People format the hard drive of their PCs for various reasons. Those looking to update their operating systems use it as a chance to clean out the hard drive to free up space and ensure that no conflicts arise because certain data or file fragments are left on the hard drive. Whatever the reason, know that to format the hard drive is something that has permanent effects.

When you format the hard drive, you risk losing everything stored in it. Formatting puts magnetic markers on the hard drive surface so that the sectors where data are stored become defined. When users format the hard drive, they erase all the files and set it up as if it were a blank or new hard drive. Format the hard drive and it is wiped clean. In order not to lose data forever, making backups is a must.

Tips to Format the Hard Drive

The easiest way to format the hard drive is to install the hard drive on a different computer. Here is what you do: Right-click on the icon My Computer and select “Manage.” In the left-hand side of the window that appears, choose “Storage” and then click “Disk Management” on the right-hand side of the Explorer box.

There should be a list of all hard drives hooked up to the computer displayed at the bottom of the window. The drives should likewise have the partitions currently found on the hard drives visible.

First step is removing the partitions from the hard drive to be formatted. Right-click the partition and choose “Delete partition.” Several warnings concerning backing up the data should come up. Users can answer Yes to all the warnings, assuming they are done backing up everything.

Upon removal of partitions, a bar saying “unallocated” should appear. Right-click on it and select “New partition.” The new partition wizard will show up, allowing for new partition setup. Select “Primary partition” upon being prompted and hit “Next.” The partition size ought to be set at the maximum level, but if not, adjust it so it does and click “Next.” The page that follows enables selection of a letter for the newly partitioned drive. Choose what is appropriate and hit “Next.”

In the wizard’s final page, users can select the format-type. Go for the NTFS format as it is faster. Choose another one if sharing files using Windows ME, 95 or 98 across a network. For new hard drives, check the box beside “Quick Format” and hit “Finish.” If the hard drive is old, leave this option unchecked.

Format the hard drive using the Windows XP disk this way:

1. Insert the Windows XP setup disk and then restart the PC. Utilize the boot-up sequence key along with subsequent menus to make certain that the PC first tries booting up via the disk drive.
2. A screen or window prompting you to hit any key to proceed with the boot process from the disk should show up. Click on any key.
3. Once all required files have been downloaded to the PC, you’ll then be asked to press Enter.
4. The following screen will allow for deleting of partitions. Pick the partition you want deleted and hit the D and the L buttons.
5. You’ll again be returned to the window allowing you to decide where the Windows will be installed. Choose the option that starts off “Un-partitioned space……” and then press C. See to it that the partition size is equivalent to the maximum before moving on to the next screen.
6. You’ll be returned to the Windows installation window. The “Un-partitioned space…” will now read “C: Partition1……” Choose this and hit “Next.” Decide between NTFS and FAT32 formats and then hit Return or Enter. This will format the hard drive, installing or reinstalling Windows on the drive.

The process above could take hours. The good news is people don’t often need to reformat or format the hard drive entirely. Repairing the Windows registry usually takes care of the problem. There are registry repair tools and optimizer software on the Web that can straighten out just about any error in the system so do check them out.