mrdigitech
New Member
Laptop computers have made it easy to process data and carry work on-the-go. These mobile computers are our mobile digital companions, as they can be carried along where ever we go, be it formal or informal outings. But with time, our laptops are bound to operate slowly and inefficiently due to malicious software infections or overgrown system registries. It is advisable to carry out periodic formatting of your Laptop's hard drives, especially when it slows down or operates inefficiently.
The process of formatting a laptop’s hard drive is a bit cumbersome and risky, especially if you aren’t quite experienced in this regard. One wrong step will make you lose valuable data, even worse, crash your system completely. So before you even begin the Laptop’s hard drive formatting process, it’s advisable you have all the necessary tools handy. Your window installation disk or recovery disk should be within your immediate reach. You’ll need them to format your hard drives as well as reinstall Windows.
Step 1
Check for your windows product key, because such details will be required at a certain stage during windows installation. If you are not sure about where to find your windows product key, you can check the sticker at the bottom of your computer. But this method of checking the Windows product key mostly apply to laptops bought with Windows OS preinstalled in them.
Step 2
You need to ascertain whether you have the right tools within reach to reinstall windows. The most important tools you’ll need to execute your Laptop’s Windows OS reinstallation are the recovery disk or Windows installation disk. It should be noted that many laptops don’t come packed with the Windows installation disk or recovery disk. However, they usually come with a special hard drive partition for that purpose. You'll need to confirm that the special partition works by pressing either the "F8" or "F10" keys during startup. To be on the safe side, it's advisable that you burn the system files of the special hard drive partition on a recordable DVD, just in case you accidental format or delete your windows recovery partition.
Step 3
You need to ascertain that you have all the driver and software disks to install the necessary hardware drivers and programs respectively. Many people may not have their software or driver disks handy, due to the fact that they bought second-hand or pre-used laptops. You can always check the internet for relevant drivers and software programs. Note! It's important you download the right system drivers for your laptop, as installing the wrong ones will make your Laptops to malfunction. Don't store system drivers on your hard drive, instead, store them on removable disks or other removable storage devices.
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It’s time to backup all the valuable data you have stored on your laptop. For many of us, this process may look tedious or cumbersome because of the vast number of files we have on our laptops. You could clone your entire hard drive on an external one using third party programs such as Clonezilla or DriveImage XML. However, you should be careful when backing up your Laptop's hard drive, especially if you suspect that a computer virus is behind your Laptop's present predicament. If you suspect a virus, it's advisable to avoid carrying out a complete backup of your hard drive. Rather, backup files you can completely vouch for such as Word processor files and spreadsheets, even these aren’t safe to backup with the kind of malicious programs we have these days.
Step 5
Now, it's time to take the bold step. Insert your recovery or windows installation disk and hit the restart button. You might not actually hit the restart button. Just reboot the laptop using the usual procedures. Laptops with Windows recovery partition should follow the same procedures, but immediately after the restart, they should hit the shortcut displayed on the screen. You'll need to follow the Windows installation instructions on the screen to format and reinstall Windows OS on the appropriate drive and partition. It's pretty much straight forward from this point, as long as you can read and write. Note! Ensure that you have your laptop connected to a power source while formatting your hard drive, so as to avoid battery depletion. This is a highly sensitive process. Loss of battery power can be highly detrimental at this point.
In conclusion, formatting your laptops regularly can help it maximize its capabilities and operate efficiently. If you aren't confident enough to go through this laptop formatting process alone, it's advisable you seek the help of experienced individuals or professionals so as to avoid damaging your laptop irreparably. The most important thing you need in other to successfully format your laptop's hard drive is adequate preparation and confidence. Trust me! You don't want to go through this formatting process ill-prepared.
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