when reformatting a computer's os, will files be lost forever?

Question

my windows xp os is in italian, i'd like to reformat it in english, will all the files i have saved thus far be deleted and never to resurface once the reformatting is done?

Answer 1

Yes, formatting permanently destroys the files. Trying to get them back is going to be very painful if not impossible

Answer 2

Eccola, if you have all the files also stored on the same drive partition as the OS and format that partition, then you'll lose the data.

Ma ecco, if you have the data on another partition, then that is not effected by the change of OS which will be installed over the old version which it formats.

Ergo, amico mio, if you want to save your data before changing the OS, primo, make a partion, if you haven't done that already; and cut and paste all the data you want to save on to the other Partition. Example gratia, you have "C" drive on which your OS is, cut and paste all the data you want to save on to "D' drive that you've created, or which was there all this time, capisce?

Molto facile, no?

Then you injstall the new OS in the "C" drive over the old one, and you'll still have all the old data safe on "D" with the new English OS on "C"!

Veramente facile, amico!

Answer 3

Formatting DOES NOT DELETE files off your PC. Your files on your pc does NOT ever get deleted. The only thing it does is delete the marker telling the pc where the file actually is. The only way a file can actually get deleted off your pc is if the location of where your file was stored on gets overwritten by other data. You can get your file back as long as it wasn't over written. You can't control where new data gets written too so the chances of getting your file back is not that good but you can still do it. You won't be able to get all of them back but you'll be able to get some back. You just won't know which ones.

You can always get a cheap external hard drive and save all your files onto it.

A free program that might help you is FreeUndelete.

http://officerecovery.com/freeundelete/

Good luck.

Answer 4

Yea a reformat will delete all data from the drive... , but before you do that, have you tried changing the language settings trough the control panel?

Answer 5

You do not format operating systems, you format disks. Formatting a disk will in fact loose your program and data files contained on the disk. I would use control panel, language and regional options to change to the language of choice.

Answer 6

that extremely looks like a deadly disease to me (or, extremely, a collection of undesirable viruses). First, see in case you are able to boot into secure mode and see what your laptop feels like then. i think of in case you press F8 after turning your laptop on and carry it down, you'll have the means to go with secure mode. in case you are able to boot into secure mode with networking, go with that once which acquire Combofix. you're able to additionally prefer to acquire and improve Malwarebytes Anti-malware, yet do not use the only that is on your laptop now because it is a faux which will in simple terms load extra viruses onto your laptop. yet attempt Combofix first. If all this fails and you have yet another laptop or get admission to to a diverse laptop, it is advisable to take the difficultcontinual out and positioned it in yet another laptop by way of fact the 2d difficultcontinual. then you definately can replica the archives you prefer off it and save them, maybe to an exterior USB difficultcontinual or a USB reminiscencecontinual.

Answer 7

before formating, you have to back up your files. You need an external hard drive, and transfer almost everything. No, not complicated, one or two hours. Any comp center will do it for you for $30 to 50.

Answer 8

If you mean format the hard drive, then yes all the data will be erased completely. If you mean change the language setting, then no, no data will be lost.

Answer 9

yes