The XP Formatting Guide:

Format Your Hard Drive using Windows XP

Ten Steps to Erase & Format Your Hard Drive

Follow these 10 easy steps to erase and format a hard drive in Windows XP. In the past, formatting a hard drive required knowledge of MS-DOS, FDISK, and drive partitioning.

Today users can erase and format a hard drive in Windows XP with a simple procedure that anyone can perform.

Formatting Alone Does Not Erase Hard Drive Data!

Because Windows only erases file records, not file contents, the free space of your hard drive is full of "deleted" files that can be easily recovered. Even after you format a hard drive in Windows XP old files can still be accessed by many data recovery programs and free utilities.

A recent study of 129 old hard drives (many of them formatted) revealed more than 5,000 credit card numbers, medical correspondences, love letters, pornography, bank account information, and other confidential data.

Format your hard drive in the traditional way and you run the risk of becoming a victim of identity theft (America's fastest growing crime). To protect yourself, erase all data with a disk sanitizer such as WhiteCanyon's WipeDrive before you format a hard drive with Windows XP.

WipeDrive is the perfect solution for anyone who needs to:

• Clean a hard drive data before selling or donating a computer
• Completely erase a damaged operating system with possible hidden viruses and spyware
• Remove all personal data before returning a computer to a company or employer

WipeDrive: Securely Erase and Format a Hard Drive in Windows XP

Because your hard drive is filled with personal information, the US Department of Defense created a standard for hard drive sanitation known as the DoD 5220.22-M standard. WipeDrive is listed by the Department of Defense as one of only five approved hard drive erasers in the world.

That's why WipeDrive is the hard drive eraser of choice for major Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and users all over the world. Use WipeDrive to erase and format hard drive data in Windows XP to Department of Defense standards.

Once your hard drive has been sanitized you're ready to format the hard drive with the Windows XP installation CD.

How to Format a Hard Drive in Windows XP

1. Permanently erase all files with a disk sanitizer such as WipeDrive.
2. Insert the Windows installation CD into the CD drive. Make sure that there are no other disks in the computer, and restart.
3. At the "Welcome to Setup" screen, press the Enter key to set up Windows.
4. Press the C key to continue setup.
5. Press the F8 key to agree to the license.
6. Press the C key to create a partition.
7. Enter the size of the partition, or just press the Enter key to use maximum size.
8. Select the "New (Unformatted)" option, and press the Enter key.
9. Select NTFS or FAT file system (select NTFS if you are unsure).
10. Simply follow the prompts format the hard drive in Windows XP continue the Windows installation.

The WipeDrive Guarantee

You cannot risk giving away all of the personal information stored on your hard drive. To properly erase and format a hard drive in Windows XP, use WipeDrive to make sure your data is removed.

WipeDrive has sanitized over 20,000,000 drives and we guarantee that it will work for you. If you are not completely satisfied, return it within 30 days for a full refund.