how can i reformat my harddrive?

Question

i have all the software to reinstall everything. i just need to get rid of all the junk on my computer and restart with a fresh harddrive.

my uncle built the computer for me. so its not a dell or compaq or sony......etc. it is running XP

i have also reinstalled windows several times dur to viruses and everytime it just adds the new version on top. i can see the older version when i go through my files. i can't access them. but they are taking up all of my space. i have less than 1% of space left somehow.

Answer 1

I would Fdisk the drive in DOS. Get a Windows startup disk and run A:fdisk.exe.

Answer 2

To reformat the drive you can insert the windows CD, when it boots you want to choose the selection that says "format the drive in NTFS" DO NOT do the QUICK format as this does not ACTUALLY format the drive, it only removes references to the files on the PC. (Like tearing the table of contents out of a book, the pages would still be there)

Answer 3

If you have a Dell computer that's very easy cause they have this thing where you can hit alt 7 during booting and it goes back the original state it was in when you received it. Otherwise be careful cause you might end up doing something that does not allow you to control the keyboard or something. I owuld call the manufacturer of the computer you purchased. '-)

Answer 4

If data on your hard disk is corrupted it is advisable to format the hard disk and reinstall the operating system (usually Windows XP) More details at http://fixit.in/format.html