How to Format a PC Hard drive
Level of difficulty: Intermediate
Formatting a computer’s hard drive brings the drive back to its original settings. One of the reasons why a user reformats the computer’s hard drive is to prepare the computer before installing a new Operating System that he/she intends to use. There are several ways to format a hard drive. The first way is to use an installer CD of the Operating System. The second way is to use the Computer Management Program included in Windows Operating System and last way is to use a bootable floppy MSDOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System) disk.
Materials Needed:- Hard drive
- Computer
- Operating System (OS)
- CD-ROM / DVD-ROM
Step 1
Before you format the hard drive of your computer, be sure to back up or save all your files in a disk or flash drive because all data in your computer will be erased once the hard drive has already been reformatted.
Step 2
In your computer system’s BIOS or Basic Input/Output System, set to boot up the computer with the use of a CD-Rom Drive. This may be done by restarting the computer and pressing the 'F2', 'F8', or 'delete' key. Go to the BIOS menu and from there; go to the 'advance BIOS' feature and set the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM boot the first boot and the hard drive the second boot. Save the configuration by pressing the 'F10' key and pressing 'Y' to exit.
Step 3
Before starting the system, make sure to insert the Operating System’s installer CD into the CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive. Instructions on how to boot from the CD are usually included on the Windows installation program.
Step 4
The hard drive may also be formatted through the Computer Management Program. To do this, click the 'start' key, enter 'settings' and click on the 'control panel' icon shown on the screen. The 'Computer Program Management' may be found on the control panel menu. Under the 'Computer Program Management', click on 'Disk Management'' and choose the hard drive that needs reformatting. Right click on the chosen hard drive and select 'Format'.
Step 5
The last way to format a hard drive is through a floppy disk. Make sure to get a bootable floppy disk. This disk must also be capable of booting in MSDOS mode. The PC will be in the DOS mode after the boot up process is completed. Type the syntax 'format c:'. The letter in the command may change depending on the letter of drive the hard drive is located.