Finally reformatting my hard drive
By Koalemos
@Asylum (47893)
Manchester, England
October 12, 2015 3:00am CST
I had some issues rebooting my computer a few days ago, which resulted in my having to try several ways to finally coax it into opening the Windows logon screen. Once the system had booted it appeared to be quite stable, but it was obvious that the wise action would be to reformat and start again.
There was no particular rush since I was not about to reboot again, so I used it for a few days first. Finally I decided to back up the few files that I needed and reformat.
The computer is installing Windows 10 as I write, which has demoted me to the laptop for the time being. This is something that I have done so many times that it is almost second nature by now
Despite being rather straight forward, it is a laborious process. It has not been possible to run an unattended installation since Windows XP, so I shall have to keep an eye on the screen. There are a great deal of programs for me to install afterwards and a fair amount of settings to configure, making the whole scenario time consuming.
As usual, once all programs are configured and email addresses set etcetera, I shall be taking an image file of the whole C: drive in order to simplify any repetition in the near future.
It is probably just as well that I have to reformat because the system was recently upgraded from Windows 8.1, so a clean install would be preferable.
9 people like this
13 responses
@simone10 (54180)
• Louisville, Kentucky
12 Oct 15
My laptop is 6 years old so I should do reformat but I'm not sure how to do it for this computer. I had a Dell computer many years ago and I used to reformat it all the time and it was fairly easy. I don't even have a clue where to begin.
2 people like this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
12 Oct 15
The only hiccup was an old favourite of mine. I am running Office 2007 with the exception of Outlook, which is 2003. This always causes a conflict during Windows update because a file validation up date always fails to install properly. This has happened so often that I have kept a copy of the file which I previously downloaded from Microsoft, which I then install manually.
I am now running a complete backup of the system before I use any programs.
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
12 Oct 15
@LadyDuck I install all the programs first and configure all my settings, then run the backup. This saves a lot of time, but does require a fresh backup after 12 to 18 months because the software programs gradually get updated and the backup loses value.
1 person likes this
@connierebel (1557)
• United States
12 Oct 15
It is a real PAIN to have to start fresh again. My laptop hard drive went while still under warranty, so I sent it into HP and they replaced the hard drive. But of course, everything was wiped clean, and I had to download all the programs again, and reload all my files from flash drives and external drives. It took weeks to get all the settings the same as I had it before.
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
12 Oct 15
I have done this so many times that it comes quite naturally to me now, which does speed up the process.
I have loaded the operating system, installed all the required programs, configured the settings and email addresses etcetera and ran Windows update. Now I am in the process of exporting an image file of my C: drive so that it can easy be restored by overwriting it.
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
12 Oct 15
@connierebel You could store the programs in a separate folder so that you do not forget any.
@connierebel (1557)
• United States
12 Oct 15
@Asylum it still is time consuming. I have almost 100 gigs of Photos, not counting other files, so that takes a while to transfer. Plus I always forget a few programs, until I go to use it and realize I don't have it installed.
@scheng1 (24649)
• Singapore
12 Oct 15
I have never reformat my hard disk before.
A few months back, my hard disk crashed.
Fortunately I had bought extended warranty, so they replace a hard disk for me.
I hope this hard disk will last for another three years.
After that, I may buy a new computer.
@connierebel (1557)
• United States
12 Oct 15
@Asylum Not that rare! Mine went before I even had the laptop a year! At least it was under warranty.
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
13 Oct 15
I hate doing anything like that. Good luck with it and hopefully it won't take much longer.
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
12 Oct 15
You might as well have been speaking Latin. I sort of understand all that but technology is not my strong suit. Atleast you have the know how to get it done without having to send it out for that tedious endeavor.
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
12 Oct 15
@Asylum Oh ok. Luckily I have never had to do that myself. I have an uncle tech savvy enough to do that for me if need be. Of course I did install Windows 10 (or sort of, it did install itself really) though and that was a feat for me.
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
12 Oct 15
@ScribbledAdNauseum I upgraded in the same way, but now I am installing it without upgrading from another operating system.
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
12 Oct 15
I had a computer whose power supply fan failed and until I could get a new one, I had to open the case and run a box fan on it. But it still overheated a few times and every time I had to reinstall Windows XP. But I only had an upgrade disc so I had to install 98 first, then the XP upgrade. It was laborious. When I finally got the power supply and replaced it, I swore to keep an eye on tower temperature for the rest of my life.
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
12 Oct 15
It takes a lot of job for sure but it pays. Incidentally, I have just upgraded to Windows 10 for free and though it took long hours to download, the result is great. I am now loving Windows 10.
@allknowing (153544)
• India
13 Oct 15
I have had a few issues and when that happens I have my technician who takes care of whatever that is.
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
12 Oct 15
Reformatting does eradicate everything from the drive, which is the whole idea because you end up with a clean start. As long as you archive your dat6a then it is simply laborious and not a problem.
Many people find this difficult, so I have done this on numerous computers for many people in the past.
@Tampa_girl7 (54714)
• United States
13 Oct 15
I don't understand anything about computers. My son keeps mine going.
@Freelanzer (10782)
• Canada
13 Oct 15
It is great that you can do that I know nothing about the ins and outs of computers
