Reformat hard drive under XP?
"I have Windows XP and the system has gotten very slow and flaky. I would like to learn how to reformat the drive. Can you teach me in simple English how to completely format the drive and then re-install the operating system?" Yes, but... you might want to think about some alternatives first. |
Do You Really Want To Format That Hard Drive?
Be forewarned, formatting a hard drive is MUCH different than formatting a Word document. The format will erase *everything* on the disk (the operating system, your programs and data files) and leave you unable to even boot up the PC. About the only thing you can do with a freshly formatted drive is install an operating system from CDROM.
I know... that's exactly what you said you wanted to do. But that *may* be a bit drastic. After re-installing Windows XP, you will need to reapply all the patches and fixes from Microsoft, then reinstall all the software packages you previously had. It could take many hours just to download the Windows Update files.
I'm guessing you're considering this move because your PC has been infested by a bunch of spyware and/or viruses, and is now acting sluggish and flaky. But before you go all samurai on your hard drive, I recommend you follow all the steps in my Make Windows Run Faster! article. It's my special recipe to clean gunk out of your computer's pipes, so Windows will start quicker, run more reliably, and go faster on the info-superhighway.
If you really want to format your hard drive...
You can't... at least not while you're running Windows. You'll have to reboot from the Windows XP installation CD, because you can't format the drive on which Windows is running. But first you'll probably want to back up your hard drive, or at least part of it. For help with that, see Backing Up Your Files and explore the various options for backing up your personal files.
Okay, back to reformatting... when the install disk boots up, press ENTER at the "Welcome to Setup" screen. If prompted to do so, press F8 to agree to the license. Next, you’ll see a message asking if you want to repair your existing installtion. You don't, so press ESC to bypass the repair option.
Now select the partition where Windows is installed, then press D to delete it. Press L to confirm the delete. Okay, it's time to create and format a new partition. Select the unpartitioned space and press C to create a new partition. Allot the maximum amount of space available, then press Enter.
Now select the partition you’ve just created, and format it. Choose the NTFS option, go for the "quick format" then sit and wait. When the new partition is formatted, you're ready to (re)install Windows. Depending on your hardware, you may also need to re-install some software drivers to support a modem, router, printer or other devices. Make sure that you have the driver CDs handy in advance. Don't forget to reinstall your anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and be sure to visit Windows Update as soon as possible to ensure that you have all the latest security fixes.
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Posted by Bob Rankin on 14 Mar 2006
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Most recent comments on "Reformat hard drive under XP?"
(See all 117 comments for this article.)Posted by:
willie gonzales
09 Feb 2010
bob,...i have this problem with my computer that's been troubling me for quite some time now....folders on my desk top are corrupted,some games i have downloaded and some programs i can not open.i don't know what is causing this...can you pls. help me? thanx...
EDITOR'S NOTE: That's hard to diagnose. If multiple files and folders are corrupted, it could be a hard drive failure, bad sectors due to a power surge, or some software gone awry. Have you tried running CHKDSK? See http://askbobrankin.com/scandisk_doesnt_work_on_windows_xp.html
Posted by:
WILLIE
16 Feb 2010
dear bob,
can you pls. teach me the elementary basics on how to reformat a hard disk...? thanx...willie
Posted by:
John
29 May 2010
For all who want to format a hard disk you should backup ur data with an online storage software ,like http://www.dmailer.com/dmailer-backup.html , after this follow this steps:
-Place bootable windows disk in cd-drive
-follow the steps to reach instalattion
-delete all partitions and make new ones
-choose the partition to be installl and format it
Posted by:
Kris
31 May 2010
Hi Bob, I use Windows XP Professional. I created 4 partitions (C, D, E and F; C for running the system). I recently installed Windows 7 Ultimate on the F. But I had some trouble with some of the programs I use, so I wanted to uninstall it. As far as I know, the only way to do this is to reformat the partition on which the OS is installed. But when I opened disk managament, the option to reformat the partition is just grayed out. How do I work around this? I want to remove 7 without affecting XP. I have a lot of data on the other partitions.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The problem is that you cannot format the active partition -- the one you booted from. Boot from a different partition and you should be able to delete the F: partition.
Posted by:
Karen
20 Jul 2010
I am trying to reformat my hard drive with windows xp but when I boot from CD, it starts to load files and when it gets to "setup is starting windows" I get the blue screen of death and it tells me that a problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer. I'm not sure if this matters, but I believe I am trying to install an older version of windows xp (previously I sent my computer to the shop and I think they put a newer version on it). Please help. Thanks,
Karen
Posted by:
manyu
01 Aug 2010
Formatting a hard drive is not that complicated but before any procedures are carried out, you should backup all important documents and files. Either backup to a cd/dvd or use an external storage drive. Why? Because formatting your hard drive will erase all your files and settings. You can use tools such as Mozilla backup to save any browser settings, favourites or thunderbird settings and there are plenty of such tools for Outlook and Internet Explorer. One recommendation I would make is to either have two hard drives in your system and dedicate one to the operating system and one to your data and files. This makes future operating system upgrades or re-installs a breeze. If you don't have the luxury of two drives you can always split the partitions into two. Make one partition at least 50GB for the operating system (I usually make mine 74GB) and make the rest for your data. You can create partitions during the installation of your operating system as Windows gives you this option.
http://www.harddiskdriverepair.com/format/hard-drive-partition-format.html
Posted by:
zyphus
22 Dec 2010
You can format all the harddisk except for the one with windows in it. By setting virtual memory to "no paging file" on the hard disk you wanted to format.
Doing that by open "hardware manager" under "Advance" tab, Performance, setting, Advance tab, then click "Change" Then has to restart.
Hope this help also don't forget to change it back after formating. It kinda amaze me that noone mention this technic before : )
Posted by:
Pat
16 Apr 2011
Greetings to you Bob, I had Erased my western digital external hard drive and was was trying to re install it, but it's a plug and play How do i get XP Pro to see it and get it to work??
Thank you..
Posted by:
MWC
24 May 2011
These directions don't correlate with the OS system CD I used. It doesn't give me any of these options and tells me I can't reinstall b/c the version of XP I'm running is "newer" (aka has been updated) than the one on the CD....
Posted by:
J
04 Sep 2011
Ok, when I turm my computer off and set it to reboot from cd, it loads up like it allways does. Its like it wont read the disk or something. Could you pleas help me or give me some advice?