Whenever I get a new (used) box, I always reformat. From an ethical standpoint, if there is anything *Confidential on the box, formatting removes any temptation to *snoop. Besides, reformatting is like giving a car a new engine...everything is flushed out, clean, and ready for me to mess up again. There is no spyware, nothing...
I guess I wandered from the original question...sorry...