Formating Computers

[mattyw_1874]

I am looking to completely format my computer back to the basics. Just with Windows Vista installed and nothing else. The major problem I am facing is, is it possible to do this without a vista disc???

[Commander Harris]

couple of questions:

 

why do you want to do this? are you having problems with your system?

 

Do you have any kind of recovery disk from the manufacturor?

[JyTees]

What make and model of PC is it?

 

Most machines come with an installation partition now a days, a series of keystrokes at boot up will allow you into the recovery portion.

[milky_26]

with vista you had to make your own recovery disc, cant remeber how to do it but it is there somewhere

[mattyw_1874]

couple of questions:

 

why do you want to do this? are you having problems with your system?

 

Do you have any kind of recovery disk from the manufacturor?

 

I just have a right load of crap and want to start again

 

And no i have no kind of physical disk that came with the computer

 

And if its relevant its a HP computer

[JyTees]

I just have a right load of crap and want to start again

 

And no i have no kind of physical disk that came with the computer

 

And if its relevant its a HP computer

 

An HP what?

 

Try tapping F10 repeatedly. This should take you to the recovery partition. Choose factory settings if you want it back to how it came out the shop.

[The Brow]

couldnt care less why you want to do it.

 

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/d9a4d35e-efdf-406c-a049-0860180129a71033.mspx#EFB

 

This will tell you how to format without a Vista dvd.

 

Heres the bit in case you get lost.

 

Create and format a hard disk partition

Applies to all editions of Windows Vista.

Which edition of Windows Vista am I using?

 

You must be logged on as an administrator to perform these steps.

 

To create a partition or volume (the two terms are often used interchangeably) on a hard disk, there must be either unallocated (empty) space on the hard disk or free space within an extended partition on the hard disk.

 

If there is no unallocated space, you can create some by shrinking an existing partition, deleting a partition, or by using a third-party partitioning program. For more information, see Can I repartition my hard disk? For more information about reformatting a hard disk, see the "What is reformatting?" section below.

 

 

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To create and format a partition (volume)

When you create partitions on a basic disk using Disk Management, the first three volumes you create will be formatted as primary partitions. Beginning with the fourth volume, each volume will be configured as a logical drive within an extended partition. For more information, see What are partitions and logical drives?

 

1. Open Computer Management by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Computer Management. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

 

2. In the Navigation pane, under Storage, click Disk Management.

 

3. Right-click an unallocated region on your hard disk, and then click New Simple Volume.

 

4. In the New Simple Volume Wizard, click Next.

 

5. Type the size of the volume you want to create in megabytes (MB) or accept the maximum default size, and then click Next.

 

6. Accept the default drive letter or choose a different drive letter to identify the partition, and then click Next.

 

7. In the Format Partition dialog box, do one of the following:

 

• If you don't want to format the volume right now, click Do not format this volume, and then click Next.

 

• To format the volume with the default settings, click Next.

 

 

8. Review your choices, and then click Finish.

 

 

To format an existing partition (volume)

Formatting a volume will destroy any data on the partition. Be sure to make backups of any data you want to save before you begin.

You cannot format a disk or partition that is currently in use, including the partition that contains Windows.

Quick format is a formatting option that creates a new file table but does not fully overwrite or erase the volume. A quick format is much faster than a normal format, which fully erases any existing data on the volume.

 

 

 

 

1. Open Computer Management by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Computer Management. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

 

2. In the Navigation pane, under Storage, click Disk Management.

 

3. Right-click the volume that you want to format, and then click Format.

 

4. To format the volume with the default settings, in the Format dialog box, click OK, and then click OK again.

[JyTees]

couldnt care less why you want to do it.

 

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/d9a4d35e-efdf-406c-a049-0860180129a71033.mspx#EFB

 

This will tell you how to format without a Vista dvd.

 

Heres the bit in case you get lost.

 

Create and format a hard disk partition

Applies to all editions of Windows Vista.

Which edition of Windows Vista am I using?

 

You must be logged on as an administrator to perform these steps.

 

To create a partition or volume (the two terms are often used interchangeably) on a hard disk, there must be either unallocated (empty) space on the hard disk or free space within an extended partition on the hard disk.

 

If there is no unallocated space, you can create some by shrinking an existing partition, deleting a partition, or by using a third-party partitioning program. For more information, see Can I repartition my hard disk? For more information about reformatting a hard disk, see the "What is reformatting?" section below.

 

 

Show all

Show allHide all

 

To create and format a partition (volume)

When you create partitions on a basic disk using Disk Management, the first three volumes you create will be formatted as primary partitions. Beginning with the fourth volume, each volume will be configured as a logical drive within an extended partition. For more information, see What are partitions and logical drives?

 

1. Open Computer Management by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Computer Management. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

 

2. In the Navigation pane, under Storage, click Disk Management.

 

3. Right-click an unallocated region on your hard disk, and then click New Simple Volume.

 

4. In the New Simple Volume Wizard, click Next.

 

5. Type the size of the volume you want to create in megabytes (MB) or accept the maximum default size, and then click Next.

 

6. Accept the default drive letter or choose a different drive letter to identify the partition, and then click Next.

 

7. In the Format Partition dialog box, do one of the following:

 

? If you don't want to format the volume right now, click Do not format this volume, and then click Next.

 

? To format the volume with the default settings, click Next.

 

 

8. Review your choices, and then click Finish.

 

 

To format an existing partition (volume)

Formatting a volume will destroy any data on the partition. Be sure to make backups of any data you want to save before you begin.

You cannot format a disk or partition that is currently in use, including the partition that contains Windows.

Quick format is a formatting option that creates a new file table but does not fully overwrite or erase the volume. A quick format is much faster than a normal format, which fully erases any existing data on the volume.

 

 

 

 

1. Open Computer Management by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Computer Management. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

 

2. In the Navigation pane, under Storage, click Disk Management.

 

3. Right-click the volume that you want to format, and then click Format.

 

4. To format the volume with the default settings, in the Format dialog box, click OK, and then click OK again.

 

Why would you do all that when the partition already exists?