How to wipe my HHD for use in new rig

J-FRO · 20 Jun 2011 at 15:29

Hey guys,

I've got an Hitachi Deskstar 750GB SATA-II 7200rpm hard drive in my current rig and I want to use it in my new rig I'm going to build tomorrow.

I'm completely game on completely wiping the HDD as I've got ample means to store all of my files etc on an external hard drive until the new rig is complete.

What I want to know is, what's the best way to completely wipe it. I'm installing win7 home premium 64-bit as an upgrade from 32-bit, so this upgrade is kind of a necessity for me, especially when I plan to upgrade to 8GB RAM as well.

So, is there any sort of software I should use to completely format the drive so its like new, or is there something really basic I'm completely missing?

cheers guys.

joey1211 · 20 Jun 2011 at 15:31

I'd imagine a full format option during Windows installation would suffice. Otherwise ccleaner has a wipe hd tool.

Jasonst888 · 20 Jun 2011 at 15:33

Yeah just plug it in to the new build boot from disc and full format it before windows install, no need to worry about info theft so this is all you really need.

J-FRO · 20 Jun 2011 at 15:37

Ahh right cool, so I'm assuming once it's all built, I stick the install disk in and it will prompt me if I want to format the HDD first of all, right?

joey1211 · 20 Jun 2011 at 15:39

Yep, quick format or full format if I remember correctly. Only ever installed Win7 twice

AbsenceJam · 20 Jun 2011 at 15:39

There's no reason to complete wipe a drive or full format. Just format or delete during the W7 install process. Whether you wipe it clean first or not makes no difference.

J-FRO · 20 Jun 2011 at 15:51

joey1211 said:
Only ever installed Win7 twice

haha! two more times than me though! I've only ever had to windows upgrade from vista to windows 7. So this is all a little new to me

AbsenceJam said:
There's no reason to complete wipe a drive or full format. Just format or delete during the W7 install process. Whether you wipe it clean first or not makes no difference.

Sweet, so im going to secure my files I want to keep externally to be extra safe. Then build new rig, putting this old HDD in at the same time, run windows 7 install and just format the HDD, that should give me a nice fresh install.

Cheers guys, much appreciated. Gotta live and learn.