Securely wiping the drive of a netbook

I have a relatively old Acer Netbook with no CD/DVD-ROM. I want to securely wipe the drive before giving it away. I also doesn't seem to be able to boot from USB. Does anyone have any ideas how to securely wipe it if I can't boot it off a Dark boot and nuke (or similar) CD/DVD or flash drive?

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ratbuddy

Better yet, how will the new owner install an operating system if the machine cannot boot from USB and has no removable media?

Answer that, and you'll have your answer.

devils_haircut

Take the drive out (might be easier said than done), hook it up to a desktop, run Dark Boot or KillDisk or whatever, wipe the drive, then follow these steps to load a new Windows image:

installation - How can I install Windows 8 on my HDD without the use of a USB or DVD? - Super User

It's for Windows 8, but the same rules apply. Create the Windows image, apply that image to the old drive, then put the drive back in the netbook. When you boot it up, it should go right to the Welcome screen.

stryder144

It may seem like a silly question, did you change the BIOS settings to allow it to boot from a USB device? I have a Dell netbook (Mini 1010) and I need to configure the BIOS to boot from an external USB device. Some BIOSes have the setting buried. If you've already thought of it, please don't take offense. Sometimes the "obvious" isn't so obvious.

Cheers