How Do I Reformat My Machine if I Don't Have a Windows CD_ - Ask Leo!

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How do I reformat my machineif I don’t have a Windows CD?

Reformatting a machine is a major step that erases

everything. Unless you really know what you're

doing, you're going to want that Windows Setup

CD.

I want to format my laptop. It has Windows SP

with service pack 2 installed. I don’t recall

getting a Windows CD, so first how do I format and second

can I do it without that setup CD?

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The answer for most people is simple: no, you cannot. In fact, you

should not if you don’t have the Windows setup CD.

Yes, yes, it can be done without the setup CD, but I’m guessing you

won’t like what you end up with. Not at all.

Let’s be clear on exactly what it means to “reformat” a machine.

Let’s be really, really clear.

Reformatting a machine begins by erasing everything on it.

Got that? Everything. The operating system, all your programs, and all

your data. Everything. Gone.

I’m sorry if that seems obvious to many of you, but trust me it’s not at

all obvious to many others.

So before we even get to step 1, “step 0” is to make sure that

reformatting is exactly what you want to do. That means that either

you’ve backed up everything you need to save off of the machine, or

that you’re ready to reload the machine, or you really do want an

unbootable empty hard drive.

•

When most people talk about “reformatting” a machine, they really

mean “reformat and reinstall”. It’s a two step process. Step 1 is simple,

step 2 typically takes a long time.

Step 1: Reformat

Formatting a disk is a process that simply prepares it for use by

writing what is effectively “blank data” to the entire disk. The result is

that the disk is ready for use. Empty, but ready for use.



“Re”-formatting a disk is simply repeating that process on a disk that

was already formatted. It can be a relatively quick way to erase the

contents of the disk to start over, or to write to the entire disk to locate

and compensate for any physical defects on the media.

My recommended approach

to reformatting a hard disk

for most people is to boot

from your Windows install

CD, and indicate that you

want a new, clean install. I

recently did exactly this on my old laptop, and went so far as to use the

partition manager that is part of Windows setup to delete all

the partitions on the laptop’s hard drive and create a new partition

that encompassed the entire disk. Windows Setup’s next step was to

perform a full format of the hard drive before it continued.

If you don’t have a Windows install CD, there are still approaches to

get the reformat done. You could boot from one of the many Linux Live

CDs and use the tools therein, or boot from some of the boot disks

available at bootdisk.com. In the later case you should be able to use

the familiar “Format” command directly; since you didn’t boot from the

hard drive it won’t be “in use” when you run the command.

After reformatting you’ll have an empty hard disk. Which then brings us

to our next step:

Step 2: Reinstall

This is where not having your Windows install CD really hurts. Without

a disk to reinstall from, you can’t reinstall! Your only options are to

install a different operating system (such as one of the free Linux’s) or

turn your machine off.

As you can see, a reformatand reinstall is anextreme step.“

http://go.ask-leo.com/bootdisk



Or purchase a Windows CD. (If Windows came preinstalled, you might

check with your vendor for a CD – it’s unlikely that they’ll give you one,

but perhaps they’ll have a discount or other solution for you.)

One lesson here is to always get a copy of Windows on CD when you

purchase a machine with Windows preinstalled.

Assuming you have the Windows CD, the remaining steps are simple

to describe, but time-consuming to actually perform:

Reinstall Windows. If you used Windows setup to reformat your

machine as described above you’re already on your way.

Reinstall and reconfigure all the applications you use. I’ve

focussed on having the Windows CD, but the same actually

applies to the setup CDs for any software on your machine. Make

sure you have them or can download the applications in order to

reinstall them at this point. All of them.

Reinstall your data or other customizations. You did backup your

data, right? This is where you copy that data back to your freshly

reformatted machine.

That’s all there is to it.

As I said, I did it recently, and it took about a half day to get my

laptop reformatted and then up and running again with a fresh and

fully up-to-date Windows, updated drivers, security software, and some

of the basic applications I want for its new intended purpose. A full

reformat and reinstall of my “primary” machine typically takes most of

a day to get to basic functionality, and then I find myself installing

missing applications off and on for days.

As you can see, a reformat and reinstall is an extreme step. Make sure

you really want to do it before you take the plunge.



