How can I reformat my hard drive if I do not have any CD's or 25 digit codes?

Question

Currently running XP and will not go out and buy a cd

Answer 1

Can you burn a CD from your computer?

If so, download DBAN, it will erase your disk completely.

http://dban.sourceforge.net/

Of course, you might want to line up an OS to put back on it when you are done.

Answer 2

Don't know if XP blocks this or not, but maybe in cmd, type "format C:\" otherwise, you need to burn a CD. I'd use a GParted CD or a Linux CD that has a graphical partitioner (Ubuntu has GParted and won't ask if you need SATA drivers like the GParted CD will) and just delete your partition table then recreate one big partition of whatever format you want. Or, if you've got a Linux CD to boot from, dd if=/dev/null of=/dev/sda will zero-out a disk (if that's what you really mean by "format"...remove all of the data). or dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/sda to cover it in random junk. If you just format, the data technically stays there and the pointers to it are erased, so data recovery is still very easy. Repeatedly overwriting it with junk or zeros is how you destroy the data.

Answer 3

First of all, backup all your personal files, either on another partition if you have one (like a D: or E: Drive that is not a CD Drive) or on a CD-R or DVD-R or external storage device.

When you format C: you loose everyting from "My Documents" and also all the software you had installed, including everything that you have created with these programs, IF they are saved on the C drive.

If you don't want to buy a CD, then borrow it from someone who has one, or download one...

You can user Keyfinder to read out your current serial number, so you can enter it when you reinstall Windows. You can download Keyfinder from the following website:
http://www.magicaljellybean.com