Just recently I took the liberty of reformatting my notebook computer, a shitty, five-year old and heavily modified HP-Compaq Presario M2000. I've decided to reinstall Windows on it because I seem to have accidentally f-cked up Windows Explorer and I can't get it back without using conventional means. I decided a quick reinstallation would have to do.
A reformat and OS reinstallation is much like nuclear bombs. It clears all the shit that accumulated on your PC, until a timeperiod later they come back again as huge nuisances. It's not unnatural for a computer to have to go through a reformat.
To ordinary people, reformatting is a pain, and they would rather ship their computer back to their manufacturers (and independent geeks) to pay "special fees" to do something that the users can do themselves for free.
You can, right now, reformat your PC. You will need:
1. A backup storage (to backup your important files)
2. Your Windows or system restore disk provided by your computer's manufacturer (try to use the original disk of Windows that came with your computer, do not use another copy)
3. A working brain
STOP! Before going ahead with this, think about why you are proceeding with the reformat. Did your computer fuck up? Is Windows being too slow and unresponsive? If one or both of those reasons are met, you can resort to reformatting. In this case, proceed.
1. BACKUP ALL YOUR IMPORTANT FILES BEFORE PROCEEDING. This is an essential part. Back-up everything that are precious and irreplaceable on your system - family pictures, office documents, your artworks, and porn. Transfer them into an easily accessible storage - preferably a large USB flash disk or an external hard drive.
2. PREPARE EVERYTHING YOU NEED. Yes, prepare your copy of Windows, your drivers CD, and everything essential for the reinstallation of Windows. It would save you a lot of time to go digging your attic for these shit right now than doing it later.
3. INSERT THE WINDOWS CD INTO YOUR DISK DRIVE. Pretty simple.
4. GO TO YOUR SYSTEM BIOS AND CHANGE THE BOOT SETTINGS SO THAT THE DISK DRIVE BOOTS FIRST. Your BIOS is the software your motherboard carries around. To access it, turn on your computer, then start hitting the Delete key or the F10 key or whatever key your manual prescribes. After going to BIOS, select Boot settings or something and make sure that the computer's disk drive boots first.
5. RESTART, THEN BOOT INTO THE CD.
6. WAIT FOR WINDOWS TO PREPARE THE INSTALLATION DISK.
7. AFTER THAT, HIT ENTER TO REINSTALL WINDOWS.
8. AGREE TO THE EULA.
9. DELETE THE PARTITION YOUR OPERATING SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY IN.
10. CREATE A NEW PARTITION OVER THE DELETED PARTITION.
11. DO A QUICK REFORMAT.
12. AFTER REFORMATTING, THE DISK SHOULD BEGIN TO DELIVER THE ESSENTIAL INSTALLATION FILES TO THE HARD DISK. Wait for it to finish.
13. AT INSTALLATION, follow all necessary instructions until the process is finished.
14. AFTER INSTALLATION, the system should restart. You may remove your Windows CD.
15. Windows should boot up and you will be at the Welcome Screen. Get through it and...
16. CONGRATULATIONS! You have just successfully reformatted your PC! Give yourself a pat on the shoulder for a job well done, and prepare for the difficult and time-consuming part, reinstalling all of your previous programs and drivers!
17. GET YOUR DRIVERS CD, then install all of the drivers required for your hardware. If you do not have a CD, look for the drivers online.
18. AFTER INSTALLING YOUR DRIVERS, INSTALL YOUR PROGRAMS. Your computer should now be ready for action.
