Instructions for Reformatting the C Drive

Reformatting your hard drive erases all data.

You may find the need to reformat your hard drive if it gets infected with a virus or spyware. Malware can be difficult to remove and it is often easier to erase everything and start fresh. You might also want to reformat if your hard drive contains bad sectors. It is also something you need to do if you are selling or donating your computer. Reformatting erases all present data and protects your privacy, returning your system to the factory state.

Things You'll Need

• Windows CD

Instructions

1. Insert your Windows CD and restart the computer. Press any key to boot from the CD.

2. Press "Enter" after the setup page appears. Read through and press "F8" to accept the Windows licensing agreement.

3. Bypass the option to repair your current installation by pressing the "ESC" key.

4. Use the arrow keys to highlight the partition you want to modify. Press "D" to delete the current partition. If there are multiple partitions for the C drive, delete all of them.

5. Press "C" to create a new partition in the empty un-partitioned space. Type the size you want the new partition to be, in megabytes, and press "Enter." The maximum size for the partition will be automatically entered in the box if you don't type in a size.

6. Select the format that you want the new partition to be in. NTFS is the recommended format for running Windows XP and newer operating systems. Press "Enter."

7. Install Windows, following the setup and installation instructions.

Tips & Warnings

• Back up any data you want from your hard drive before you reformat it. Once reformatted, it is extremely difficult to recover the data.

References

• WhiteCanyon: Format Hard Drive
• TopBits: How to Format a Hard Drive