I want to format my laptop
 

......but the damn thing won't let me.

.......i go to my computer,right click my C drive......format, this will erase everything........please close all windows and try again.........am i doing this wrong.


AARARRARRRR HELP!

You can't do it like that. You need to put in the Windows DVD and boot to it before Windows comes up, or use the DVD software to reinstall Windows (it'll ask if you want to format after it reboots your PC).

thank you kindly sir.........i will put the disc in,wait for it to ask me to format....then will it reload the software,or will i be prompted to do so after the formatting is done?


and again,thanks for the quick response.

It should go by itself with minimal interaction once you boot and tell it what you want to do. After formatting the hard drive it will copy the install files to your drive by itself, then the PC will probably reboot and start the install.

Are you trying to reinstall the OS or just nuke the drive?

nuke it baby............but it didn't work.

i think i may have just overwritten it.........damn.

there's still existing shit from before on it.......damn

What exactly are you trying to do?

Assuming you're using Windows, if you insert the reinstall CD/DVD and tell it to reinstall, it will assume that you want to keep all your documents, etc and will in fact reinstall the operating system cleanly but will leave all your documents intact.

If you want to do a fresh, this-hard-drive-has-nothing-but-zeros install of the operating system, follow these steps:

1. To format a hard drive with Windows XP or 2000, insert Windows CD and restart your computer.
   
2. Your computer should automatically boot from the CD to the Windows Setup Main Menu.
   
3. At the Welcome to Setup page, press ENTER.
   
4. Press F8 to accept the Windows XP Licensing Agreement.
   
5. If an existing Windows XP installation is detected, you are prompted to repair it. To bypass the repair, press ESC.
   
6. Use the ARROW keys to select the partition or the unpartitioned space where you want to create a new partition. Press D to delete an existing partition, or press C to create a new partition.
   
7. Type the size in megabytes (MB) that you want to use for the new partition, and then press ENTER, or just press ENTER to create the partition with the maximum size.
   
8. Select the format option that you want to use for the partition (Recommended: NTFS), and then press ENTER.
   
9. After the Windows Setup program formats the partition, follow the instructions that appear on the screen to continue installing Windows.

Ref: Format Hard Drive: How to Format a Hard Drive, Reinstall Windows, Wipe ALL Data

Now TECHNICALLY you're probably only modifying the partition tables and doing a quick format, rather than a full format. It depends on what your goal is. If you're trying to hide Soviet-era nuclear submarine plans, this isn't the way to do it. :) But for most other purposes, this works.

thank you fellas........i will probably be back.......

Install Linux, you can definitely format the drive when you put a different file system (ext4).

Main Page - Linux Mint

as said here, u would require a bootable CD to reinstall the OS. before you do it, ensure you have moved the files from drive C to the other drive.

i wanna nuke the whole comp,any partitions,any files......gone........don't need them,don't want them.

i wanna kill it all..........then put the windows system back on the freshly formatted computer...

If that's all you want to do, you just need a windows disk, and select 'format' during the install. You just do a 'new install' and select the existing partition and it will nuke all the data.

tried that.........twice,and i still have some original stuff from previous owner.(my folks).so not really a big deal but,i'd like to start clean.......

maybe my disc is the wrong one.........?

You're choosing a wrong option. You have to choose to format the hard drive when it asks, not simply reinstall Windows. If you see remnants of your old setup then it's not formatting the hard drive.

What kind of laptop is it? Most of the laptops I've seen come with a disc to restore the disk to factory condition. This would be the best option as it would partition it correctly and put any OEM software on hidden partitions, if any. It would install all the correct drivers for the hardware and any free software the laptop came with.
If you start with a generic Windows disk, you may have to search the internet for drivers and have to go through Microsoft's procedures to force a format, partition, etc.