Your PC keeps slowing down and restarting without allowing you to work properly or enjoy some relaxation? Here is a complete guide to formatting your computer.
Formatting a computer is a radical choice. However, there are cases in which the PC continues to malfunction, becomes very slow and using it is a real frustration, including inexplicable waiting and errors even to open a small program. In these cases, there is little to do but format it.
Don’t lose heart, though! With a little patience and forethought you can restore your computer to optimal performance and, most importantly, without losing your data even if you are not an IT expert. So let’s see what are the preliminary operations to proceed with a formatting and how to do it safely.
- Back up before formatting your PC
- Get the operating system to format your computer
- How to format your computer
- Possible formatting problems
Back up before formatting your PC
Formatting the PC means deleting all the data in the memory, i.e. files, photos, videos, emails etc. To avoid losing all this information you need to make a backup. All operating systems contain an application to make a complete copy of the files.
With Windows 10 search Cortana for “File History” (alternatively go to Start, Settings and in the Search section write File History). The Control Panel will open with this application. If you don’t have an external hard drive or USB stick connected to your PC, File History may be disabled. Connect the external memory on which you want to save your files to the PC, and click on Configure file history.
If it did not automatically recognize the hard drive or memory stick, click Select drive. At this point you can exclude some folders from the backup or keep them all. The copying of the files should start automatically, if not, click Run and the backup will begin.
To restore files once your PC is formatted, you will need to do the same procedure, but click Restore personal files. Obviously, both copying and restoring take some time, so arm yourself with patience and wait.
Windows 7 also has its own application for backing up and restoring files. In the Start menu, search for Backup and click on the App that appears (Backup and restore). Then click on New backup and choose the space where the files are to be saved and whether to make a copy of all or only part of your files. When you need to restore, follow the same path and click on Restore.
Once you have backed up all the files you want to keep, before proceeding further it is good to make a copy of the drivers of your PC as well . The operating system, in fact, may not be able to work fully if it does not have all the right drivers.
Getting them is very simple. If you have a built-in PC, you will need to search for drivers individually on each component manufacturer’s websites. If you have a pre-built computer instead, locate your PC model, go to the computer manufacturer’s official website and download the drivers for that model. The drivers are free and generally not very heavy. Save them to the same external storage you backed up to and you’re good to go.
Get the operating system to format your computer
To format a PC we need to reinstall the operating system. Here, too, the process changes based on the operating system you use. If you have a DVD player with a copy of the operating system, then you have nothing else to do. However, since many PCs no longer have the DVD player, it is very likely that you will have to download it to a USB stick.
For Windows 7 you can download it directly from Microsoft’s official website, by entering the product security code that they gave you when you bought the operating system. For Windows 10, however, you need to download a small application: the Media Creation Tool . Once launched, this program allows you to save the operating system directly to a key , without the need to enter any product security code. Windows 10, in fact, will automatically recognize your computer thanks to a trace left at the time of the first installation of the operating system.
How to format your computer
Once we have the operating system on a USB stick or DVD, all we have to do is insert the disk or stick into the computer and restart it.
If you are using a DVD, during the reboot you will be asked to press any button to boot the CD-ROM , proceed by clicking any key.
If you are using the USB key, the Windows setup will start automatically. Choose the language in which you want the operating system, accept the terms of use and opt for custom installation. At this point choose the disk on which you want to install the operating system, click on Drive options, select Format and finally press the ok button.
At this point your PC is proceeding to format the computer and install the operating system . Wait for the operation to finish (it may take up to 50 minutes). After formatting, configure Windows simply by following the instructions that will be provided, restore the backup as we have explained above and, if necessary, install the drivers. Your PC is now as good as new.
Possible formatting problems
It may happen that, even if you restart the PC with the key or DVD already inserted in the computer, the Windows setup does not start automatically and therefore you cannot proceed with the formatting. Don’t panic, just enter the Bios for the old operating systems or the Uefi for Windows 10