An Alternative: A “Non-Destructive” Format

As I mentioned, one of the functions of a full format of a hard drive is

to write to the entire hard disk and identify and possibly compensate

for bad sectors or areas on the hard drive that have errors. What’s

called “low-level” formatting does this quite literally by writing data to

the disk and trapping any areas on the disk for which the writes fail.

The side effect, of course, is that any data that was there previously is

overwritten and lost and you end up with a blank hard disk.

If you’re reformatting in order to deal with possible errors on your

hard disk, there is another approach: SpinRite.

SpinRite is a data recovery tool that, in a sense, performs a non-

destructive low-level format of the hard disk. It reads the existing

data from the drive, performs its write tests and “formatting”, and

then replaces the data. When SpinRite is done, everything on your

hard drive is as it was when you started except that bad sectors have

been identified and removed from use, and quite often the drive

appears to run faster.

SpinRite is called a “data recovery tool” because if you have bad sectors

on your hard drive, it’ll do everything in it’s power to recover the data

before performing its other operations. The net result is that data

thought lost to hard disk errors can frequently be recovered as the

drive is processed by SpinRite.

SpinRite is not free, but if you’re facing data loss it could easily be

a bargain.

Read more:I don’t have an installation CD for Windows XP – what if I need

http://ask-leo.com/i_dont_have_an_installation_cd_for_windows_xp_what_if_i_need_one.html

http://go.ask-leo.com/spinrite



Ross

one? At some point, you’re going to need your Windows

installation CD/DVD. If you don’t have it, you could be severely out

of luck. I’ll review alternatives.

Should I reinstall Windows from a fresh boot, or by running the

installer from within Windows?

I can’t format my hard drive – it keep telling me “volume is in use

by another process” — why? “Volume in use” when trying to

format most commonly means you’re trying to format and erase

the entire disk that has Windows on i

Posted: May 7, 2007 In: Setup and Install

Shortlink: https://askleo.com/3016

About Leo

Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he was required to take a programming class in

1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed. After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask

Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.

Comments

May 7, 2007 at 11:03 am

One caveat to what you’ve said – many computer vendors today are not

including a copy of the OS on a CD by default when you buy a computer

today – instead they have a “hidden” partition on the drive with a disk

image. When you want to “reformat and reinstall” you just run the recovery

disk (comes under different names, depending on the company) which

writes the disk image over your current hard drive contents, effectively

restoring your computer to the day you got it. As with your comments, this

still does erase all data and drive contents, so should not be done unless

you’ve backed up first.

http://ask-leo.com/i_cant_format_my_hard_drive_it_keep_telling_me_volume_is_in_use_by_another_process_why.html

http://ask-leo.com/i_dont_have_an_installation_cd_for_windows_xp_what_if_i_need_one.html

https://askleo.com/windows/windows-programs/setup-and-install/

http://ask-leo.com/should_i_reinstall_windows_from_a_fresh_boot_or_by_running_the_installer_from_within_windows.html

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Charles

John

Advanced users sometimes do this exact same thing but with a disk image

utility (Norton Ghost, e.g.) after they’ve got their computer set up with all

the applications the way they like it. Then, next time they feel a need to

reformat and reinstall, all they have to do is use the disk image utility to

copy the disk image over and their system is back to the way it was the day

they made the image…including all software applications and windows

customization settings they made before the image.REPLY

June 24, 2007 at 3:59 pm

Hi, thanks for posting this, let’s say you had a very expensive alienware

desktop and it starting having problems. I’m a procrastinator so I usually

deal with some major problems with my comps. Anyways it finally got to

the point where I couldn’t even use this computer it wouldn’t even start up.

I wanted to reformat+reinstall A year ago but when I tried with the

WINDOWS XP cd … when it came to entering the registry key I couldn’t

because my house keeper threw it away.

So that leads me to where I am now, a year or more later….. don’t know

where the XP cd is. I did download a program just now that finds out ur

Registry Key. So… now I have that but no CD.. I’m going to take your

advice call alienware ask them for the windows xp cd or the restore one.

