How to erase my difficult drive and starting time over

Updated: 12/30/2021 by Computer Hope

Computer hard drive

Most computers have a system restore disc or congenital-in restore process on the difficult bulldoze to reset the calculator to the original or default settings (manufacturing plant reset). Resetting, formatting, or restoring, a computer helps eliminate issues with computer software, including corrupt programme files and virus infections. Instructions on how to restore your figurer back to the original software are provided below.

Alarm

Restoring your calculator erases all the data on the hard drive and makes it like new. Once the steps beneath are completed, you cannot restore any lost data. Back up any files y'all practice not want to lose before proceeding with the restore process.

  • How to format a hard drive, SSD, or USB flash drive.
  • How to make certain all data is erased on a reckoner hard drive.
  • Why am I unable to restore my computer using restore disc?
  • How to reset a lost or forgotten Windows password.

Erasing the hard drive and reinstalling Windows

To erase your difficult drive and reinstall Windows, select a link below for your version of Windows and follow the steps.

Tip

If you're erasing everything and reinstalling Windows, an ambassador login proper noun or password isn't needed.

Windows xi

Follow these instructions to erase or uninstall and reinstall Windows 11.

  1. Open the Showtime menu.
  2. Select the Settings app (Windows 10 Settings icon.).

Tip

If you don't see the Settings app in the Showtime carte, click the magnifying glass icon on the taskbar. In the text field at the height of the search window, blazon settings and printing Enter.

  1. In the Settings window, click the Organization choice in the left navigation menu.

Windows 11 Settings - System option

  1. Whorl downwards on the right side of the window and select the Recovery pick.
  2. On the right side of the Recovery window, nether Recovery options, click the Reset PC button.

Windows 11 Settings - Recovery options

  1. Cull the Keep my files or Remove everything option, depending on if you want to preserve your files or delete everything and start over.
  2. Follow the prompts to brainstorm the recovery process.

Windows is reset, keeping your files intact or erasing everything, depending on the option you selected above in step 6.

Windows x

Follow these instructions to erase or uninstall and reinstall Windows 10.

  1. Press the Windows cardinal, type Settings, and then printing Enter.
  2. In the Settings window, select the Update & security option.

Update & Security icon.

  1. Select the Recovery (A) option in the left navigation pane, and then click the Get started button (B).

Starting the recovery process Windows 10.

  1. Choose the Keep my files or Remove everything option, depending on if y'all want to preserve your files or delete everything and start over.

Reset this PC options.

  1. Follow the prompts to brainstorm the recovery process. Once the process completes, Windows is reset.

Windows 8

Follow these instructions to erase and reinstall Windows 8.

  1. Press the Windows key+C to open up the Charms menu.
  2. Select the Search pick and blazon reinstall in the Search text field (do non press Enter).
  3. Select the Settings option.
  4. On the left side of the screen, select Remove everything and reinstall Windows.
  5. On the Reset your PC screen, click Adjacent.
  6. On the Exercise y'all desire to fully clean your drive screen, select Just remove my files to do a quick deletion or select Fully make clean the drive to have all files erased.
  7. On the Ready to reset your PC screen, click Reset.

Your files or all files on the hard drive are removed, depending on the option y'all selected in step 6, and so Windows 8 is reinstalled.

Windows vii and Vista

To restore a Windows 7 or Vista calculator, you must have a set of restore discs for the computer or an original Windows 7 or Vista installation disc. If you practise non take a set up of restore discs, contact the figurer manufacturer to society a new set or restore discs.

Note

Before post-obit the steps below, make sure the reckoner is set to boot from the CD-ROM drive.

  • How to boot from a CD or DVD in a figurer.
  1. Insert the Windows 7 or Vista installation CD in the CD-ROM drive and restart the calculator.
  2. When you come across the bulletin "Press any key to boot from CD," printing a key on the keyboard.
  3. Press Enter at the Windows Setup welcome screen.
  4. When prompted, printing whatever key on your keyboard.
  5. On the Install Windows screen, select your preferred language and other preferences, and then click Next.
  6. On the License Agreement screen, accept the terms and agreements, and then click Side by side.
  7. On the Installation Blazon screen, choose the Custom option.
  8. Select the Drive Options (advanced) choice.
  9. For Disk 0, delete all partitions. When all partitions are deleted, a unmarried entry named "Unallocated space" should be seen.
  10. Click Disk 0 and select Next.

