How To Delete Everything On Windows Xp

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This wikiHow teaches you how to remove all user-created files, folders, and programs from a Windows XP computer past booting from your installation CD and reformatting the drive. You must accept your Windows XP installation disc to perform this process.

1. 1

   Back up any files y'all desire to save. Once you delete the files from your computer, getting them back will be near impossible. You can employ a USB drive or an external difficult drive to back up your files.

   • You lot can too apply a CD-RW to dorsum up your files, but these typically take less space bachelor than a standard USB drive or hard drive.

2. two

   Insert your Windows XP install disc into your computer.

   • If y'all no longer have your XP install disc, yous'll take to buy a replacement.
   • You can as well download an XP installation file and burn it to a CD, though you'll need the accompanying purchase fundamental.

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3. 3

   Restart your figurer. Click Offset, click Turn Off Computer, and click the dark-green Restart button when prompted.

4. 4

   Press and hold Del or F2 to enter setup. The key yous're prompted to press might also exist different; most computers volition display a message on startup that says "Printing [primal] to enter setup" or something similar.

   • You lot tin look at your calculator model's manual or online back up page to confirm your calculator'southward BIOS central.

5. 5

   Select the Boot tab. Use the arrow keys to motion the pick box over to Kicking.

   • The Kicking tab may instead say Kicking Options, depending on your computer'due south manufacturer.

6. half dozen

   Select the CD-ROM Drive option. Press ↓ until this choice has a box around information technology.

7. vii

   Make the CD-ROM Drive your kick selection. Press + until CD-ROM Drive is at the elevation of the listing.

   • You may have to press a different cardinal here. Cheque the key fable on this screen to ostend.

8. eight

   Salve your settings. You should see a key prompt (eastward.thou., F10 ) at the lesser of the screen that correlates to "Salve and Leave"; pressing information technology will restart your computer, using the CD bulldoze as a reboot signal.

   • You may take to printing ↵ Enter to confirm the changes.

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1. 1

   Press ↵ Enter at the "Welcome to Setup" screen. This will brainstorm the setup process.

2. 2

   Press F8 to accept the Windows understanding. If you're prompted to press a different cardinal, press that key instead of F8 .

3. three

   Printing Esc when prompted. Doing so bypasses the repair process.

4. 4

   Select the "Windows" sectionalisation. This line of text will say something like "Partition 2 (Windows)". Press the ↓ key until this line of text is selected.

5. five

   Press D , so printing Fifty . This will delete the division where your operating system and all of its files are stored.

   • You may see slightly different key prompts at the bottom of the screen. If so, apply those instead.

6. 6

   Re-select the partition's infinite if necessary. There should exist a blank space where the partition used to be; brand certain it's selected.

7. 7

   Press C , then press ↵ Enter . This volition create a new, empty partition in the space where the old one was.

8. eight

   Select the new partition and printing ↵ Enter . Doing so volition select the partition every bit the location to install Windows XP.^[one]

9. 9

   Cull NTFS as the partition'south format. Select the Format the partition past using the NTFS file system (Quick) option using the pointer keys, then printing ↵ Enter .

10. 10

    Wait for your difficult drive to stop formatting. This can take several hours. In one case this process is consummate, you'll follow the on-screen instructions to reinstall Windows XP; even so, your files, programs, and any other user-installed items will be gone.

    • You will need your product fundamental to finish installing Windows XP.

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Add New Question

• Question

  How do I articulate all the files off the computer and store them on an external hard drive?

  

  Support all the files to a hard bulldoze or disc, delete the files off the old difficult drive, and use a computer to transfer the back-up onto the new hard drive.

• Question

  Does this get rid of the Bone as well?

  

  No, resetting or reimaging a device volition reinstall all of the software and the operating system information but information technology will delete all user data.

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• If you lot want to make sure no one tin can recover any of your files, you'll demand to use a program similar Eraser or DBAN (Darik'south Boot and Nuke) to overwrite the hard drive.

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• The just guaranteed way to ensure that no one can ever recover your files is to physically destroy the difficult drive.

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