Format option not showing up in Windows XP drive partition

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Nov 21, 2018
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I have a friend who is trying to wipe his Windows XP laptop, but needs to format his hard drive, and his partitions don't have the format option when he right clicks.
 
Solution
Boot the laptop using a live Linux distro and use the Disk Utility (often GParted) to remove the existing partitions.

If your friend intends to re-install Windows, you can format the drive during the installation process as well.

There is also the DBAN option... https://dban.org

COLGeek

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Your friend should be able to find a local high-school kid who could help, or take to a local Best Buy and let the Geek Squad charge him for something that Google can help with for free. This really is pretty easy.

Is this friend older or disabled? If so, there may be local resources that can assist as well.
 
Nov 21, 2018
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No, he's just very computer illiterate. I'm pretty experienced and even I didn't know what you were talking about. I mean, we are both freshman in high school, and my high school tends to have computer illiterate people.
 

COLGeek

Cybernaut
Moderator
Sounds like he is just going to re-install Windows. If that is the case, I wouldn't use XP for business use unless there is a compelling reason to keep XP. It is no longer being updated by Microsoft. Windows 7 or newer should be used.

During the installation process for Windows, you can remove existing partitions. Very simple process.
 

COLGeek

Cybernaut
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I assume you are referring to downloading Dban ISO to write to a USB drive. Yes, that is required.

Does he have a bootable DVD (or thumb drive) for any version of Windows? If so, what version?
 
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