Formatting is to initialize a disk to prepare it for use.

The disk is checked for errors and organized so that data can be recorded and retrieved. Formatting a used disk erases any previously stored information.

We don’t need to do anything.

There are commands which can take care of this.

If you are using Ms-DOS, the command is Format.

Just go to particular drive and write Format
Example:
C:\> Format < Enter Key>
The above command format C drive and make it empty .
Or
To format some other drive another ways is :
Format < drive name>
C:/> Format D: < Enter key >
The above command format D drive and make it empty .

In windows It is very simple

Just Right click on the drive you want to format and click "Format..."

Follow the steps to format the drive.

Another way is when you install / reinstall Operating system, You have the option to format your System drive.

Answered by Hemant Singh , an ibibo Master, at 12:05 PM on August 05, 2008

Formatting is to initialize a disk to prepare it for use.

The disk is checked for errors and organized so that data can be recorded and retrieved. Formatting a used disk erases any previously stored information.

We don’t need to do anything.

There are commands which can take care of this.

If you are using Ms-DOS, the command is Format.

Just go to particular drive and write Format
Example:
C:\> Format < Enter Key>
The above command format C drive and make it empty .
Or
To format some other drive another ways is :
Format < drive name>
C:/> Format D: < Enter key >
The above command format D drive and make it empty .

In windows It is very simple

Just Right click on the drive you want to format and click "Format..."

Follow the steps to format the drive.

Another way is when you install / reinstall Operating system, You have the option to format your System drive.

Answered by Ni .. , an ibibo Master, at 6:26 PM on July 30, 2008

Formatting is to initialize a disk to prepare it for use.

The disk is checked for errors and organized so that data can be recorded and retrieved. Formatting a used disk erases any previously stored information.

We don’t need to do anything.

There are commands which can take care of this.

If you are using Ms-DOS, the command is Format.

Just go to particular drive and write Format
Example:
C:\> Format < Enter Key>
The above command format C drive and make it empty .
Or
To format some other drive another ways is :
Format < drive name>
C:/> Format D: < Enter key >
The above command format D drive and make it empty .

In windows It is very simple

Just Right click on the drive you want to format and click "Format..."

Follow the steps to format the drive.

Another way is when you install / reinstall Operating system, You have the option to format your System drive.

Answered by .... ..... , an ibibo Master, at 1:54 PM on July 24, 2008

Formatting is to initialize a disk to prepare it for use.

The disk is checked for errors and organized so that data can be recorded and retrieved. Formatting a used disk erases any previously stored information.

We don’t need to do anything.

There are commands which can take care of this.

If you are using Ms-DOS, the command is Format.

Just go to particular drive and write Format
Example:
C:\> Format < Enter Key>
The above command format C drive and make it empty .
Or
To format some other drive another ways is :
Format < drive name>
C:/> Format D: < Enter key >
The above command format D drive and make it empty .

In windows It is very simple

Just Right click on the drive you want to format and click "Format..."

Follow the steps to format the drive.

Another way is when you install / reinstall Operating system, You have the option to format your System drive.

One suggestion from my side, If you have anything important in your system drive. Just take a copy of it and store it any other drive.

When you format your hard disk, everything will be removed from that particular drive.

Answered by Rocky , an ibibo Master, at 11:37 AM on July 24, 2008

Formatting is to initialize a disk to prepare it for use.

The disk is checked for errors and organized so that data can be recorded and retrieved. Formatting a used disk erases any previously stored information.

We don’t need to do anything.

There are commands which can take care of this.

If you are using Ms-DOS, the command is Format.

Just go to particular drive and write Format
Example:
C:\> Format < Enter Key>
The above command format C drive and make it empty .
Or
To format some other drive another ways is :
Format < drive name>
C:/> Format D: < Enter key >
The above command format D drive and make it empty .

In windows It is very simple

Just Right click on the drive you want to format and click "Format..."

