How to wipe a Windows XP disk?

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How to wipe a Windows XP disk:

I would like to wipe the disk on an old XP PC before I give it away. This PC cannot boot from USB and the CDROM drive does not work. However, this PC can access the internet and also has a working 3.5 inch diskette drive with a maximum capacity of 1.4 MB. But this diskette is too small to contain Darik’s Boot and Nuke disk wiper program.

What’s the easiest way to wipe the disk on this PC? Thanks in advance for any advice.

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You could remove the disk, connect it to another computer with an adapter (SATA->USB or whatever it needs), wipe it using the other computer, and reinstall it in the XP machine.

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That’s odd. I have DBAN ver 1.0.7 on a floppy disk and it works fine. Try searching for “dban floppy disk” and you might see a link to cnet downloads for dban ver 1.0.7. The file offered (dban-1.0.7_i386.exe) looks like it’s too big for a 1.44M floppy but I think that’s because it’s the installation exe that will install it on a floppy. So download it and run it on the PC you’re trying to wipe; it should allow you to install it onto a floppy. If it doesn’t and it winds up wiping the PC’s hard drive, you will STILL have accomplished your goal, n’est-ce pas? <grin>

1 user thanked author for this post.

Roger

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Thanks, owburp, DBAN ver 1.0.7 worked like a charm.  I had been trying to use dban 2.3.0 which was 16 MB and wouldn’t install on the floppy.  I’m not sure what advantage the later version has, but the earlier one worked just fine.  Thanks again !

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