How to Format your Computer...

My computer has become very sluggish over time and I would, therefore, like to know how to format my hard drive, using Windows XP ?

First of all, you need to ask yourself whether this is really what you want to do. More often than not, sluggish responses from your computer can be solved by a myriad of ways, the most extreme of which is formatting it.
But if you've exhausted all other options, then formatting your PC is what we're going to do...

The preparation steps:

1. Backup all your important files into CD's/DVD's.

2. Once you're sure you've backed up all your files, take a deep breath and move on to the formatting steps.



Steps:

1. Insert your Windows XP installation disc in your CD Rom drive, and reboot.

2. A message will appear asking you whether you want to repair your existing installation. Press Esc to skip this option.

3. Select the current partition upon which Windows is installed and press "D" to delete it. Press "L" to confirm deletion. Repeat this step until all your partitions are deleted (unless you want to keep some of them).

4. You now have to create a new partition. Select the unpartitioned space and press "C" to create a new partition.

5. Type in the size of the partition you would like to use (in megabytes) and press "ENTER". If you want to use all of the available disc space for the partition, then just press "ENTER".

6. Select your partition and press "ENTER".

7. Now choose the format option you want to use. If you're not sure, use the 'quick format' NTFS option.

8. When it's finished, follow the on screen instructions to re-install Windows XP.

9. Wait for the setup to finish.

10. After Windows XP has been installed, it's now time to reinstall all your software and download all the Windows updates.


And that's it!