Hard drive questions for a new build.

[efus69]

I have 3 HD's laying around. All were pulled out of systems with other hardware failures.They were not reformatted and did not have OS's removed. I also believe the OS's were upgraded to XP SP2 and my XP discs are SP1.

I am new to computer building. Can these HD's be reused for new builds? Can I reformat them at first start up of systems and then install the OS? Also will SP2/SP1 cause me a issue?
Or do I need to wipe these HD's first? and how can I do that with them uninstalled?

Thanks.

[doctorgonzo]

Yes, you can reuse the drives themselves. I'd install one drive in the new build only until you get Windows installed on it; you can repartition and reformat during the Windows install process. Once you have that drive working, add any other drives you want and you can format and partition them from within Windows.

[jayb1234]

The best way to do it would be to put the drive you want to put the OS on into another computer or an external enclosure and format or zero fill it. That way you will avoid any issues with old drivers etc. The other two you can just install once you have the OS up and running on the first drive and then format or wipe them too.

[efus69]

Thanks guys.