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Best way to wipe hard disk drive

Hello,
I took a primary drive out of a computer. I put it in a external enclosure. I would like to clean / wipe the drive and then just use it as back-up (i.e. don't need an OS). What is the best, easiest, cheapest way to do this? I am using XP.

Thanks,
JE

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Steven Kirkland

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jbizzle979

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mycarefreepc

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torimar

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justearth

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I was trying to delete everything off the harddrive because it was someone elses and I don't need a thing on it. However, I cannot delete the operating system from it (XP) by pressing delete. So I don't need the files or the OS on it and I'd rather have the space. I tried the right click format and it says "windows cannot formatt this drive. quit any disk utilities or programs that may be using this drive, and close any open windows with the drive contents showing"

thanks,
JE

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