Formatting the hard drive?

Question

To format the hard drive on my computer, Do I need to have an Active Internet connection..I have a second computer and I want to format the hard drive but it is not connected to the internet..Should I connect to the internet while I do this..Thanks to all that can help!!

Answer 1

Not exactly.

First, once you reformat the drive your computer will be useless until you install an operating system. That operating system will need to have drivers for all your equipment. Chances are that the operating system and some drivers are out of date. You will need to get updates from the Internet. Also, if you are installing Windows XP, it will require that you connect to the Internet to validate and activate it.

However, I would not recommend connecting to the Internet yet. Before you connect, copy installation programs for a firewall, an anti-virus program, and an anti-spyware program to a USB key or CD. After you reformat, install these programs, then connect to the Internet and download whatever updates you need.

Good luck. Starting from scratch is a long process.

Answer 2

Disconnect from the internet and also shut down anything else that is running or connected before reformatting.

When you reformat you'll lose EVERYTHING on the hard drive so make sure you've copied all the stuff you want to keep, have your original operating system disks and also disks for all the programs you'll want to reinstall.

Are you sure you want to reformat? The only time this is a good idea is when there are serious disk errors or a really nasty virus on the loose in your machine. Reformatting is really a last resort method of correcting problems.

If you're reformatting because you want to delete all the files then consider 'scrubbing' instead. Reformatting doesn't permenantly delete data and your files can be retrieved by someone who knows what they're doing. On the other hand, scrubbing overwrites everything on the hard-drive with rubbish so that even if someone does retrreive the data it's all meaningless.

Answer 3

You don't need the internet to format a hard drive. Remember, the internet is just information and maybe a download or two to help with your formatting. You need a boot up disk for your operating system...if you have a windows Millenium Edition boot up disk, you just boot the computer with the hard drive attached (no other hard drive should be attached), then you run the program fdisk, and then you can format to your heart's content. I suggest looking up directions on formatting hard drives before attempting it. It's not scary, but you can screw it up if done incorrectly.

Answer 4

the guy with the abode windows ninety 8 disk could be attentive to a thank you to format the tensepersistent they're going to might desire to have or have the skill to make a ninety 8 initiate disk,or you need to call and order a clean disk for the pc you have,I even have had to do this.

Answer 5

no you dont need a internet connection to format a harddrive. use fdisk or partition magic( there are other ones aswell) fdisk will run from a floppy disk and a usb drive ( i think)

but no you dont need an internet connection.
regards M.D

Answer 6

If you already have an os like windows on it, then

start
accessories
comand prompt
type in format c: then hit enter
say yes then you're off.

if you have no os use a boot cd, or if you are installing a new os the new os will format for you.

You cannot do this from the web.

Answer 7

No, you don't need internet access to format a drive.

Answer 8

No, it's not needed you can set up the Internet if you were to have it on the second computer when it's all been reformatted.