Any words of advice for me? I didn’t turn this computer on in over a year

till 2 days ago and it worked but got the same blue screen errors and all of

that stuff. I got rid of an lsass.exe error by reading someones posts. But my

computer is still majorly messed up and i’m 100% i need to

reformat+reinstall XP.REPLY

March 15, 2008 at 4:30 am

https://askleo.com/how_do_i_reformat_my_machine_if_i_dont_have_a_windows_cd/?replytocom=210051#respond




Tracyanne

Laura

Miss Angie

No original CD but key number is known via sticker on machine,

Can a friends copy of XP be used for the re installatiion using my key. ?REPLY

March 30, 2008 at 12:14 am

quote>>Advanced users sometimes do this exact same thing but with a

disk image utility (Norton Ghost, e.g.) after they’ve got their computer set

up with all the applications the way they like it. Then, next time they feel a

need to reformat and reinstall, all they have to do is use the disk image

utility to copy the disk image over and their system is back to the way it

was the day they made the image…including all software applications and

windows customization settings they made before the image.REPLY

November 20, 2008 at 9:22 pm

Go to My Comuter > Drive C > look for a folder named 1386. Open it and

look for a file called wnnt32.exe. This is the Windows installation file. It

will wipe your computer of everything and reinstall Windows.REPLY

November 21, 2008 at 8:16 pm

Leo HELP! I am not all that computer savy for starters.Okay I was given a

laptop with business windows or something on it.I am sure they wiped it

clean before they gave it to me.But I cant get past the first screen because

it wants a password.What do I do ? I dont have the password or a disk or

anything.Its just an old laptop not real old though still usuable that I got

for free.

Assuming you don’t want anything currently on that machine, just

get a copy of Windows and install it from scratch.






Pat

Holly Cow

Patricia

– Leo

22-Nov-2008

REPLY

December 5, 2008 at 9:55 pm

Hello Leo. Thanks so much for info you put on site. I have a friend that has

a pc with an illegal copy of windows xp on it and I unknowly went to

update and then it didnt pass the validation tool so is now froze. I do have

a legal copy of xp to install but I’m not sure how to get it to function

outside of a hard reboot with windows cd in drive. Any suggestions very

much appreciated. PatREPLY

March 31, 2009 at 11:10 am

Hi Leo. If I reinstall window XP, does it also reformat the hard drive at the

same time? If so, I don’t have to reformat the hard drive first and then

reinstall window XP. Am I correct?

You should be given the option to reformat as part of the

installation process.

– Leo

01-Apr-2009

REPLY

August 18, 2009 at 9:33 pm

I am trying to install Window XP and it is setting it up, my product key

number on the package is not taking. I install up to 39 minutes of my cd,

then I reboot it again and it comes up with installing the product key which

is not taking it on the package. Is there a way I can install Windows






Louis

Gerald Beckr

Raymund

Igoma D N

without the product key numbers and part of the window is display? I can

not get to My Computer, just the setup window. Please helpREPLY

January 28, 2010 at 1:28 pm

Hello Leo! I recently reformatted and reinstalled Windows XP on my

laptop. However, upon getting it back up and running and on the Internet, I

noticed that my hard drive is almost full. There’s no sign of anything still

on the hard drive, and it has a capacity of 60 GB and almost all of it is

being used. Did I miss something? Thanks.REPLY

February 2, 2010 at 9:57 am

Leo,I have a HP Presario SR1215CL that a friend gave me, it has many

problens and conflicts, this computer was purchased in 2005 it was never

updated and the Norton trial was never activated, there are locking

problems as the administrator never fixed, this computer has many

programs that were never used and a lot of junk files, I have my own

windows XP operating Disk, should I reinstall using my disk and will this

fix most problems,I did download AVG and cleaned up about 70 trojans and

other viris that were present. Thanks,

Gerald BeckerREPLY

February 15, 2010 at 9:54 pm

hi sir leo how can i fix my hp 110 mini laptop it is stuck on the desktop

reboot it..i am able to move the cursor but it is not functioning.REPLY

April 19, 2010 at 5:28 am







Sanna

I want to format my laptop that have windon vista to window xp or

window 7. My laptop model is HP compaq NC6220. Processor 0.98GB, HD

40GB. The cd/dvd drive is fault but it only recognised dvd drive software

installations pack but cd it would not. Can i cope the window software into

a flash drive then used it to format the system. Ple advice me on it because

the window vista is giving a lot of problem.

