Computer Tips from the Computer Guru | Reformatting Your PC

Posted on October 1, 2008
Filed Under Computer Tips, Techie Tips, Technology | Leave a Comment

Reformatting Your PC

Reformatting your Windows computer is usually the absolute last resort and is often done unnecessarily.  I was recently forced to reformat my computer, as well as my wife’s computer.  There were some lessons learned that came about after reformatting and trying to get the computers back to where they were before the reformatting took place. 

First though, some reasons you might have for reformatting a computer is as follows:

- a corrupted hard disk driver that prevents your drive from mounting  

- severe virus damage to both data and system files  

- creating new partitions on your hard drive

Here are some recommended things you need to do in order to prepare to reformat:

  1. Backup your computer.  My wife and I use 2 sources.  We use an external source, which is a 250 GigaByte and a 1 TeraByte external harddrive.  My Father-In-Law just purchased a 1 TeraByte External harddrive from MicroCenter on 9/26/08 for $159.00.  You can find it online at:

    http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0294418 

  2. We also use a service called Mozy (http://www.virtualvacoach.com/resources/mozy.html).  Mozy costs $4.95 per month per computer and it backs up to their online servers.  You specify what you want Mozy to backup when configuring the tool.  Once you have configured it, it may take awhile for the initial backup.  Future backups are quicker, because it only backs up changed or new files.  Mozy has SAVED US many times!!!  You can read more about their service by going to http://www.virtualvacoach.com/resources/mozy.html. 

Here are some other things you need to remember to backup before reformatting:
 
- If you use Microsoft Outlook, backup your Outlook.pst file.  If you use some other email tool, find out how to backup the major program for that email tool.
 
- If you use Internet Explorer, backup your Favorites.  You can find it in this directory:  C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name.  If you use some other browser, find out how to save the favorites for the browser.
 
- If you have shortcuts on your computer that you use a lot and want to backup, go to this directory to find it:  C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch Outlook
 
- If you want to backup all fonts, go to this directory:  C:\WINDOWS\FONTS

  1. Make sure you have your restore disks that came with your computer and the programs you installed on your computer.  Make sure you also have anti-virus software to load back on the computer. 

    If you don’t have restore disks, you will need a way to reformat your computer.  I have used reformatting software from this company: 
    www.whitecanyon.com and the software is called:  WipeDrive.  It costs about $39.95.  If you buy this software, they have instructions on reformatting your computer, depending on which operating system you use. 

    Example:  The following link shows you how to reformat for Windows XP: 
    http://www.whitecanyon.com/wipe-your-hard-drive-reinstall-windows-xp.php  If you have to use something like WipeDrive, you will have to download all of your drivers.  To find all the drivers you will need to download for your computer, do the following:  Control Panel - System - Hardware - Device Manager - right click on each component - properties - Driver - write down the component name and Driver Version. 

    Also, you can download a program from (http://www.belarc.com) to figure out what is on your computer: 

    If you do not know the brand and model of your device, you can check using the
    System Information utility. To do so, follow these steps:

1.     Click  Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories  

2.      Point to  System Tools and select System Information

Explore under the System Information group list to identify the devices.

System Information

Once you have downloaded the necessary drivers and tools into your computer, back them up.

  1. The next thing that I do is take a snapshot picture of my desktop, because I want to make it look just like it did before I reformatted. 

At this point, you are now ready to reformat.

Just remember, after the reformatting is done, the time consuming part is getting everything back on your computer.

Good Luck!

Jerome BentonJerome Benton is the owner of JERPAT Web Designs, http://www.jerpat.org. He specializes in web design and has partnered with his wife’s virtual assistance business to give every company the quality services they need at an affordable price.

Recommended Resource | iContact

Posted on September 30, 2008
Filed Under Marketing - Online, Recommended Resource, Technology | 1 Comment

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