How do I reform my computer? I am selling my PC and I was told I had to do this first.?

Answer 1

I think you mean reformat, which means you have to install the operating system again.
Or just delete all your personal items, pics, music and files etc.

Answer 2

If your selling and you want to ERASE everything than the following is the only thing that will remove ALL information.
Re-formatting does NOT erase everything like most people believe.

To Completely Wipe your Hard-drive clean use the following.
Recommended by the University of Harvard Computer Science Division.

"Darik's Boot and Nuke (CDR/CDRW Version) - [2006-03-19 | Freeware | 1.9 Mb | DOS | 7914 | 4.87 ]
Securely wipes the hard disks of most computers."

The direct link is currently at:
http://dban.sourceforge.net/

USE EXTREME CAUTION and label this disk! Only insert in a PC you want to wipe clean of ALL DATA!

NOTE:
Most Hard-drives are shielded from external magnetism so unless you crack open the case and rub an extremely powerful magnet on the disk, that wont do any good. Floppy disks are unshielded and you can erase them with a magnet, but not a shielded Hard-drive.

Re-Formatting your Hard-drive will NOT erase any information. it only clears the FAT File Allocation Table, it does not erase ANY files as most people think.
Give me a hard-drive that has just been formatted and I can get EVERYTHING off it and copy to a NEW drive with NO PROBLEM at all.

Answer 3

Do you have any personal information on the machine that you wouldn't want a stranger to see ?
If not then you don't have a problem.
If you do then you have a number of choices.
Are you selling the system with a working operating system ?
If you are then you could reformat the hard disk and re-install the operating system
If not the just reformat the hard disk
You have to remember though that even reformatting the hard disk does not absolutely remove the data and if someone was motivated enough they could recover the information.
If you are that paranoid the change the hard disk and destroy the old one.

Answer 4

Assuming Windows XP...

Insert your WIndows XP CD in the CD drive and let the computer boot from it. It should automatically go into the Windows setup.

Go through the first 4-5 screens of the setup and it will come to place where it ask you if you want to format the hard drive. Format it using NTFS.

Once the format is done, turn off the PC (don't let it finish the Windows install) and the you hard drive is formatted.

Answer 5

restart your computer
while it's booting up, keep hitting the "Del" key
when you get into the settings control, use the arrow keys and navigate to the boot options menu
select your cd drive from the list there, and hit the + key until it's number 1 on the list.
navigate to the exit and save changes button
your computer will restart
insert a windows installer cd or whatever OS you prefer
in the menu that appears, look for reformat harddisk
continue installation as per normal
good luck :)

Answer 6

Your question is not clear for me. Are you looking to upgrade your computer and sell it? I've never seen any reformation which anybody had to perform. But if you are looking to upgrade your computer. Here are the steps to upgrade it:-
Note that:- you can't simply change the memory or change the processor to the bigger size without checking your exicting motherboard type, processor capacity and memory size. Then you need to check the compatibility and howfar you can upgrade your pc.

Answer 7

Microsoft normally dont give you a backup CD as part of your package now.to reload your entire system you would have to obtain a boot disc for your version of windows.if your PC is an older model and you have got a boot disc put it in your cd drive(if you have a Rewrite drive place it in that one) then restart your computer then you will be guided through the process by the disc,make sure you back up all of your important data i.e save to floppy or CD.

Answer 8

to format a computer you can either a)reinstall windows xp and let windows do it,all you have to do is use your xp disc or system recovery disc and follow the instructions,if you have a recovery disc it will automatically format the drive and reinstall windows with a clean drive
you dont have to format it if you are selling it,you can just uninstall everything you have installed on it and clean the system through with a utility called "ccleaner" avalible from http://www.ccleaner.com/,this will clean all the junk and rubbish that you have on your hard drive
as long as you have nothing personal or private on your p.c it really shouldnt be a problem
good luck

Answer 9

think u mean format your computer, u will have to get your 2000 or xp disk put it in the cd drive then restart your computer. press any key as the computer boots up to boot from the cd drive. then follow the instructions till u get to delete partision press d then l and then press c to create a partision then u can format that partision if they want to os installed then you can go throught the installation if they dont then you can just switch the pc off and send it to them. regards
terry

Answer 10

When you login and the start up menu is loading - gently tap F8 a couple of times - you will go into another menu area, from there you get option to dump all the memory in the comp.
It is quite difficult to get into this menu area because it is only used by software engineers, just keep trying and u will get in -remember keep gently tapping the F8 key whilst loading.

Answer 11

If you have personal stuff on it you can do one of two things

1 take out the hard drive and replace it with a new one

2 reformat the hard drive so it's wiped clean

only do the second one if you don't want to keep any files that might be on the hard drive.