Ple send me reply on: [email address removed]

Thanks hoping to hear from u.REPLY

June 15, 2010 at 12:35 pm

Hello Leo and thanks for a great article, however it did not address my

needs. The problem I have is that I wanted to perform a clean install of

Windows 7, upgrading from my Vista. So I use the custom install option as I

should, but after having gone through the installation process, it comes to

my awareness that somehow, this custom install in fact SPLIT MY HARD

DRIVE SPACE TO HALF THE ACTUAL CAPACITY. I assumed that this custom

install would format my hard drive, but as seems to be the case instead, is

that it must have created enough space on the hard drive to perform a

quick format instead. I am therefore trying to find a way to properly format

the hard drive, as I do not believe the hard drive itself is damaged or

corrupt, merely that Windows 7 used half of the hard drive space to dump

information from Vista. So what I did was that I of course tried to run the

set up program again, believing that Win 7 merely created a faulty partition

I did not notice and deleting this partition would solve my problem, but

when prompted where I want to install Win 7, it turns out that the limit of

my hard drive remains the same. Win 7 does not recognize the rest of my

hard drive capacity, and I am at loss as to why.

I tried to run the SpinRite program because it seems to be what I were




Gordon

Jerome Mccarthy

after, but as with all other programs I’ve unfortunately encountered, it will

not function as bootable from a CD. I burned the .iso file but it just says

that there is no proper media drive in my CD drive. Yes, I have set my

motherboard to boot from CD since I had to do this to install WIn 7 in the

first place.

Does this problem with my hard drive relate to what Win 7 calls

Windows.old? What I noticed after my first install was that it indeed was

not a clean install at all, as I in fact had several folders lying around that

were left from Vista, yet other information such as installed programs were

lost.

I would love to hear your response to this problem.REPLY

July 13, 2010 at 7:33 am

Hi Leo, I have bought a new lap top with Windows 7 installed so I have

promised a friend my desktop, so I wish to format the hard drive, before I

give him it. I will then reinstall as I have a Vista installation disc. As I am a

pensioner and I hear people saying to reboot from disc, the problem is I do

not know how to do it, as I only have a basic knowledge in computing.

Thank you.REPLY

March 23, 2011 at 11:43 pm

Leo, Why would one need to reformat a HD anyway — unless it had

stopped functioning?

A true reformat is a useful way to erase everything as well as

“touch” every sector on the hard drive refreshing the magnetic

image of the data.





Abdi

John

Connie

Vivek

24-Mar-2011

REPLY

March 5, 2012 at 1:35 am

Hi Leo can u please tell me since i ve problem installing window 7 in my

HP Compaq nc6220 which tells me during the installion that i need cd/dvd

driver which i didn’t know where i find even hp home

thanks in AdvanceREPLY


I want original CD of win vista home basic 32 bits, but I don’t have a

bootable disk to start formatREPLY


The article you are commenting on has your options for that. Also

check out the other article listed under “Read more” and you’ll find

all your options.REPLY


Hi leo!

I have perhaps a different type of problem than others. I have installed

Windows 8.1 on one partition of my hard disk and windows xp sp3 on

another. Xp got too much slow so i tried to remove it by formatting but am







Karthik

Mark Jacobs

not able because i don’t have a c.d of both windows. So i tried to format

the xp installed partition through win 8 log in but it shows Windows can’t

format the drive. Then i deleted all the folders of xp drive but one didn’t

delete due to unknown reasons, now when i start PC and choose win xp it

doesn’t load and says .dll and sys32 file missing. Now please guide me how

do i delete/format the win xp partition drive from win 8 log in. Please help

so that i can make my computer faster, safer by removing XP. Thanks!!!REPLY

April 16, 2015 at 2:26 am

i have formatted my laptop…and istalled new os….badly i forgot to copy

my important (photos) from old drives…now is there any possibility to get

them back….REPLY

April 16, 2015 at 3:16 am

If you’ve formatted the drive and overwritten it with a new OS, those

files would be unrecoverable.REPLY

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How Do I Reformat My Machine if I Don't Have a Windows CD_ - Ask Leo!