Content

• Steps
• Warning

If your laptop has been recently hit by a virus and you feel the system is still affected and want everything to be smooth again, consider reformatting your laptop. Reformatting the laptop is to erase the entire hard drive and this is the most effective way to "clean" the computer. Today, reformatting a laptop is quite simple. The manufacturer usually gives the user a copy of the operating system or creates a recovery partition on the hard drive. However, before you begin, it is important that you back up all your data to an external hard drive or CD / DVD, etc., otherwise you will lose all the data after formatting.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Reformat the laptop using the installation CD

1. 

   
   
   Backup your hard drive. The process of reformatting your laptop will cause you to lose all of your data, so back up your hard drive to a removable hard drive, CD / DVD if you want to keep them.

2. 

   Determine the recovery method provided by the manufacturer. If you got an installation CD with your computer, use it. If not, maybe your computer has a recovery partition set up, which might mean that you need to apply a different method.

3. 

   
   
   Insert the operating system disc into the CD / DVD player. Usually, the disc will automatically run and open up a menu or options page. Select the task of installing a fresh copy of the operating system.
   • If the CD does not start automatically, double-click "My Computer" and then right-click on the drive with the operating system disc. Click "Auto-Run".

4. 

   
   
   Wait for the CD to start automatically. If you leave the computer at any point then the process will stop at the next moment waiting for an input from you. So be patient and follow the prompts and avoid speeding up the process yourself by intervening. This will take a few minutes.
   • If you are reformatting the hard drive on your laptop, you will need to accept the default suggestions / settings required by the installation disc.

5. 

   Wait for the installation to complete. Once the OS installation is completed, a brand new screen will appear. advertisement

Method 2 of 2: Reformat the laptop with the recovery partition

1. 

   Restart the computer. While the computer is restarting, press the F10 key on the keyboard repeatedly until the computer boots up. This will take you to the partition where you will find options for repair or recovery (reformat or reload).

2. 

   Select the task to reinstall the new operating system. The advantage of this system is that you don't have to do anything. The recovery partition will automatically execute the formatting program, rerun the operating system, install the drivers as well as all the original software that came with the laptop.

3. 

   Wait for the formatting to complete. This usually takes about 30 minutes. advertisement

Warning

• When reformatting your laptop, be aware that your hard drive will be wiped clean and a new operating system will be reinstalled. All files you have created will be lost, so you should back up your data somewhere else before proceeding. Also, once the formatting has started and has progressed to a certain step, you will not be able to go back. Even if you change your mind, you cannot fix the damage and save your operating system.