Reformat windows xp with cd

Can anyone help? Generally, there are 2 situations where people want to wipe a Windows XP hard drive. The first is you want to sell or give away your system hard drive to others just like the scenario. And it is necessary to erase all data on the disk to protect your personal files from being stolen or copied.

And some people wipe their Windows hard disk for reinstalling system. Wiping the Windows disk and having a fresh reinstallation is a good way to deal with those issues and to speed up your computer. When it comes to wiping a Windows XP hard drive, people may want to reset their computers to default settings or insert the system disk into another computer to format it. Home How To Relationships. Happiness How To Relationships. College How To Money.

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We strive to write accurate and genuine reviews and articles, and all views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors. All Rights Reserved. Every time. You may also want to note the make and model of your devices. Once inside the Device Manager, you can click on each category to see what devices are installed.

Method 2. You may also use the Windows XP Setup disks. If using the disks you will have to install each disk when prompted during the setup. Press any key to boot from CD when prompted. This prompt will appear shortly after the POST power-on self test.

Go to source. Press the F8 key to agree to the Microsoft end user license agreement when prompted to do so. Since there is already an existing Windows XP installation you may receive a prompt to repair it. Press the ESC key to bypass this option and continue formatting the disk. Select each field that does not say "Unallocated Space. Use the arrow keys to select fields to be deleted.

Press the D key to delete each field. When prompted, press the L key to confirm partition deletion. This will clear old data from the hard drive of the computer.

Repeat steps 6 and 7 until the only field left is "Unallocated Space. Press enter to create a new partition of the maximum size. Method 3. Use the arrow keys to select the new partition. Press enter to install Windows XP to the unallocated space.

This will be followed by a list of installation options. Select Quick Format installation. You will want to select the NTSF file system. That is the preferred file system of Windows XP. If you're reformatting to recover from error, you will want to do a Full Format otherwise your error may still exist. The PC should restart, then select your language and local preferences when prompted to do so. There are quick selection options or you can click on custom settings to receive more options. Enter your desired password.

When the administrator password prompt comes up you can enter your desired password. Make sure you backup your files first. Or, go to www. Post Reply. Top Contributor. Dell Support Resources. Latest Solutions. Can't find what you're looking for? You can post your question in our community. Sign up now.