Follow the steps to format the drive.

Another way is when you install / reinstall Operating system, You have the option to format your System drive.

One suggestion from my side, If you have anything important in your system drive. Just take a copy of it and store it any other drive.

When you format your hard disk, everything will be removed from that particular drive

Answered by Poonam Singh , an ibibo Master, at 7:19 PM on July 21, 2008

Formatting is to initialize a disk to prepare it for use.

The disk is checked for errors and organized so that data can be recorded and retrieved. Formatting a used disk erases any previously stored information.

We don’t need to do anything.

There are commands which can take care of this.

If you are using Ms-DOS, the command is Format.

Just go to particular drive and write Format
Example:
C:\> Format < Enter Key>
The above command format C drive and make it empty .
Or
To format some other drive another ways is :
Format < drive name>
C:/> Format D: < Enter key >
The above command format D drive and make it empty .

In windows It is very simple

Just Right click on the drive you want to format and click "Format..."

Follow the steps to format the drive.

Another way is when you install / reinstall Operating system, You have the option to format your System drive.

One suggestion from my side, If you have anything important in your system drive. Just take a copy of it and store it any other drive.

When you format your hard disk, everything will be removed from that particular drive

Answered by Shobhit , an ibibo Master, at 6:09 PM on July 21, 2008

well,Formatting is to initialize a disk to prepare it for use.

The disk is checked for errors and organized so that data can be recorded and retrieved. Formatting a used disk erases any previously stored information.

We don’t need to do anything.

There are commands which can take care of this.

If you are using Ms-DOS, the command is Format.

Just go to particular drive and write Format
Example:
C:\> Format < Enter Key>
The above command format C drive and make it empty .
Or
To format some other drive another ways is :
Format < drive name>
C:/> Format D: < Enter key >
The above command format D drive and make it empty .

In windows It is very simple

Just Right click on the drive you want to format and click "Format..."

Follow the steps to format the drive.

Another way is when you install / reinstall Operating system, You have the option to format your System drive.

One suggestion from my side, If you have anything important in your system drive. Just take a copy of it and store it any other drive.

When you format your hard disk, everything will be removed from that particular drive.

Answered by Satya ~ , an ibibo Master, at 1:15 PM on July 21, 2008

hi there

Right-Click on the “My Computer” icon either on your desktop or in the Start Menu and select “Manage.”

A new window titled “Computer Management” comes up. Select “Storage” from the left hand side by clicking it once, then select “Disk Management(local)” from the right side by double-clicking it.

Now in the lower part of the main frame (right side) of the window you should see a nice visual of all your hard drives. Each line is a different drive. Each box on a line (with a colored bar at the top and a size displayed in MB or GB) is a partition on the drive. Partitions are separations of space on a drive. Unless you are doing something specific that requires multiple partitions, you only want one partition per drive.

First you must delete any existing partitions on the drive you are going to format. Do this by right-clicking on the partition's box and selecting “Delete Partition...” Since you already know that you will be deleting everything on the drive, and have already backed everything up, you can safely say yes to any warning the computer presents you with.

If there are multiple partitions make sure you have saved everything off them since they might each have different drive letters (i.e. “D:” or “F:”). Then repeat the above step for each of them. If you only want to format one partition that is OK and you can continue to the next step without deleting the other partitions.

The box for the drive to be formatted should now have a black bar at the top of it and should say “Unallocated” under its size (see picture). Right click on it and select “New Partition...” The New Partition Wizard comes up.

In the New Partition Wizard click next. On the next page make sure “Primary Partition” is selected and click next. Now make the size equal to the maximum (it should already be set to it), and click next again. On the next page the computer will automatically choose the first available drive letter for the new drive. However, if you like you can choose another drive letter from the drop-down menu, and then click next.

