How to Delete Hard Drive on Windows XP With/Without CD

Need to delete hard drive on Windows XP

Generally, there are two scenarios where you might need to delete a hard drive on Windows XP:

✅Reinstalling Windows XP

If your system is running slow, experiencing frequent crashes, or infected with malware, a clean reinstall of Windows XP can help restore performance. Formatting the hard drive before reinstalling ensures that old files and corrupted system data don’t interfere with the fresh installation.

✅Removing Sensitive Data

Simply deleting files or formatting a drive does not completely erase data—it can still be recovered with data recovery tools. If you're selling, donating, or disposing of an old computer, you should use a secure wiping tool to overwrite the drive and prevent unauthorized access to personal information.

👉 Important: Backup before deletion 👉 How to erase a hard drive in Windows XP with CD 👉 How to wipe a hard drive in Windows XP without CD🔥

Important: Backup before deletion

Before deleting or formatting a hard drive in Windows XP, it’s crucial to back up your important files. Once a drive is erased, recovering data becomes difficult or even impossible, especially if secure wiping methods are used. There are multiple backup methods available. Please pick one method that suits you best:

1️⃣Copy files to an external hard drive or USB flash drive.

2️⃣Upload important files to the cloud. (Limited Option for XP)

3️⃣Backup system or files with reliable Windows backup software.

How to erase a hard drive in Windows XP with CD

To erase Windows XP hard drive and reinstall Windows, you need Windows XP Installation CD. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to format your hard drive using the Installation CD.

1. Insert the CD into your computer and boot from it.

Note: If your computer doesn't automatically boot from the CD, you need to set the CD/DVD drive as the primary boot device in BIOS.

2. You will be presented with the "Welcome to Setup" screen. Press Enter to proceed.

3. You will see the Windows XP End User License Agreement (EULA). Press F8 to accept the agreement and move forward.

4. Press ESC to continue installing a fresh copy of Windows XP without repairing.

5. Now, you'll see a list of all the partitions on your computer's hard drive(s). Use the arrow keys to select the drive you want to delete and press D. Here I choose to delete C: drive.

6. Press Enter and L to begin deletion.

7. With Unpartitioned space highlighted, press C to create a new partition.

8. Type the size of the partition and press Enter.

Note: If you only want to create one partition, type the maximum size.

9. Select the new partition you created and press Enter.

10. Select Format the partition using the NTFS file system (Quick) and press Enter. Setup will format the partition.

11. After formatting, Setup will start copying files on to the hard disk.

12. After Setup copies your files, Setup will restart your PC, and begin installing Windows. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.

How to wipe a hard drive in Windows XP without CD

If you want to wipe a Windows XP computer for recycling or donating, specialized disk wipe software – AOMEI Backupper Professional can give you a hand. What’s more pleasing, the data erase process can be done without an installation CD.

Download AOMEI Backupper now to have a try! To wipe a hard drive in Windows XP, follow these steps:

1. In AOMEI Backupper, navigate to Tools > Disk Wipe.

2. On the Wiping Type page, choose Wipe Disk and click Next.

3. You’ll see a list of all connected drives and their partitions. Select the Windows XP hard drive you wish to wipe and click Next.

4. As the disk contains OS, you will be prompted the operation needs to be executed in reboot mode. Click OK to confirm.

5. Choose your desired wiping method and click Start. There are four methods available:

• Fill sectors with Zero (Safe, Quick)
• Fill sectors with random data (Safe, Quick)
• DoD 5220.22-M (Very Safe, Slow)
• Gutmann (35 passes, Very Safe, Very Slow)

Final words

When you're looking to reinstall your system or remove sensitive data, you can follow this guide to delete hard drive on Windows XP with/without CD. Always remember to back up important files before proceeding with any deletion process to avoid irreversible data loss.

Actually, AOMEI Backupper is far more than disk wipe software. It is also equipped with backup, restore, sync and clone features. You can use it to clone SSD to larger SSD to expand computer storage. Just try it by yourself!