When, Why, and How Should I Reformat My Hard Drive?

Sometimes we have no choice when it comes to reformatting your hard drive. Just make sure you understand that all your data will be lost unless you take the time to backup files you do not want to lose. This should only be done as a last resort.

When should I reformat my hard drive? If your windows files are corrupted beyond repair or you have files missing and all your attempts to repair have failed. If you have a virus and all your attempts at removal has not worked. Another reason would be if your computer is infected with spy-ware to the point you cannot open Internet Explorer or your computer's performance has slowed considerably. Another reason would be if your computer will not finish a successful de-frag

Why should I reformat my hard drive? One of the biggest complaints I used to get when working with a clients computer was that it was so slow and it used to be a lot faster. Computers will lose performance over many months of use if it has not been de-fragged, multiple spy-ware infections, multiple virus infections, registry errors, files left after we un-installed programs we are not using. All these factors over time will slow your computer to a crawl. It would be a good idea when your computer is to the point that all your attempts to correct the problems have not improved the situation. If your at this point than its time you make preparations to reload your computer.

How should I reformat my hard drive?

1. Before you can begin to reformat your hard drive you must try to backup any files you may want to keep. Keep in mind if your computer is infected so can the files your backing up be infected. Before you proceed with the backup process separate the files you want to keep into a separate folder. Any folders that contain files you want to keep you can drag and drop those into this folder too.

2. Run a scan virus and spy-ware on this folder and make sure these files are not infected. Any files that cannot be repaired get rid of them.