quick question: formatting hdd

I'm just curious about how people format their hard drives on their computers before they sell them. Anyone know how?

Thanks
-Mike

probly using an application that runs totally off the disk, like fdisk on a windows boot floppy

yeah from a dos boot disk with fdisk on it you could delete and recreate the partition...

or if you have format.com on the boot disk you could type FORMAT C: and hit enter. THis would reformat the drive without deleting the partition.

I'd recommend the fdisk option if you're going to sell the computer.

Use a boot disk and then use Fdisk or the format command or delpart or pqmagic, there are loads of tolls available to allow you to format a hdd.

umm.. i would hope that if you do wipe the disk you would put an OS back on there for the next person.
I'm pretty sure whoever bought it, would like to have a "working" computer. ;)

Assuming that you know the make of HDD in question, hit the manufacturers site. Grab up one of the low level format utilities they offer. Should clean the disk out good as new. When you offer it up for sale, no worries, the new owner can format/install to meet their own specifications as it will be treated as a spanking new disk. This is just me though. If I buy a disk, I want it clean. If you install an OS, and then sell the disk, you put that new owner in a tough spot to get support on the OS should they need it.

Well, don't give them heartache. I am assuming that you are running windows, cause that is where my expertise (well, if not that, I'm pretty adept) lies. Well, if they are going to run it as well go into does an type "format c:" without the quotes. Make sure not to type "format c:\" or anything else, just c: or it won't work. You may also want to just not bother and create a new partition with fdisk, but I don't know about that, because it may ask you about the system you want to use, like FAT and NTFS which may bother and annoy you as well as them if they don't have the system, FAT or NTFS that they like. You are probably just better off using the format command. Or if this is a security issue you could just use one of those hard drive killers. Hope this helps clear it up.

Um, I meant dos not does when I started explain the format command. Sorry about that.

if they were running windows then they would not be able to fomat c: cos you cant format a drive your working from within windows as windows would be running and therefore couldnt format !

I did not mean withing windows. I never said that. So get it right.

type FORMAT C: /S for a format, and for a low level format i use AEFdisk, i find it is really good