Most people who purchase a brand new PC do not have to install any key programs as they come pre-installed. Sometimes this must be done manually, such as when a computer crashes, or an important system file becomes corrupted, and the hard drive must be reformatted.
When you format a hard drive, all the files, and data that were stored on that particular drive will be erased forever. Sometimes it is not necessary to format a hard drive, but in a few cases, such as when over whelming spy ware and/or viruses have attacked the core system files, formatting a hard drive may be the only solution to get your computer working and functioning properly.
You have a few options that should be considered before performing this procedure, which will completely wipe the hard drive. First, try scanning your system for bugs with available programs such as PC Bug Doctor, and if you suspect that your computer may be infected with any mal-ware or viruses, the solution to the problem may be as simple as running antivirus or anti-spy ware software. Some examples of antivirus software are Norton Antivirus and McAfee, and examples of spy ware removal tools are Spybot: Search and Destroy and Lavasoft’s Ad-aware. There is also a variety of mal-ware and virus scanners available online free. Of course, even though these few options may have the potential to resolve the problem, not always will they be the answer in all cases and it may not be enough to fix the problem, and you may find yourself in a situation where formatting the hard drive and re-installing all previous software to be the only solution.
Formatting the Windows XP operating system is not at all that complicated, but before any procedures are carried out, you should make sure that all important documents and files are saved on a back-up disk, as formatting the hard drive will completely erase everything. You can save files onto floppy disks, or burn information onto recordable CDs and DVDs. You should also make sure you have your Windows XP bootable CD with you. It is the disk you receive when buying a new PC, and should be included with the PC, even if it was pre-installed already. Unfortunately, you will not be able to successfully install a fresh version of Windows XP on your computer with this CD, so it is important that you have it.
If you feel it necessary to format your hard drive, there are several steps on doing this. Once you have all the necessary materials prepared (Windows CD, Back-up disks, Software, etc), you need to find out what file system you have on your hard drive. In the Windows XP Operating System, you may come across two possible types of systems: NTFS or FAT32. Each system has its own procedures in continuation with the formatting process.
NTFS
For users who need to wipe a hard drive that uses NTFS, it can be done in two different ways. One way is using the Windows XP start up disks, or the other possible way would be to use the Recovery Console Tool found on the Windows XP CD ROM, if you have a computer that supports the use of bootable disks.
When using the Windows recovery console, start the computer and insert the windows XP CD ROM. Go to your BIOS to change the boot sequence and make the CD ROM drive the primary boot device (to get into BIOS, hit the F2 key on startup to enter setup or F12 key to enter boot menu).
Next, you will see a welcome message appear at the bottom of the screen, after all drivers have been loaded. Hit the F10 key and choose the second option (Recovery Console). Once in the recovery console, choose the right type of Windows installation. You will be prompted to enter your password (This is the password you enter when Windows starts up. If you have not assigned as password, just hit enter.).
The next step is to type:
map
And hit ENTER
Next type:
format C: /fs:ntfs
(Please note: In this case, C is the primary hard drive, but you can replace C with any other letter that represents a drive)
Next type:
y
And hit ENTER once again. When the system has finished formatting the drive, type:
exit
Then hit ENTER another time and the computer should restart after this command.
FAT32
For users who need to wipe a hard drive that uses FAT32, it can also be done in one of two ways mentioned above in the NFTS guide. The only difference is after you are in the recovery console, and long onto the Admin account, you will need to type:
map
And hit ENTER.
Next type:
format C:
And hit ENTER
(Again C is a variable and represents the drive letter, therefore if you want to format, for instance, drive E or D, substitute C with the corresponding letter)
Now type:
y
And once again hit ENTER
Type:
exit
And hit ENTER to restart the computer.
After your computer has successfully restarted, boot up the system by inserting you Windows XP CD into the CD ROM drive. Install all the drivers. Choose the first option on the menu screen, and when the installation is done, restart the computer once more. Install any necessary software and the load any documents and files. You now have a freshly installed, operating system working like new again.
