Completely wipe HDD using Windows 7 Installation Disc (X: Drive?)

Alright, so I plan to install a third hard drive into my case tomorrow (or whenever it ships to my house), and before I do I want to make sure I have my current 2 TB HDDs completely blank. (I plan on using the new SSD for booting Win 7 and a few other major programs and use the HDDs for storage only).

The last time I did this (when I installed the 2nd HDD) I used the WIn 7 installation disc and somehow got the command line open to the RAM-based drive (X:) from the "Click Here To Install" screen and proceeded to use that to completely erase the contents of my HDD.

My only problem, is that I complacently forgot how to do that, and scouring the internet has yet to yield any helpful information.

And anyone remind me of the key combination for opening the command line to the X: drive and the syntax for wiping the hard drive from the windows 7 installation disc?

VistaKing said:

On the Install Now screen hit Shift+F10

You will get the X:\Source path inside the command prompt.

Happen to know what I should type in to the command line in order to wipe the HDD?

Since you need to Clean Install Windows 7 to the SSD with all other HD's unplugged anyway, you can wait til after install when you plug them back in to Delete and repartition the other HD's partitions in Disk Mgmt.

As the ASUS M5 A99X EVO has a uEFI/BIOS firmware.
How to install Windows 64 bit on a uEFI/BIOS firmware:
UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 7 with

I cleaned my HD with WipeDrive after a malware infection. Now when trying to load Windows 7 from the DVD it gets as far as the 4th screen and indicates that it doesn't see my HD. Do I need a driver or something?

Unplug all other HD's and peripherals,

Boot into BIOS setup, reset to defaults, save changes. (If an EFI BIOS you'll need to decide if you want UEFI BIOS vs. Legacy BIOS. If UEFI follow these special steps for Install, otherwise enable Legacy BIOS or Compatibility Support Module to proceed with normal install.) Set DVD drive first to boot, HD second, set SATA controller to AHCI, Save changes and Exit.

Then boot into Windows 7 installer DVD or flash stick burned or written using tool and latest ISO for your licensed OS version here.

At first installer screen Press Shift + F10, or enter System Recovery Options to open a Command Box, type:

DISKPART
LIST DISK
SELECT DISK 0 (after confirming Windows 7 target HD #)
CLEAN
CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY SIZE=102400 (for 100gb partition, adjust as desired)
FORMAT FS=NTFS LABEL="WINDOWS 7"
ACTIVE
EXIT
EXIT

Next click Install Now, then Custom install to Clean Install Windows 7 to the partition you created. If it fails then report back at which step and the verbatim error message.

In addition read over these steps to understand the tools and methods which work best to get and maintain a perfect Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7. The steps are the same for retail.

After install you can adjust partition size or Create new partitions for data, etc. in Disk Mgmt. You are creating the partition here for the purpose of wiping the HD and marking Active which overcomes certain install failures.

Did you run all rounds of Important and Optional Windows Updates after enabling Device Installation Settings If not do so now.

Check the sound wiring and connections. How is the sound drawing its power? Run the Sound Playback troubleshooter by typing Troubleshoot into Start Search box and opening the Troubleshooter suite.

You'll need to make sure the 32 bit paging cache is working by installing the correct Intel Rapid Storage driver for it. What drivers are in error or still misssing in Device Manager after all rounds of Updates are run?