Formatting a Pc
 

I've got an old Dell laptop and I want to completely reformat it and start from sctratch, whats the best way to go about this (assume I'm an idiot when explaining)

1) get into the BIOS
--When the laptop first starts up you will see "Hit Del to enter setup" or some variation.
2) find the BIOS setting to boot from CD
--Boot order or some such. Make D (or whatever your CD drive letter is) the first boot option
3) save BIOS and exit
--Navigate the BIOS to save changes and exit
4) insert Windows OS CD
5) foot system and hit any key to boot from CD when requested
6) follow on-sceen instuctions to format your HD and install a fresh version on Windows

Clear enough?

A little more explanation if you're curious what you're actually doing. On your computers motherboard (mainboard) there are all sorts of chips and switches and ports. One of those chips is the BIOS. It is the Basic Input-Output System, and is responsible for most of that flashing text you see when your computer boots up. Becuase this is stored permanently on your motherboard, there is very little you can do to "destroy" this. Its a safety net in case your Operating System fails. It will allow you to boot up and change settings on the motherboard, and provide a basic interface for input/output. This can even be done without a hard drive physically in the machine...

"Formatting" your computer means erasing and formatting the hard drive. The easiest way to do this (for Windows users) is to use the Windows CD provided with your computer. It has software that will allow you to erase your harddrive, partition it (divide it into little parts), and re-install the Operating System. So, the above steps are correct.. you must enter the BIOS and find a setting for "Boot Order" or similar, and make sure that it boots from the CD first. Past the BIOS, you need something to "boot" into, whether it be Windows or onto a standalone CD. By setting your CD-drive as the first device to check, it will boot from the CD before checking to boot from your harddrive, where Windows is installed. After doing that, you reboot and it checks the CD drive. The software on the CD tells the computer that it is a bootable device.

Now, to "format" your computer. The easiest way to do this is to remove all the partitions (unless there is a Dell Restore Partition, leave that)... and then format the drive with NTFS. NTFS is the file system that Windows XP and others use best. After it is formatted, things can be installed to it. Windows will install and you will be presented with a fresh install of Windows on an empty hard drive. From there, remember to re-install all your device drivers, antivirus, spyware blocker, and other software that you need like Firefox or AIM. Most importantly, remember to run Windows Update to at LEAST sp2, or you'll be reinfected with the same viruses/spyware that probably prompted this decision.

... can you tell I'm bored at work? :-D

I was wondering.

I would assume from what he said about "completely reformat", that he would be better off deleting all partitions, including restore. Especially on a Dell. :hmm:

how about an old toshiba laptop that has NT4 on it? I would like to reformat it with windows 98 (because I have the CDs to install 98). I got the laptop from my neighbour who's work was getting rid of them.

Same process.. Windows98 CD is bootstrapped.. the only instruction that shoudl change is you have to format as FAT32 instead of NTFS since Win98 doesnt have native NTFS support..

If you really want to make sure that EVERYTHING is gone, including the old boot sector partition, you need to use something like Darik's Boot and Nuke from http://dban.sourceforge.net/ . After you set the system to boot from CD, put this puppy in. It loads a small amount of linux code into the RAM, then wipes the disc entirely, up to DoD standards. Just like new! Use whatever OS disc you want afterward, and you will prompted to format with the appropriate file system.

:icare:

thanks JinnKai, this is very helpful...

To add some helpful advice, if you can get to a command prompt:

at c:\ type "disk" that is what allows you to control the partitions on the "fixed" disk. (Most people wonder what the "F" in fdisk stands for.)

Or, you can just type in "format c: /s /u"
the swithches /s & /u are to make it a system disk and do an "unconditional" format.


/is also bored at work :D