The Windows installation process starts by creating a new partition, formatting the partition, and installing Windows on the hard drive. The formatting process erases the hard drive before installing Windows.

Windows XP and 2000

To restore a Windows XP or 2000 computer, yous must have a set of restore discs for the computer or an original Windows XP or 2000 installation disc. If you do not have a set of restore discs, contact the estimator manufacturer to lodge a new fix or restore discs.

Notation

Before following the steps below, brand sure the calculator is fix to boot from the CD-ROM drive.

  • How to boot from a CD or DVD in a computer.
  1. Insert the Windows XP/2000 installation CD in the CD-ROM drive and restart the reckoner.
  2. When you lot see the message "Press whatsoever fundamental to boot from CD," printing a key on the keyboard.
  3. Press the Enter fundamental at the Windows XP Setup welcome screen, then press F8 to have the Terms and Agreements.
  4. Follow the on-screen instructions to select a hard drive sectionalization to format and install Windows XP.
  5. After formatting the hard drive, which erases all data, see our steps for reinstalling Windows.
  • How to install the Microsoft Windows operating organisation.

Earlier versions of Windows and DOS

Follow these instructions to erase and reinstall MS-DOS 5.0+, Windows 3.x, 95, 98, ME, or NT four.0.

Formatting the bulldoze

  1. Identify the bootable diskette or disc inside the figurer and reboot to get to the DOS prompt. In some cases, you may need to boot the calculator with CD-ROM support or press a key to boot from the disk.
  2. At the MS-DOS prompt, type format c: /s and press Enter.

Note

If the "format c: /southward" command does not work, you may demand to download the format.com file to your kick disk.

  1. The computer asks "Are yous sure you want to erase everything on drive c:?" If you lot are ok with doing this, enter "Y" for yes and press Enter.
  2. The computer begins the formatting process. While the computer is formatting, make sure no errors are encountered.
  • I'yard getting bad sectors, clusters, or missing allocations.
  1. Once the format process is completed successfully, at the MS-DOS prompt, type fdisk /mbr and press Enter. After entering this command, it should return yous to the MS-DOS prompt with no message. This step is non required, simply recommended.
  • Do yous have additional information on fdisk /mbr?
  1. In one case back at the MS-DOS prompt, reboot the computer with the boot disk nonetheless inserted and follow the steps below to reinstall Windows on the hard drive.

Windows NT 4.0

Windows NT can be installed in different ways. We recommend Windows NT exist installed using the steps below equally we feel that these steps by far are the easiest way to install Windows NT 4.0.

Start, we recommend all users wanting to install Windows NT employ the /b switch, which allows the users to not need to create the diskettes. We do, however, recommend the user create the emergency recover diskettes if they have non already been created subsequently the installation of Windows NT.

Finally, earlier the installation of Windows NT, we recommend y'all run smartdrv, which helps the installation of Windows NT run a lot faster.

  1. Place the CD into the reckoner.
  2. Blazon Ten: (where X is the CD-ROM drive, oftentimes the D:).
  3. In one case at the appropriate drive, type cd winnt and press Enter to get to the Windows 95 directory.
  4. Once at the Ten:\WINNT> prompt, type winnt /b.
  5. Follow the on-screen instructions to consummate the installation.

Windows 95 with a backup CD

  1. Place the CD in the figurer.
  2. Type X: (where Ten is the CD-ROM drive, oftentimes the D:).
  3. Once at the advisable bulldoze, type cd win95 and press Enter to go to the Windows 95 directory.
  4. Once at the X:\WIN95> prompt, type setup to brainstorm the installation.
  5. Follow the on-screen instructions to consummate the installation.

If y'all are encountering issues during the setup process, you tin add additional switches to the setup command line. These switches are on our Windows 95 setup switches page.

Windows 95 with floppy diskettes

  1. Place the get-go diskette of Windows 95 in the computer.
  2. At the A:\> prompt, type setup and press Enter to brainstorm the installation.
  3. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Windows three.x

  1. Place the starting time diskette of Windows 3.x in the computer.
  2. At the A:\> prompt, blazon setup and press Enter to brainstorm the installation.
  3. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

MS-DOS

  1. Place the commencement MS-DOS diskette into the figurer.
  2. At the A:\> prompt, type setup and press Enter to existence the installation.
  3. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.