Computer newbies: Reformat w/out reinstall?

(NT) You can do that but it will decrease the system value.

If You Want To Erase All Things From The Drive...

by Grif Thomas  - 9/30/08 4:07 PM

...depending on how secure you want to make the drive, then a simple "format" may not be enough.. There are free tools with which you can actually wipe the drive entirely. the disc wipe tools write 0's to the disc so the old stuff can't be retrieved as easily. This still should allow the next user to install an operating system by formatting the drive as they see fit, then install the OS and all other software... Below are links to two that I use:

Dban
http://www.dban.org/

Killdisk
http://www.killdisk.com/

Still, if you only want to format the drive, then it can be done that way as well.. Format with on old Windows 98 floppy disc or the Windows XP disc that came with your computer.

Hope this helps.

Grif

Reformat and Format Do The Same Thing...

by Grif Thomas  - 10/4/08 6:13 PM

..The only difference in my interpretation is a "reformat" is formatting a "used" drive which has previously been formatted.. Other than that, the process is the same.

But remember, formatting a drive can be done a few different ways.. Formatting the drive only "prepares" the drive for an operating system installation. Once the partitions are created and the partitions are formatted, then you install the operating system.

It's not "required" to have the operating system to format a hard drive but with the newer operating systems, assuming that you're going to install an operating system after the format, it's usually preferred and easier to use "the CD that came with it".

Hope this helps.

Grif

Is The Format Necessary?

by Grif Thomas  - 10/7/08 6:56 AM

If you're only concerned about running out of space, it's easier to simply remove unneeded files or copy them over to removable media like a DVD or external hard drive.. In this type of situation, you don't really need to format the drive.

If you simply want to free up some space on the computer, check the link below:

How To Clean Unwanted Files From The Hard Drive

And after performing the steps in the link above, you can also use the Disk Cleanup utility to eliminate all but the most recent System Restore point.. This step alone can give you a few GB's more of free hard drive space.

On the other hand, if the computer is running poorly, or you have spyware or viruses on the machine, then YES, reformatting the hard drive might be a good idea.. Either way, if you don't have a recent backup copy of all your important files, NOW is the time to make one.

Hope this helps.

Grif

No Windows install-

In reply to: If You Want To Erase All Things From The Drive... by Grif Thomas 

I don't have an installation disc. I don't think the version on the laptop is even legit, which is one reason that I want to wipe off the OS before selling. I was thinking of putting Linux on there, since it's what I can afford.
To the other poster - I'm looking for a no-cost solution, so putting in a new HD isn't going to happen.
I'm also not so concerned about the files on the drive from a privacy or security perspective (there's nothing important there). I just want to clear them so that the PC is a clean slate for the new owner, and it would take forever to manually delete the files.

Burn a Linux disk

The easiest option is to download (or find on a magazine cover disk) a Live Linux ISO of any flavour, burn a CD from it and boot to the Linux CD.
Given that you don't need to do a secure format, once Linux loads from the CD mount the hard drive and take ownership of it then use any of the Linux tools to either re-format the hard drive or just to delete all the files (getting to the root directory of what used to be your "C" drive then typing "rm -r *" in a console should do the trick ;¬) . Each version of Linux is slightly different in how you need to do this but a quick search on-line will point you in the right direction.
You could even let the Linux CD install onto the laptop. Part of the installation is the option to either partition the drive and save any existing files and the original OS or (the one you want) format the drive and use all space for Linux.

Yes, format the drive, no - you can't keep the OS

Format and Reformat mean the same them. I guess we sometimes say reformat because we are formatting the drive again. Once formatted, everything on it is gone (for normal purposes). Then you need to re-add the OS. If the OS that came with your computer is an OEM license, then the OS belongs to that computer and you do not have a license to legally use it on another machine. So, if you have the OS install media, and it is an OEM license, you should provide the OS install media to the new computer owner.
If you have a non OEM OS license, then it is your choice to keep the OS and use yourself to install on another computer; or to include the license in the sale to someone else. You can identify an OEM licensed OS because the installation key has the letters OEM in it.