How to Reformat A Hard Drive
Although the very thought of reformatting can sometimes strike terror into a novice users heart, knowing how to reformat your hard drive is often the answer to many common problems.
There are times when the best possible solution to a personal computer hard drive problem is reformatting. When people hear that reformatting is a process that basically wipes your hard drive clean allowing you to start over again, they tend to panic a little bit. You can do it to solve many common problems including storage issues, poor operating performance, and even virus issues. Once you understand how to reformat a hard drive, you can pretty much start over, fresh and clean.
The very first step in the reformatting process is always backing up of your important existing information. Remember that you are going to be wiping your hard drive clean. You will lose all your programs and all your files. The programs and various operating systems can easily be restored, but your personal files are another matter.
Very carefully, go through your files and back up everything that you need on a CD disk. This should include “my documents”, “my favorites”, and all of those other personal bits of information or files that you do not want to lose. Take your time on this and be methodical as you work your way through your systems. Reformatting should never lead to the disappointment of a lost personal file that can not be replaced.
When the back up process is done, you are ready to begin the reformatting process. The actual procedure will depend on the version of Windows that you are using. Another thing that you must determine is which file storage system is being utilized by your PC. There are two basic systems. There are NTFS and FAT32. If you click on the “my computer” icon and select properties, you will able to see which one you are using.
Once you know the file system, you can perform the basic reformatting right on your PC by following the step by step operation of the set up wizards. It is going to be necessary to have a Windows installation disk in order to reinstall your Windows program once the reformatting is complete. If you do not have the original disk, it will be necessary to purchase one from a retail store. You can safely ignore all warnings during the reformatting process if you have been careful in your back up. There warnings are basically of the “are you sure” type. If you have backed up everything you want, reformatting and reinstalling can be the same as purchasing a brand new PC.