How to Format a Hard Drive
1.
Make a back up of EVERYTHING you need on CD’s or other removable source.
2.
Check your back up that it is actually there. Documents, emails, photos, spreadsheets, any files that are important to you.
3.
Check your back up again and make absolutely sure that you did not miss anything. Remember once you format, anything not backed up will be lost.
4.
Have any and all installation disks of any programs on hand that you will need (ex. Windows, Office, ect…). You will also need your Windows start up disk.
5.
Now you’re ready to format. Reboot or hit the reset button.
6.
Hold the Control key until the startup menu appears. Select the Command prompt only and press Enter. Type format c: and press Enter. From there follow the onscreen instructions.
7.
Once the format is complete, you will need to install Windows before anything else. Put the start up disk in the floppy drive and hit the reset button. From there follow the Windows installation procedure.
8.
IMPORTANT: Make sure you have a full version of Windows and not an upgrade version.
9.
Install the rest of your programs.
10.
Restore all the data from your back up CD’s to bring your machine up to date.
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