How to reformat a windows xp computer without the disk

So it is one of the most common data destruction ways to dispose personal data. But it takes more time to complete. It provides much higher security but also gives wear to the drive. Step 3. Otherwise, the SSD's life span would be reduced. And it works well with different disks, like Dell, Seagate.

AOMEI partition Assistant is not only a wiping tool, it has lots of feature for managing disk and computer. For example, you can use it to create a bootable disk , once your computer run into some booting issues, you can boot from it and fix the problems. And if you this method can be applied to other Windows system disk, including Windows 10, 8, 7. And for the Windows Server system disk, you can use the Server Edition to wipe it.

I want to factory reset a Windows XP computer, but I don't have any installation media to do the repair installation. This thread is locked. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread. I have the same question Report abuse. Details required :. Cancel Submit. Bill Smithers Volunteer Moderator. You may or may not have a manufacturer's recovery partition imaged onto your hard drive to do what you want to do if XP came preinstalled Acer, Dell, HP, etc.

Back up your files. Since you'll be reinstalling the operating system, there's a good chance that you'll lose your saved files in the process. Creating a backup file will ensure that you can restore the files at any time. After backing up your files, you'll need to move the backup file to an external location e. Find your product key. The product key is a character code. It's usually located on a sticker that's on the bottom of the computer laptops , the back of the CPU tower desktops , or inside of the Windows XP box.

If you can't find your product key sticker, you can try using ProduKey to retrieve your computer's product key. Click Start. It's a green button in the bottom-left corner of the screen. Click My Computer. This monitor-shaped option is in the upper-right side of the Start window. Doing so will open the My Computer folder. Enable viewing for hidden files and folders. To do so: [1] X Research source Click the Tools tab in the top-left side of the window.

Click Folder Options Click the View tab. Check the "Show hidden files and folders" circle. Click Apply , then click OK. Double-click Local Disk. If there are multiple Local Disk options, make sure that you double-click the C: drive. Double-click the Windows folder. This will open the Windows folder. Double-click the i folder. You may have to scroll down to find this option.

Find the "winnt Doing so will launch the Windows XP setup process. Wait for the setup window to appear. Depending on how fast your computer is and which programs were open when you double-clicked winnt Once the setup window appears, you may proceed with reinstalling Windows XP. Part 2. This will initiate the setup. Press the "I agree" key.

At the bottom of the screen, you'll see a key e. Press the "Don't Repair" key. You'll see this listed at the bottom of the screen. The "Don't Repair" key is usually Esc. Delete your current XP installation. Select the NTFS hard drive option using the arrow keys, then press the "Delete" key usually D that's listed at the bottom of the screen. This will indicate to Windows that you want to delete the selected installation. Press L when prompted.

Doing so erases the hard drive and returns you to the installation menu. This will select your computer's hard drive as the installation point. Format your computer's hard drive.

Doing so will set up the hard drive for a Windows installation. This process will take several minutes to an hour depending on your hard drive's size. You can select the Quick option here as well, though your hard drive might be improperly formatted if you do so.

Wait for your computer to restart.