answer 2

I would format and also use a util to wipe all data, even a fdisk, and remove ALL the partitions from the HDD.

1 - Obtain a 98se boot disc from www.bootdisk.com
2 - Extract contents of file to a floppy disc
3 - Boot the computer with the floppie in the A drive
4 - Run FDISK and remove all partitions from that HDD
5 - Reboot
6 - Install what ever OS you want
7 - When selling a computer with an OS on it, It would be a good idea to transfer the OS CD as well. As you can get more out of a system with an OS on it, pre-installed.

Answer 3

Yes you should. The info you saved will be there unless you reformat it. Even the simple things of checking your email on July 6th 2001 will be there. So reformat with the XP CD and you should be fine.

Answer 4

1. Yes, you should format the hard drive.
2. No, you do not need your Windows XP CD for that. In fact, if you are formatting it to protect data, I would suggest you NOT use the Windows CD. Instead, use one of the "drive wiping" programs on the Ultimate Boot CD, found at:

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

This will make it impossible for anyone to recover personal information.

Answer 5

if you work for the CIA i reccomend destroying the hard drive and installing a fresh one before purchase - MIT labs proved that there is no digital way of erasing all data on a drive.

But for the rest of us there are dozens of apps on the web that will do a good job of eradicating data on your machine ^_^

Answer 6

i would definitely recommend it as confidential information can be on your hard drive, even if you delete it.

if you have a fast internet connection and a cd burner, try ultimatebootcd.com. it has a software to wipe your hard drive clean, to the point where it cannot be retrieved.

Answer 7

It is not nessecary, but it can be a smart thing to do.
You do not need the cd, you can also use a dos startup disk and so on. search for boot disk on google

Answer 8

Yes // if you have either you may ask your friend it will work also