Thread: To format and start over

The condensed version of the story is I was restore files from a backup and overwrote some things I shouldn't have. Live and study. Anyways, there are so a lot of issues with programs and with windows, that I presently want to do a long format to make confident I have a clean slate and start fresh. The install cd will only let me delete and remake the partition. How do I go about a complete format? I only have a DVD drive from which to boot and the hard drive I want to format installed. Do I have to purchase an efficacy of some sort or is there a different way around it?

The Windows installer or a number of third party programs can simply be used to make an completely fresh primary if you choose to only delete the current one.

To reformat the existing primary you have now you would need a third party drive partitioning tool for that since you are not able to reformat a partition you are booting. The Windows installer is the fastest method for just deleting the current and seeing the new replacement primary formatted by the Windows installer.

For the more advanced user who dual boots one version of Windows with another or even a further windows I would usually recommend the free Linux drive tool normally known as GParted live for cd or the Gnome Partition Editor. For that you first would need to download the iso disk image and use a program that supports burning that type of disk image onto a cd-r. The general information and instructions for GParted.

If you decide you want to try working with GParted at this time or at a later date the newest stable release is the 0.4.5-2 builds now available.

The Windows installer is the fast and simple process if you feel you are not ready quite yet or able to burn the image to disk in order to boot from that. The installer will first format the new primary in order to start copying the setup files onto it until finished where you then see the initial restart from the hard drive in order to total the new installation. Plan about 45 minutes for considering a fresh installation and then some when first receiving back online and downloading the long list of updates.