How do I safely reformat my c drive?

Answer 1

1. What do you mean by safe? When you reformat your system drive, you'll definitely lose your Windows Installation (or any OS you use). You cannot reformat a system drive without losing the OS installation, so basically there is no safe reformat.

But if you follow my instructions, you'll be safe reformatting and reinstalling your system. Make sure you print them out or write it in a piece of paper with a good writing.

To reformat you'll have to make sure you have these:
- Windows Installation CD (or other OSes you prefer)
- (optional, important if you're installing Windows) A CD filled with installers of various security programs of your choice (1 Firewall, 1 Antivirus, several antispyware) and an alternative browser (Mozilla Firefox or Opera or IE7 or your preferred alternative browser that is not IE6), if there is space you could use the CD you use for data backup for this purpose

And make sure:
- (optional, especially important in Windows) Any network cable and modems are unplugged (this is to isolate the computer, minimizing possibility of early worm infection)

And do:
- Make the computer's boot order into booting the CD first, then the computer.
- Insert the OS installation CD
- Restart
- If prompted whether you want to boot from CD, say yes.
- Follow instruction to reformat the harddisk, then follow the instructions to reinstall the OS.
- When finished installing, the computer might restart.
- After the restart, the computer might start setting up everything, prompting things, registrations, product key, bla bla bla, Finish this setups.
- (conditional, if you're follow the optionals, this statement is wrong >) Your computer is ready.
- (optional) Install the Firewall first, before any other things.
- (optional) Second install the antivirus and antispywares.
- (optional) Third Install the alternative browser
- (optional) Plug in the cables you used for internet if you have unplugged it
- (optional) Update the antivirus and antispywares.
- Your computer is installed and secured.

2. If by the meaning of safe format, you're planning to clean format a whole harddisk so it is unrecoverable, you'll just need to find a program that do that for you, these kinds of program generally works by rewriting the whole harddisk with random bytes so much the old data is virtually unrecoverable. You'll need to take the harddisk out of the casing (unscrew the casing, unplug some cables, take the harddisk out), put the harddisk in other computer, run the clean sweep program from the other computer pointing to the harddisk you're reformatting, then put the harddisk back to the old computer.

3. If you just want to reformat the harddrive, but you don't care to reinstall the OS back (which is extremely unlikely except if you're going to use that harddisk as a secondary harddisk), you just need to open a command prompt, type "format C:" (without quotes) then enter.

Answer 2

Open "my computer" right click on the c drive, choose format, and follow the steps. Make sure to backup any important files, because a format erases ALL data. You must also have a operating system disk from which you can re-install the OS after a format.

Answer 3

This is an easy way to do it, you will not lose your operating system>>

Subject: System Recovery

To get your computer back to looking like new, do "a system recovery"
My windows XP, was already loaded on my computer, when I bought it. These instructions, will clean everything off of your hard drive, so you must back up anything that you want to save. I have done this three times, and I got these instructions, from a computer tech. When starting your computer, tap the F-10 key. click on next-yes-and follow the instructions, that come up on your screen. When you are finished, your computer, will look just like it did, when you first bought it.Do these steps, in order, when finished.
1. set up windows firewall, in control panel
2. windows update (click express)
3. install your anti-virus program (update)
4. install anti-spyware (update)

Answer 4

If you meant, safely erasing so that the information cannot be recovered by another person... then you need to download / buy a software package that can perform a DOD wipe (dban, killdisk). It basically writes zeros and ones over the whole disk.

Answer 5

There is a quicker way by pressing F10 twenty times between the hours of 11am and 1pm EST on a Sunday when the Microsoft Network is rebooting. This way they can't scan your computer for illegal documents.

Have you deleted everything illegal first?