how do i restart my whole pc so nothing is on there? please help?

Answer 1

you would have to reformat your hardrive.

Answer 2

Insert your windows disk then restart the computer. It should boot from the disk (assuming you haven't changed your BIOS settings). Run through the setup and it will say something like "there is already an operating system installed, would you like to replace it?" Hit yes and reformat the drive. Keep in mind that with the advances in technology it is very difficult to "completely" erase things so if this is an issue of giving it away or selling it, you should be good. If you are trying to hide something, I would take out the hard drive, run a nice big magnet over it, then throw it in a lake and buy a new hard drive! They're relatively cheap now.

Answer 3

You could have meant one of three things and, in case you didn't mean what most of these answers refer to, I'll chime in.

First, if you mean how do you boot up your PC with no startup programs or tasks running in the background, you want to boot to what is called "safe mode". In order to do this you will need to push the F8 function key while you are booting up. This will allow you to select safe mode (it might be under windows advanced options, depending on how your computer is set up). This boots XP with almost nothing else running.

Second, if you mean how do you get your PC back to the clean machine it was when you bought it, you will need to use either the recovery disk that came with the machine or the XP install disks that came with the machine. Ideally you would reformat the hard disk and install the recovery/install disk from scratch but running the recovery/install over what is currently there will allow you to keep some of your data. Note that you will probably need your windows license key.

Lastly, if you want to erase everything on the computer, it is probably enough to reformat the disk. There are programs which will overwrite the disk to make it unlikely that even the NSA would be able to recover the data you have. They require a bootable DOS disk to run. I use Eraser and there are other freeware programs which will do this.

Answer 4

As the previous answerer stated.... DBAN. This little program installs to a cd or a floppy- your choice. If your comp has a floppy drive that is the one I would choose. Restart your computer with the cd/floppy in the correct drive and boot your computer. You may need to change the boot order in BIOS if you don't see the prompt change the boot sequence and try again.....Type autonuke at the prompt and wait for it to finish. It could take several hours. Put in your OS disk and restart your comp and install your new OS on your clean HDD. Pretty simple if you have XP.... older operating systems may require a little more work like using a bootdisk and running fdisk and formatting, then reinstalling your OS.... in that order.

Answer 5

Do you mean with nothing left on the computer but the little flashing dash? Then reformat.
Command-line tools must be run at the prompt of the Cmd.exe command interpreter. To open Command Prompt, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK. To view help at the command-line, at the command prompt, type the following:
CommandName /?


NOT WHAT YOU WANT?.. well, just maybe one of these

Do an unconditional format. Just put in the system disk that came with your computer and restart, and boot up from the CD..... it will go through the steps to install windows over your old one!
OR
go to your Control Panel / Click on System / Click on system restore / select the earliest date... then restore.

Now, to erase all other restore dates... after you have restored and everything is how you want it... then turn off your "System Restore"... reboot your computer and turn it back on.

Hope This Helps
GOOD LUCK

Answer 6

If your trying to get rid of spyware and other junk on it and start fresh, the best way is to get the disk that accompanyied the computer. One of them is labled restore disk. Insert this disk and shutdown your pc. Choose the option to boot from cd. This will clear everything off your pc. it will take you through the compute windows set up program which is pretty self explanitory. You therefore will loose all your programs and anything saved on your pc. So make sure you save important stuff to a disk.

Answer 7

when you say nothing do you mean no operating system,
no windows xp if the answer is yes then how would you use a computer without any operating system software on it ?
there will always be a BIOS (basic-input-output-system) left on your computer to enable you to install windows xp, but if you want a clean disk then simply use the format c:\*.* command in the dos screen. good luck

Answer 8

If you have windows XP, or similar just put in the disk and restart, and boot from the cd, it will go through steps for installing windows over your old one!

Answer 9

Easiest method for you would be to download this free & easy to use utility :

http://dban.sourceforge.net/

DBAN is a means of ensuring due diligence in computer recycling, a way of preventing identity theft if you want to sell a computer, and a good way to totally clean a Microsoft Windows installation of viruses and spyware.

DBAN prevents or thoroughly hinders all known techniques of hard disk forensic analysis.

Offers bootable floppy or CD versions.


**** In response to " Can Answer Anything" who says we are morons .... not all PCs have that option .... yes, she may be able to answer anything but not necessarily with accurate info.... ****

regards,
Philip T

Answer 10

If you have the Windows XP backup disks that came with your computer, than just stck them in and reinstall XP. That will erase everything. Or, you could just do a system restore back to when you bought it, it all depends on why you are erasing it. System restore doesn't actually delete all of your user files, while reinstalling the system will erase everything.

Answer 11

hi, maximum hassle-free reason for workstation (normally, each and every so often at random) restarts is defective a RAM module. obtain Memtest from the hyperlink under and run a attempt to envision. wish this facilitates.