How do I re-format my hard drive?

Question

I want to erase everything and reinstall WIN XP. Do I just insert my CD and follow the prompts? Any tips? Can non-techies do this?

I realize I will lose everything that is on there--that's what I want to do. I am trying to set up a system for my kids' games.

Answer 1

follow this guide

http://www.ehow.com/how_6026_format-hard-drive.html

hope that helps, its easy and its for reinstalling xp :)

Answer 2

You are correct - insert the CD and restart. You may get a line on the screen that says something to the effect of "Press any key to boot from the CD". Press the key and Windows will go into setup mode. Follow the prompts and you will be given the opportunity to choose which partition you would like to install XP on. If you have more than one, you can delete them all and create one, or just delete the C: partition and format it.

A non-techie can do this - the key is to read the screens before going to the next one. If you make a mistake, you can just start over!

Good luck!

Answer 3

Probably the easiest method is to reformat the disk while running through the installation. Make sure to change your BIOS setting to boot from CD (generally when the system is powered up, you can hit a key to enter the BIOS setup. This could be , , or some other key depending on the manufacturer). The option should be listed something like "boot order". Setting to CDROM before the hard disk will get you started on the install. During the installation process, you'll be prompted at some point to select where to install. At this point, you can select to delete the existing partition. (NOTE: This doesn't truly erase the contents of the disk, just the references. A file recovery program can work at a low level to recover files even after the partition is deleted.) You can then create a new partition and select to format it. At that point, complete the installation and make sure to get all the patches installed. Hopefully you are doing this behind a router to reduce the chances of your system being compromised before you get all the patching done. Good luck with the reinstall.

Answer 4

If you have a WinXP CD, Simply put your CD in. Restart your PC. Hit a key when you see "press any key to boot from CD..."
Don't hesitate, as this only appears for a few seconds. Follow the prompts. You'll want to choose to reinstall windows. Do not choose the "preserve file system" option, or it will not clean off the hard drive.

Note:
You may wish to download the hardware drivers for your PC and burn them to a CD, unless you have a driver recovery CD, or are certain all the drivers for your system are present on the WinXP CD.

Install your Anti-Virus software, update it and do the Windows Updates before you install the rest of your software.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

Answer 5

You should just be able to follow the prompts. When given the option choose to reinstall Windows. Delete the old partition and create a new one and you're ready to install XP. If you follow the directions you should do fine.

Answer 6

To re format your hard drive you need to insert your windows cd. then follow the instructions until you get to a screen where it asks you to select a partition use the arrow keys to select the one that Windows is on. (this is normally the largest one) then follow the rest of the instructions

Answer 7

Yes, just insert your CD and follow the prompts. Also make sure you have any machine specific drivers on hand.

Answer 8

Go into your bios (setup- F2 at startup) and set your boot order to boot from CD. Then boot from your windows CD - you will be prompted to format.

Another way is to go to your C prompt and type in Format.

Answer 9

call your local computer shop