When your computer dies from being infected with a virus or you just want to upgrade your operating system to a newer version, re-formatting would be the only option for you.
Formatting a computer is different from formatting a hard-drive or a removable disk. It takes time and a whole lot of patience to achieve. I wrote this blog to show some of the things you would want encounter when re-formatting a computer. It might not show steps on how to re-format but readers would surely see how hard it is to format a computer. It ain't a pleasant activity to do and may involve coffee and a good comfortable chair. You would also want to prepare a separate music player and a television set with cable while your at it. A thorough formatting process may a whole day or half so be really really patient and be sure your schedule is free for at least a day. Get some sleep. You would want to fight sleep because if you sleep through the formatting process, formatting will take even longer if your don't respond to the instructions needed from the you.
1) The back-up: Data that are important needs to be backed-up to an external drive, to a separate drive in your computer or you could write it in a DVD. You would not want these data to be deleted in the formatting your computer. Data such as pictures, documents and music for me is the important files. Theres is no need to copy programs that are installed in your old operating system because after formatting you cannot use these programs unless your re-install them over again in your new operating system. What you would want is to copy the installers of these programs. Don't copy the folder of the installed program but the installer if you kept the installer for safe keeping.
2) The compatibility test: When you're planning on an upgrade(ex. from Windows XP to Vista), it it always advised to check your hardware for compatibility. Before you even start to think of buying a new version of windows, be sure your hardware can bear the additional requirements of the new operating system. A newer Operating System will always need more resources than previous version. Newer operating system will also need new drivers for your hardware, so be sure to check if drivers are available when your upgrade.
3) The Boot-up: Formatting will require you to boot from a boot-up disk. A boot-up sequence is the first set of instructions a computer runs after being switched on. We wouldn't want to boot to the previous version of windows in the hard-disk but we want to boot from the CD or DVD of the operating system that we would want to load. We can do this by pressing the "F8" key just after switching on the computer and by selecting the Optical drive from which we loaded our boot-up disk. If this fails because some motherboard don't have this feature, you could always go to the BIOS set-up and configure the boot priorities there. Set your Optical drive as the primary boot and second, your hard-disk.
4) The step-by-step Instruction Process: After your computer boots up from the optical drive of your installer's CD or DVD, a series of instructions are shown. These are all in simple, easy to follow instructions in what to do during the formatting process. Formatting doesn't involve a one-push of a button step but has a lot of step-by-step instructions for you so be patient and follow instructions properly.
5) The Restart: During the Formatting process, the computer goes into several restarts so don't think that something has gone wrong during the reformatting process. It just does that. Oh, and don't boot from the optical drive the second time or it will take you back to step one of your formatting process.
6) The User Input: After formatting is done, the computer needs a user so be sure to supply a proper user name for the computer. Your computer will also need a name so give it a cool one. A password is also very important to keep unwanted users from using your computer without you around.
7) The Activation: When you install an Operating System such as Windows Vista and Windows 7, it requires an internet connection to be activated. The new operating system will need to be activated before all of it's features can be used so be sure to activate it in the alloted time. A warning message does pop-out once and a while so pay attention and don't forget to activate. When you do forget to activate, then it's back to square one. Forgetting to activate Windows will lock your computer and prevents you from further using your computer so be sure to activate. (Oh and did I mention you need a valid activation key for this? heheh! so unless you bought your operating system from a pirated seller, then be sure you have a valid key)
8) The Drivers: No, these drivers don't drive jeepneys and buses but these drivers are what an operating system needs in-order to communicate with hardware. Software goes hand-in-hand with hardware and comes unique with each other. A video-card needs a driver which is different from the driver that is also needed by a sound-card. Its these drivers that communicate with the hardware to be able to function and work with your Operating System. As I have mention earlier, be sure to check if drivers are readily available before formatting your computer. If these drivers are not installed, your hardware will not work and you cannot use them.
9) The Software(essentials): The last thing you must do in formatting a computer is installing the necessary software for your computer. Software such as anti-virus software, office programs and your games(i had to include games). You would also want to restore your backed-up data to your new operating system but be sure to update your anti-virus first before you even start plugging in your external drives.
10) Update: Software installed in your computer, even the operating system, needs to be updated. Connect to the internet and download patches and updates for your software. Software companies will give out patches and update in their websites so be sure to check them out and download latest updates from them. Updates for the operating system is also needed to help you fight against vulnerabilities in your operating system. When you have a slow internet connection, you could always leave your computer turned-on for the night to finish with all the updates. An updated computer runs faster and safer from viruses.
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