Windows XP Cleaning Hard Drive

[bundy]

Hi
I am on the verge of cleaning my hard drive and re-installing windows on my machine. Apart from the obvious of backing up stuff I need to keep, is there anything else I should look to be doing or are there any problems I might encounter.
Thanks in anticipation.

 

[Ian]

It's quite straight forward, just make sure that you have backed up all your documents, photos, internet favorites, etc... and also check that you have the drives to get you back onto the internet ok. Once you do, make sure that you install a firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware application as soon as you can

 

[Quadophile]

As Ian already stated in his last line that firewall, antispyware and antivirus must be installed before you actually go on the internet. If not, its like going on the streets without having any clothes!

I also suggest in addition to what Ian said about backing up, you could also back up your address book/contacts as it is a very painful excercise creating one from scratch.

If you can download all the software need before you clean the hard drive it will help you get the job done without any problems. Hope you have everything you need to do a reinstall.

Better make a checklist if you can, it will come in very handy now and in future as well provided to update it on a regular basis.

Good Luck!

 

[p23185]

clean hard drive

Does anyone know of a hard drive cleaner that I can run and make sure all of the hard drive's erased files are indeed gone and cannot be resurected? I do not want to wipe the entire drive, desiring to leave op sys and the remaining applications.

 

[murdoch]

Clean a HDD

Dont use fairy liquid as it's not good on open parts of a hard drive.

Oopps sorry i see what you mean now, delete all programs using add/remove programs and you can decide what to keep & what not to and it's quiet safe, this should get rid of everything but the O/S & other software you wish to keep. Good luck & let us know how it all goes

 

[muckshifter]

i'm getting toooo old for this job

Re-installing Windows ... but not wiping the whole drive, but just some of it ... why bother?

There are several ways to 'erase/wipe' a drive ... smash it into pieces, use a bloody great big industrial magnet, use a special srewdriver and open it ... anything else is a waist of time if you then give the drive to the FBI or a data recovery company.

what is it exactly you want to do?

 

[p23185]

make sure all of the hard drive's erased files are indeed gone and cannot be resurected. I do NOT want to remove the OS or the current applications

 

[muckshifter]

make sure all of the hard drive's erased files are indeed gone and cannot be resurected. I do NOT want to remove the OS or the current applications

If you delete a file, it can be resurrected ... if you can find the particular block that file used, then over-wrote those blocks with other data the chances of recovering that file diminish ... but it can be resurrected ... with the right knowledge.

You'll be pleased to know that "Data Recovery" experts possess theses skills ... and there are some dame good FREE programs that will do a pretty good job also.

If you format your HD, then get a program that writes zeros to the HD, then only the data recovery experts have a chance of recovering your files.

What I am saying here is ... you can't erase data unless you destroy the drive. However, you, and most other people, will have a dam hard time getting it resurrected.

Just delete what you need to and empty the trash bin, run CCleaner, run Defrag ... and that is as much as any of us would do.