Format & Reformat Hard Drives

Format & Reformat Hard Drive

We here at Advaitech get a lot of questions about formatting or how to reformat a hard drive. So hopefully we will be able to shed a little light on this subject for you and clear up any questions you may have about how to format a hard drive.

To format a hard drive means that you are wiping clean everything that the hard drive had on it. It will permanently delete all files, pictures, programs, music, settings, and everything that your computer has stored on that particular hard drive. So if you are going to proceed do so with every precaution possible. Backup anything you do not want to lose. You can save these files to a different hard drive, CD/DVD, Flash drive, or online to a backup service company. Double check that everything has backed up successfully for you because once you format the hard disk it will be gone.
Why would you want to format your hard drive? There are a few common reasons plus countless others:

• First if you are getting rid of your computer because you bought a newer one, you may want to format the hard drive so no matter who gets the computer after you they will never get any personal information off of it that you would not want anyone to have.
• You may be getting a computer from someone and you don’t want any data that they may have left on there.
• Your computer may have been badly infected with viruses and you want to make sure that they are permanently taken care of.

By reformatting the hard drive you can be sure that when you reinstall the operating system it will be infection free. Sometimes drives can get so badly fragmented that it makes more sense to format then it does to run multiple defragments. These are just a few of the reasons there are many more.

How do I reformat my hard drive using Windows XP?
If you are formatting a drive that is not where your Windows XP system files are the process is very easy. There are a few ways to accomplish this but we are going to just go over the best way to do this.

• Begin by going to the following Start>Settings>Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Computer Management.
• Once you have the Computer Management window open you will see on the left hand side a list.
• Look for the Storage section and expand it if it is not already (just click the + sign next to it).
• Once expanded select Disk Management. Now on the left hand side you will see a split window. The top half gives you a nice synopsis of the drives on your system. On the bottom half you will see each physical disk and how it is partitioned (that is for another article).
• You can format or reformat any disk or partition you see here except for the one that says system, in most cases it will be the (C:)
• Now the process is very easy find the drive or partition you want to format right click and select format. A new box will appear with options for you to select. The first just tells you the capacity unless you want to partition it out leave it at the maximum possible. The second lets you choose the file system, again unless you have a specific need for anything other than NTFS leave it as this. Third is Allocation unit size again the defaults should be used unless you know you have a special need for something different.
• Down a little ways you will see Volume label here you can input a name that will appear next to the letter of the drive (example is pictures D:) you have the option to input a name if you want but it is not required.
• Lastly you will see Format Options with a couple of boxes one of which is Quick Format.

We recommend always doing a regular format and not a quick format as a quick format will erase the data but it will not fix any bad sectors that may be on the drive currently. Doing a full format will erase all of the data and will also repair and reset the disk back to original condition. A full format can take some time to complete so be patient.

To format a hard disk to replace the operating system you will need the OS setup disks.

• Make sure your computer is set to boot to CD\DVD first. This is accomplished in the Bios. If you do not know how to do this please contact us for assistance as it is possible to make your computer unbootable if not careful.
• Once you are sure that you can boot to CD\DVD insert the disk and reboot the computer.
• When the computer boots up it will read the CD\DVD and the screen will prompt you to click any button to boot from CD, go ahead and do this.
• The cd will load a bunch of setup files and begin the install process. You will given some options along the way. Hit the esc key to install a new copy of windows.
• Next you will see a Partition Setup Screen. Here is where you will be able to format the OS drive.
• The first thing you have to do is select the drive and press D and then press L this will delete the current OS drive.
• Next select the now unpartitioned space and press C. It will ask you how much space to use and what type of file system you want. Select the maximum size unless you want multiple partitions and always select NTFS.
• Then go ahead and do a full format not a quick format as you don’t want any issues with installing the OS.

Vista and Windows 7 are both very similar to XP in the formatting options. Formatting the OS drive is the same as it is for XP, the menus are different but it will still lead you to the same place. The menu looks different but you will get to a screen that shows you the disk or disks that are available. Select the drive you want to install the OS to then click delete, confirm it. Once it has been deleted you will see it listed as unallocated select again and then click on the format button.

As for formatting a hard drive that does not have the OS on it the steps are as follows.

• Click the start button look for Computer.
• Right click and select manage.
• It may prompt you to select OK to continue go ahead and do this.
• Now a new window will popup which is the Computer Management and just like XP on the left hand side you will see Storage and under that will be Disk Management.
• From here the steps are the same as they were for XP.

If you feel at all uncomfortable with any of the steps listed please don’t hesitate to call. Because if you choose to format a hard drive you can very easily make your system unusable and lose all of you information in the process.