zero hard drive

hi i need help to zero my hard drive. can anyone point me to a guide or explain this for me. i dont know what kind it is but it came with my dell dimension L933r

 

my hard drive is a Quantum fireballct20 20 btw

 

i am trying to clear it not just by reformating completely clear it like the day it was bought set everything to zero

 

If you have a Dell, and you want to restore it back to the same as when you bought it, just use the restore cd's you received with the PC.

This will re-format and install your OS. If you do this, don't forget to update all your hardware afterwards (video drivers, mobo etc.)

 

or you could do the simplier way by just system restore ,, i hope you have set a restore date..

 

System restore is fine (i'm assuming you mean with XP), but it doesn't clean up all the accumulated rubbish on your HDD. Also he doesn't state which OS he is using.

A complete restore with the Dell Cd roms is a couple of work, but it's always the best option. Also if you have problems with spyware or virusses on your PC, a complete format is definitely the best option if you have backed everthing up or don't need your old data.

 

i have xp but thats not important was asking for a low level formatting progam for my hard drive the os system is not important which can be found at the manufacters website a free download and it can not be run in an os enviroment. system restore only restores comp to earlier time but doesnt wipe hard drive. The format c: prompt doesnt wipe your hard drive completely either. sometime viruses hide deep were a regular format does nothing. a low level format zeros the drive every value is reset to zero just like the day it was taken out of the box. BTW
i have already zeroed the drive and everything runs great. just figured i would tell others who may wonder how this works since only 1 person answered my question.