How to Reformat Your Hard Drive (on a Windows-Based Machine)

By reformatting your hard drive, you permanently erase all the data that is stored on it.

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Almost all the data that you save to your computer is stored on its hard drive. The operating system is also stored to the hard drive. By reformatting your hard drive, you permanently erase all the data that is stored on it. This may be the only alternative you have in cases where you have to remove particularly malicious viruses or to fix particular programs with your system. Short of buying a new computer or installing a new hard drive, reformatting is a drastic but less expensive measure. Read on to learn how to reformat your computer's hard drive.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

Data storage device to back up your data
Windows XP CD

Step1

Back up all the important data that you have stored on your computer. You may use a floppy disk, flash drive, zip drive, CD-rom or other storage device. Remove or disconnect the device.

Step2

Disconnect all network and Internet cables from your computer. Make sure you write down all the settings and configurations such as your display settings, security settings, manufacturer settings and Internet settings.
Insert your Windows XP CD into the drive and reboot your machine.

Step3

Set your BIOS so that your computer will boot from its CD drive. Once it re-boots, you will be prompted to “Press any key to boot from disk”. Once you do this, Windows will load the setup utility.

Step4

Hit Enter when you are prompted to select either Setup or Repair Windows. Review the license agreement and tap F8 if you agree. If Windows detects that Windows XP had previously been installed on your computer, you will receive a message with the option to repair. Hit the Esc key to skip the Repair option.

Step5

Choose the partition in which you would like to reformat your PC's hard drive. Next, choose the option to format the hard drive using the NTFS file system.

Step6

Wait as Windows continues the installation process. During this process, your PC will reboot and you will once again be prompted to “Press any key to boot from disk.” Do not press any key this time, or Window will simply start the installation from scratch again. Complete the following screens in the installation process until set up is complete. Be sure to enter an administrator password.

Step7

Install your antiviral software and Ad-ware and enable your Windows firewall. Reconnect all Internet and network connections, and then download and install any updates from the Microsoft website. Install your drivers from the motherboard utilities CD. Install your programs and restore your backed up files along with the settings you jotted down.