What is the best software to erase drive?

[warnerve12]

I have got my PC so messed up.I tried to download win XP Pro again.But aparently its on there twice now.Could someone tell me software to buy to erase my harddrive completely?

[Force Flow]

boot off of a windows 98SE boot disk (floppy) > no CD support > at the propt type "format c:". That will completely wipe your HDD clean. All data will be erased.

Or... in the winXP setup, there is also an option to reformat the HDD.

[ktkendall]

Actually a zero fill program may be needed, as I have heard of viruses surviving a format C: and reinstall of Windows. Search cnet.com for zero fill or delete, as there are some free ones and I know I can zero fill with norton Ghost also. That is the sure fire way to absolutely delete everything. Especially if U make several passes accross the drive, than even the CIA I do not think would be able to retrieve any old deleted data from that drive...

[DrZaius]

Check the website of the mfg of the drive, most will have a zero wipe utility which will erase everything, including the partitions.

[morriswindgate]

Here is Zero fill
Easy way to use it is boot in to DOS with a boot disk. At the A:\Prompt insert another disk with Zero Fill on it and type

A:\Wipe 0 (In these program zero = C, 1 = D and so on)

COnfirm your choice with Y and it will clear the drive

[milkman4_hi_r]

if its a western digital hdd you can get the lifeguard program from them and it lets you zero fill your drive as well. im not sure about the other hard drive mfg. HTH

[Brona]

Hi,

I recommend using KillDisk software to completely erase all data on your HDD. After that you should re-partition and re-format your drive so you can use it from scratch. KillDisk also posses some secure algorithms such as DoD M5220 and Guttman's. Head to www.killdisk.com for more info and download.

[Statica]

This thread was last addressed to in 2003!