How to Boot a USB and Wipe a Drive

Using open-source, third-party utilities is the easiest method to create a USB removable drive that boots and performs disk maintenance tasks. Depending on the system and hard drive, the manufacturer may provide utilities particular to your brand. Normally, you would first make your USB drive bootable, and then add the necessary software to clean or format a hard drive. The open-source software Unetbootin utility combines the process for a quick result. The computer's BIOS must be capable of booting to a USB removable drive.

• 1

  Download the Unetbootin software from the company's website.

• 2

  Insert the USB drive into the computer.

• 3

  Double-click on the file to open the program.

• 4

  Click the "Distribution" option, then choose "FreeDos" in the "Select Distribution" drop-down menu.

• 5

  Choose "1.0" in the "Select Version" drop-down menu.

• 6

  Choose "USB Drive" in the drop-down menu next to "Type."

• 7

  Choose the appropriate drive letter in the drop-down menu for "Drive." If you have only one USB drive connected, the correct drive letter will already show.

• 8

  Click "OK" to create the drive.

• 9

  Restart the computer and follow the onscreen instructions to enter the BIOS setup. Most computers use a function key or "Del" key, pressed as soon as the boot process begins. Check your computer's documentation if there are no onscreen instructions.

• 10

  Locate a "Boot Order" option and choose the USB drive to boot first.

• 11

  Save and continue to boot to the USB drive.

• 12

  Type "Format C:" (without quotation marks) at the "A:\" prompt. This will clean and format the root directory of the hard drive. If your hard drive has multiple partitions, repeat by typing the "Format" command followed by a space, the drive letter and a colon.