Reformat old computer hard drive
I have an old 2002 hard drive computer that I need to reformat the hard drive, it got a virus, I would like to know what the commands are to wipe the hard drive and reinstall Windows XT professional, ...
Forum Discussion
The answer to this is to install the XP OS disk in the CD drive and reboot the computer. It will tell you to press a key to boot from the CD. The reason why booting from CD is important is because you want to delete the C: drive partition where Windows is installed and re-format it. You can't do this if Windows booted from C:, because it can't delete the partition from which it is running. Formatting the C drive from a command line is a mistake - boot the machine from the CD.
You'll then be asked if you want to repair your existing Windows XP installation. Press ESC to bypass the repair and install a fresh copy.
Follow the on screen directions - you want to delete the current partition where Windows is installed.
Format the drive as NTFS - will take some time.
Reinstall missing drivers and your other software. Do a windows update - if your lucky, you will get the most up to date patches but since XP is no longer supported, you may not get updates.
You'll then be asked if you want to repair your existing Windows XP installation. Press ESC to bypass the repair and install a fresh copy.
Follow the on screen directions - you want to delete the current partition where Windows is installed.
Format the drive as NTFS - will take some time.
Reinstall missing drivers and your other software. Do a windows update - if your lucky, you will get the most up to date patches but since XP is no longer supported, you may not get updates.
