How to Format a Hard Drive in Windows XP

1. Permanently erase all files with a disk sanitizer such as WipeDrive.

2. Insert the Windows installation CD into the CD drive. Make sure that there are no other disks
in the computer, and restart.
3. At the "Welcome to Setup" screen, press the Enter key to set up Windows.
4. Press the C key to continue setup.
5. Press the F8 key to agree to the license.
6. Press the C key to create a partition.
7. Enter the size of the partition, or just press the Enter key to use maximum size.
8. Select the "New (Unformatted)" option, and press the Enter key.
9. Select NTFS or FAT file system (select NTFS if you are unsure).
10. Simply follow the prompts format the hard drive in Windows XP continue the Windows
installation.

How to Format a Computer with Windows XP

Warning - Formatting hard drive information does not permanently erase the data. Even after a
computer has been formatted, deleted files can be easily recovered. If you want to permanently
wipe your hard drive by completely overwritting hard drive data, check out WipeDrive.

1. The first step in learning how to format a computer with Windows XP or 2000, is to insert
Windows CD and restart your computer.

2. Your computer should automatically boot from the CD to the Windows Setup Main Menu.

3. At the Welcome to Setup page, press ENTER.

4. Press F8 to accept the Windows XP Licensing Agreement.

5. If an existing Windows XP installation is detected, you are prompted to repair it. To bypass
the repair, press ESC.

6. Use the ARROW keys to select the partition or the unpartitioned space where you want to
create a new partition. Press D to delete an existing partition, or press C to create a new
partition.

7. Type the size in megabytes (MB) that you want to use for the new partition, and then press
ENTER, or just press ENTER to create the partition with the maximum size.

8. Select the format option that you want to use for the partition (Recommended: NTFS), and
then press ENTER.

9. After the Windows Setup program formats the partition, follow the instructions that appear on
the screen to continue installing Windows.

How to Format a Computer with Windows Vista

 Warning - Formatting hard drive information does not permanently erase the data. Even after a
computer has been formatted, deleted files can be easily recovered. If you want to permanently
wipe your hard drive by completely overwritting hard drive data, check out WipeDrive.

To format your hard disk during Windows Vista installation, you'll need to start, or boot, your
computer using the Windows Vista installation disc or USB flash drive.

1. Turn on your computer so that Windows starts normally, insert the Windows Vista installation
disc, and then shut down your computer.

2. Restart your computer.

3. Press any key when prompted, and then follow the instructions that appear.

4. On the Install Windows page, follow any instructions that are displayed, and then
click Install now.
o If the Install Windows page doesn't appear, and you're not asked to press any key,
you might need to change some system settings. To learn how to do this, see Start
Windows from a CD or DVD.
5. On the Get important updates for installation page, we recommend getting the latest
updates to help ensure a successful installation and to help protect your computer against
security threats. You will need an Internet connection to get installation updates.

6. On the Type your product key for activation page, do one of the following:

o If you are reinstalling Windows Vista, you should enter your product key now.
o If you are not reinstalling Windows Vista, you can skip this step.
7. On the Please read the license terms page, if you accept the license terms, click I accept
the license terms.

8. On the Which type of installation do you want? page, click Custom.

9. On the Where do you want to install Windows? page, click Drive options (advanced).

10. Click the partition that you want to format and click Format
o If you have more than one partition on this hard drive and want to get rid them to
make one big drive again, then select a partition and click on the Delete option for each
partition. Once you have deleted all of the partitions, select the Unallocated
Space partition and click Format
11. When you've finished formatting, click Next.

12. Follow the instructions to finish installing Windows Vista, which include naming your
computer and setting up an initial user account.
o If you do not want to reinstall Windows Vista, you can cancel the installation at this
point and keep your newly formatted drives.