duffman1234 Posted August 6, 2005 CID Share Posted August 6, 2005 Hey, How does formatting work, what does it do and what am i supposed to do to format and make my comp better. IF i format what do i do Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingCobra Posted August 6, 2005 CID Share Posted August 6, 2005 Low Level formatting writes a binary zero to each sector on each track of every track on each platter of a hard disk or other media. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MYRIAGON Posted August 6, 2005 CID Share Posted August 6, 2005 It basically erases everything on your H.D. How you format depends on what system you are going to put on it. And you would only format if you plan on doing a clean install of your OS. You would lose all files on your hard drive unless you back them up to a different H.D. or partition or CD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duffman1234 Posted August 6, 2005 Author CID Share Posted August 6, 2005 k thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmer Posted August 6, 2005 CID Share Posted August 6, 2005 Formatting writes a binary zero to each sector on each track of every track on each platter of a hard disk or other media. Formatting doenst write zeros on each sector.. Formatting replaces the control structors.. basically making your drive feel like new but all of the data is still there.. There is just nothing connecting it all. A Zero-fill utility is normally provided by the drive manufacture.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duffman1234 Posted August 6, 2005 Author CID Share Posted August 6, 2005 so if i format nothing will be on my comp, do i have to back up windows and stuff or is that already taken care of when format? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmer Posted August 6, 2005 CID Share Posted August 6, 2005 If you reformat you will start with a fresh copy of windows.. Nothing on it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duffman1234 Posted August 6, 2005 Author CID Share Posted August 6, 2005 will i still have the windows folder that makes things work and stuff? If i format do i have to make backups and stuff to put it on later? And when i format it says "windows was unable to complete format" What am i supposed to do with that? thanks for ur replies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MYRIAGON Posted August 6, 2005 CID Share Posted August 6, 2005 If you reformat you will start with a fresh copy of windows.. Nothing on it.. That might be a little confusing to him swimmer... If you do a complete format, at that point there would be nothing on the hard drive that you could use or read all data files everything would be gone. After formatting you would have to reload (install) a new operating system (Windows) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duffman1234 Posted August 6, 2005 Author CID Share Posted August 6, 2005 So i check the quick format? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MYRIAGON Posted August 6, 2005 CID Share Posted August 6, 2005 will i still have the windows folder that makes things work and stuff? If i format do i have to make backups and stuff to put it on later? And when i format it says "windows was unable to complete format" What am i supposed to do with that? thanks for ur replies What version of windows are you running , and do you have a install CD for Windows Also what are you trying to do ? is there a problem with windows now ? Do you want to completly install a new system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duffman1234 Posted August 6, 2005 Author CID Share Posted August 6, 2005 windows xp SP2 I dont have the cd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MYRIAGON Posted August 6, 2005 CID Share Posted August 6, 2005 windows xp SP2 I dont have the cd In that case you don't want to format, because then you would be stuck without an operating system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duffman1234 Posted August 6, 2005 Author CID Share Posted August 6, 2005 k thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MYRIAGON Posted August 6, 2005 CID Share Posted August 6, 2005 Hope that helps....there are a lot of tweaks you can do to XP to make it run better, but for now I would suggest maybe running a defrag, that can help a lot if it's never had one before..........Have a good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmer Posted August 6, 2005 CID Share Posted August 6, 2005 In that case you don't want to format, because then you would be stuck without an operating system. Umm.. yeah that would be a good call.. here we come linux? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MYRIAGON Posted August 6, 2005 CID Share Posted August 6, 2005 LOL....I hear ya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest helloimtim Posted August 6, 2005 CID Share Posted August 6, 2005 A quick format can be done if xp is pre installed. The back up copy is on a diffrent partition and will not be erased. Do NOT use a 3rd party format program. Now if you have a dvd player and can get ahold of a copy of nortons 2003 you can do a reformat of your computer. Get it all up and running. Updated and just the way you want it. Then back that puppy up with nortons 2003. I do Not suggest useing the latest greatest version of ghost because the backup it makes will not boot. You have to use a 3rd party piece of software. Nortons 2003 is by far the best. Some one with a pre installed copy of xp can better explain the format process for you. You can also use the recover disks and if you dont have thoes Im pretty sure xp will make them for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duffman1234 Posted August 7, 2005 Author CID Share Posted August 7, 2005 how do i know if xp is preinstalled? MY comp when it loads is slower than it used to be, when i put a static ip it gets a little faster but windows outlook express doesnt work becuase something with pop3 port doesnt work Is there any way to make loading faster, i heard something about msconfig? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest helloimtim Posted August 7, 2005 CID Share Posted August 7, 2005 Do you get the option of recover consol when you boot your computer. Says hit f8 When you boot for more options? You can run msconfig. Go to start........run.......type in msconfig and you should get a option screen. Click the start up tab. That will show you what programs start when your computer starts. You can pick which ever ones you want to start when your computer starts. Myself I like this program.....http://www.windowsstartup.com Which will pretty much do the same thing. There are severl ideas you can use to help speed up your computer. Personal I LOVE the program System Mechanic 5. You can use it free for 30 days. If you like it you can buy a copy at your local wal mart stores. That program just rocks. I dont however use it to defrag my harddrive. I love perfect disk. System mechanic 30 day trial you can get at almost any major download site. Give system mechanic 5 a shot. Run that through your computer. By default it has never screwed up my computer. Just try all the diffrent options. Just Stay away from the tweaking and speed up your internet connection!!! WIth system mechanic. Leave that alone. Give all this a shot and let me know how it worked out..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duffman1234 Posted August 7, 2005 Author CID Share Posted August 7, 2005 it kind of slowed my system down, i had to restore my computer and run error checking and defrag. I think it is something with memory, because things on tray used to get on the comp so fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duffman1234 Posted August 10, 2005 Author CID Share Posted August 10, 2005 this computer had xp when it was bought, is there any way to restore stuff to defualt or reinstall xp without cd or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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