Finally the New Partition Wizard asks if you would like to format the new partition and if so what format. Choose “NTFS” as it is faster and more secure. Leave the “Allocation unit size” as “Default.” In the “Volume label” field enter whatever name you want the drive to have. Simple is better. Avoid using spaces. Lastly, if the drive is brand new and has never been used before check the “Perform a quick format” box. If the drive has been used before leave this box unchecked. Leave the “Enable file and folder compression” box unchecked and click next. Then on the next page click finish.

The wizard will now spend a little while formatting the drive. On old or large drives this may take a while. Do not close the “Computer Management” window until it finishes. You will know it is done when the word under the size of the drive changes from “Formatting” to “Healthy” and the name and drive letter you chose for the new drive show up. After it is finished you can proceed to use your newly formatted drive

Answered by Reeta K , an ibibo Master, at 9:02 PM on July 18, 2008

If you have Windows: yes

1.Backup your data. yes

2.Get a windows CD (not a restore disk).

3.Make a boot disk. yes to all

4.Boot with the boot disk.

5.Type fdisk, see here:

http://hardwarehell.c om/fd isk.htm

6.Type "format c:" or "format c: /s"

Here are more answers and opinions from other WikiAnswers Contributors:

* Another way to format your hard drive is to do the following: I am supposing you are going to install the operating system after you have formatted the drive, you must have the Operating system CD (that is Windows 98, Windows 2000 or Windows XP.Go into the BIOS settings of your PC, usually by pressing the delete key in a clone computer, the F1 key in an IBM and the F10 in a Compaq when you first start the computer. You have to set the start up options to CD first, floppy or removable drive second, and the hard drive third. Save the settings and come out of the BIOS settings. Place the CD in the CD drive and restart. The computer will recognize the CD drive and begin copying files. You will be prompted to install Windows in another location if the system recognized another operating system. It will also ask if you wish to format the drive and will give the option of FAT32 or NTFS. NTFS affords more security options and works better, although it is not compatible with older systems that use FAT32. Format the drive and continue with the installation of the operating system.

* 1. Backup your files.

2. Backup your VGA/sound drivers. (if stored in the hard drive)

3. Place the bootable windows CD on the CD-ROM

4. Boot on CD-ROM

5. on the command line, type cd win98 then press enter.

Answered by R.P. Singh , an ibibo Master, at 8:29 PM on July 18, 2008

If you have Windows: yes

1.Backup your data. yes

2.Get a windows CD (not a restore disk).

3.Make a boot disk. yes to all

4.Boot with the boot disk.

5.Type fdisk, see here:

http://hardwarehell.com/fd isk.htm

6.Type "format c:" or "format c: /s"

Here are more answers and opinions from other WikiAnswers Contributors:

* Another way to format your hard drive is to do the following: I am supposing you are going to install the operating system after you have formatted the drive, you must have the Operating system CD (that is Windows 98, Windows 2000 or Windows XP.Go into the BIOS settings of your PC, usually by pressing the delete key in a clone computer, the F1 key in an IBM and the F10 in a Compaq when you first start the computer. You have to set the start up options to CD first, floppy or removable drive second, and the hard drive third. Save the settings and come out of the BIOS settings. Place the CD in the CD drive and restart. The computer will recognize the CD drive and begin copying files. You will be prompted to install Windows in another location if the system recognized another operating system. It will also ask if you wish to format the drive and will give the option of FAT32 or NTFS. NTFS affords more security options and works better, although it is not compatible with older systems that use FAT32. Format the drive and continue with the installation of the operating system.

* 1. Backup your files.

2. Backup your VGA/sound drivers. (if stored in the hard drive)

3. Place the bootable windows CD on the CD-ROM

4. Boot on CD-ROM

5. on the command line, type cd win98 then press enter.

6. type format c:/s/u/v then enter

7. Wait for a couple of minutes.

8. Done.

* XP will format the disk for you. Just boot from the CD and tell it to format the disk.

Answered by Nagendra , an ibibo Master, at 7:30 PM on July 18, 2008