Used computer from Craigslist

I just got a computer from a business that went out of business. It's a Dell Dimension e520. I tried to format the hard drive, but it would not work. I put in a "Operating System" cd in the cd-rom drive from an older dell that I still have. It says it won't work. From the run command, "format" does not work. I've tried to do it through xp...still doesn't work. Could it be that there is a security program that won't allow me to format the hard drive?



If I can't bypass that, will getting a new hard drive work?



Do I need to go get a copy of xp or vista that is more generic? Does it need to be from Dell?



Thanks for any information you can give.

Generally "restore" cd's are for exact computers only. You will need just a copy of windows xp to wipe it clean.

The format command will not work because the disk you are trying to format is in use. Try getting a copy of a windows disk from someone and use that maybe.

What do you mean it "won't work"? What error(s) are you getting and when? Maybe that hard drive is just bad.

Thanks for the help. You were right about the restore disk being for that exact computer. I took it to a friend of mine that fixed me up. Thanks for the advice.