How is format computer

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In this case, several readers have written to tell us that this article was helpful to them, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 1,, times. This wikiHow teaches you how to completely erase everything on your computer, including the operating system, using Windows or macOS. Formatting your computer means erasing all the data on the hard drive s and then reinstalling Windows or macOS for a fresh start.

This can be useful if your computer isn't working right or you plan to sell it and don't want to risk someone recovering your data. Fortunately, both Windows and macOS come with easy-to-use formatting tools that make the process pretty painless. Back up your data. Open your Windows Settings. Click Recovery. Click Remove everything. Click Remove files and clean the drive. Click Next. Click Reset. Did this summary help you? Yes No. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers.

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Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Although formatting your Windows 10 PC is super easy, the changes are permanent—you'll be deleting all of your apps, settings, and personal files and reinstalling Windows from scratch. Fortunately, it's also easy to back up the files you want to keep using tools that came with your PC.

It's the icon of two curved arrows. It's in the left panel. Click the Get started button under "Reset this PC. It's the second option on the blue screen. It's the second option. This option is the one you'll need to format the hard drive—the other option just erases and reinstalls the operating system without actually formatting the drive.

Cleaning the drive is important if you're planning to sell or give away this PC. That's because formatting the hard drive makes it hard for someone malicious to restore your deleted files. But if you want to keep the PC, you can click Just remove my files to skip formatting the drive. If you use a drive-clearing program, you'll need to make sure you have a Windows 10 recovery drive or DVD so you can reinstall the operating system.

See How to Clean a Hard Drive to learn more about this option. Click Next on the warning screen. If you see a message that says the PC was upgraded to Windows 10, it means that reinstalling Windows makes it so you cannot go back to the previous version of Windows.

Click Reset to format your PC. Depending on the size and speed of your hard drive, this part can take a while anywhere from several minutes to several hours. If you're trying to securely erase the data on a drive before disposing of it, see the Securely Formatting a Drive section of this article instead. Insert your Windows installation disc.

You'll be using your Windows installation disc to format your drive. This is the easiest way to format the primary drive, as you cannot do this from within Windows itself. You don't need to use your own installation disc, as you won't actually be entering a product key unless you proceed with reinstalling Windows. If you can't find your installation disc, you may still have options depending on your version of Windows: Windows 7 - You can download an ISO file for Windows 7 be entering your product key here.

Run the tool and follow the prompts to create the installation media. Most users should download the bit version of the tool. Set your computer to boot from the installation drive.

In order to run the installer and format the drive, you'll need to set your computer to boot from that drive DVD or USB instead of your hard drive. The process for this varies depending on whether your computer came with Windows 7 or older , or if your computer came with Windows 8 or newer. The most common keys are F2 , F11 , F12 , and Del. In the BOOT menu, set your installation drive as the primary boot device.

Windows 8 and newer - Click the Power button in the Start screen or menu. Select the "Troubleshoot" option and then "Advanced options". Set your installation drive as the primary boot device. Windows will load the setup files and then start the installation process. You'll be asked to select your language and accept the terms before you proceed. Select a "Custom" installation. This will allow you to format your hard drive during the installation. Select the partition you want to format. After proceeding through the initial installation screens, you'll be shown all of the hard drives and their partitions.

You will typically have several partitions on your computer, one for your operating system, one recovery partition, and any additional partitions you may have created or drives you may have installed. You can delete partitions on the same drive to combine them all into a single unallocated partition. This will delete any data on the partitions. Click the "Drive options" button to see the "Delete" option for partitions.

If you delete all of your partitions, you'll need to create a new one before it can be formatted. Select the unallocated space and click "New" to create a new partition.

You'll be able to set the size of the partition out of the available free space. Note that you typically cannot create more than four partitions on a single drive. Format the selected partition. Click the "Format" button after selecting the partition or drive.

If you don't see the Format button, click the "Drive options" button to reveal it. You will be warned that the format process will delete all data on the partition. Once you agree, the format will happen automatically. This may take a few moments to complete. Install your operating system. Formatting your primary removes the operating system, so you won't be able to use the PC until you install an operating system again. You can proceed with the Windows installation after formatting the drive, or you can install a different operating system such as Linux.

To install Windows, follow the rest of the prompts in the setup program after formatting. To install Linux, you'll need Linux installation media.

See How to Install Linux for instructions on installing a variety of different Linux versions. Method 2. Open the Disk Management utility. When you connect a new external drive or install a new internal hard drive, you'll need to format it before it appears in Windows Explorer. You can do this using the Disk Management utility.

In Windows 8 and 10, you can right-click on the Start button and select "Disk Management". It may take a few moments for all of your installed hard drives to appear. Partition the new drive if prompted. If you're opening Disk Management for the first time after installing a new drive, you'll likely be prompted to initialize the disk. Don't worry if this window doesn't appear. Select the drive you want to format. All of your drives and partitions will be listed in Disk Management.

If you've just installed a new drive, it will likely be on its own row with the "Unallocated" label. Expand the "Status" column to see more details about each partition.

You cannot format the "Boot" partition in Windows, as this is the partition that Windows is installed on. Formatting will delete all of the data on the disk, so make absolutely sure you select the correct one. Create a partition if necessary.

If the drive is Unallocated, you will need to right-click on it and select "New Simple Volume". Follow the prompts to create a partition out of the Unallocated space. Right-click on the drive or partition and select "Format". To learn how to do this, see Start your computer from a Windows 8 installation disc or USB flash drive.

Follow the instructions to finish installing Windows 8, which include naming your computer and setting up an initial user account. If you do not want to reinstall Windows 8, you can cancel the installation at this point and keep your newly formatted drives.

Turn on your computer so that Windows starts normally, insert the Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive, and then shut down your computer. To learn how to do this, see Start your computer from a Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive. Once you have deleted all of the partitions, select the Unallocated Space partition and click Format.

Follow the instructions to finish installing Windows 7, which include naming your computer and setting up an initial user account. If you do not want to reinstall Windows 7, you can cancel the installation at this point and keep your newly formatted drives. Turn on your computer so that Windows starts normally, insert the Windows Vista installation disc, and then shut down your computer. On the "Install Windows" page, follow any instructions that are displayed, and then click Install now.

On the "Get important updates for installation" page, we recommend getting the latest updates to help ensure a successful installation and to help protect your computer against security threats.

You will need an Internet connection to get installation updates. On the "Type your product key for activation" page, do one of the following: If you are reinstalling Windows Vista, you should enter your product key now.

If you are not reinstalling Windows Vista, you can skip this step. On the "Please read the license terms" page, if you accept the license terms, click I accept the license terms. Click the partition that you want to format and click Format If you have more than one partition on this hard drive and want to get rid them to make one big drive again, then select a partition and click on the Delete option for each partition.

Once you have deleted all of the partitions, select the Unallocated Space partition and click Format Pick the formatting option that you want. Follow the instructions to finish installing Windows Vista, which include naming your computer and setting up an initial user account. If you do not want to reinstall Windows Vista, you can cancel the installation at this point and keep your newly formatted drives.

The first step in learning how to format a computer with Windows XP or , is to insert Windows CD and restart your computer. If an existing Windows XP installation is detected, you are prompted to repair it. To bypass the repair, press ESC. 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.

After the Windows Setup program formats the partition, follow the instructions that appear on the screen to continue installing Windows. Wipedrive: Wipe All Data Before Formatting A recent study of old hard drives many of them formatted revealed more than 5, credit card numbers, medical correspondences, love letters, pornography, bank account information, and other confidential data.

How to format a computer to erase personal data before returning it to an employer.