How Do I Format My Hard Drive & Reinstall?

You can use the Windows installation CD to format a hard drive and reinstall Windows.

Over time, your PC's performance may decrease and the Windows system files may become damaged or corrupted. If this is the case, you may want to consider formatting your internal hard drive and reinstalling the operating system. This process is also known as performing a clean install. Since formatting a hard drive erases all data, make sure to back up important files before proceeding.

Things You'll Need

• PC running Windows XP or later
• Windows installation CD

Instructions

1. Insert the Windows installation CD into your computer disk drive and restart the computer.

2. Press any key on the keyboard when the system asks you if you want to boot to the CD.

3. Press the "Enter" key when you see the Windows Setup welcome screen.

4. Hit "F8" to accept the Windows license agreement.

5. Press the "esc" key to view a list of the partitions currently set up on your internal hard drive.

6. Use the up and down arrow keys to highlight your primary partition, labeled as the "C:" drive, and then press the "D" key to choose the delete option.

7. Press the "L" key to confirm your decision to format the hard drive. All existing data will now be erased.

8. Press "Enter" to create a fresh partition on the internal hard drive.

9. Choose the "NTFS Quick" option from the list of formatting types and hit "Enter" to begin reinstalling the Windows operating system. This process can take several hours to complete.

References

• Microsoft Support: How to partition and format a hard disk