How to Clean a PC Hard Drive

Over time, your computer's hard drive can become cluttered with unwanted software and malicious spyware or virus programs. If your PC takes an excessive amount of time to boot up or is no longer working properly, you can completely clean your computer and start over by reformatting the hard drive.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Windows recovery CD

1. Locate all of the important files that you will need after you reformat the hard drive, such as e-mail address books, documents or financial spreadsheets. Copy the files to an external source such as a rewritable CD or a jump drive. Also save a copy of the installation files for the firewall and anti-virus programs you use.

2. Remove the Ethernet cable running from your computer to your modem if you have an Internet connection.

3. Put the recovery CD that came with your computer into the CD drive. Open your web browser if you don't have the original recovery CD and navigate to a website that offers boot drive replacement files (see Resources). Download the file that corresponds to your operating system and save it to a 3.5-inch floppy disk. Leave the disk in your floppy drive. If your computer does not have a floppy disk drive, download an ISO version of the boot drive replacement file and burn it to a CD (see Resources below). Leave the CD in the drive.

4. Restart the computer with the recovery CD, floppy boot disk or burned CD still in the drive. Press any key on the keyboard when the computer asks if you want to boot from the disk. Wait for a list of drives to appear and then highlight the C:\ drive. Hit "Enter" to delete the partition on the drive.

5. Highlight the entry that says "Unpartitioned Drive" and hit "Enter." Select "NTFS" when a prompt appears asking what type of file format you want the hard drive to use.

6. Wait for the operating system to finish reinstalling and then follow the on-screen instructions to set the date and time and then set up your Internet connection. Reinstall the firewall and anti-virus programs that you saved and then plug your Ethernet cable back in before accessing the Internet.

Tips & Warnings

• The reformat process can take several hours to complete, so make sure you have a block of time when the computer won't be needed.
• All of the files on your hard drive will be permanently lost once you finish reformatting.

Resources

• Download boot disk files
• ISO CD boot disk files