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Your computer is made up of several important parts, one of them being your hard disk. The hard disk is the device where all your files are methodically stored so that it can be fetched quickly & easily whenever you need it. It also stores your "Operating System" ; Windows 7 , Windows XP , Windows 95 - 98 , Ubuntu, Linux Mint, OS X , Solaris and so on are all Operating Systems. Operating Systems help you manage your computer's resources and mainly help you use your computer. Imagine using Xisto without all those buttons and options **phew** Your hard disk however does not merely store your data, it also stores information about your data, software you add(install) , little tid bits that help the software work… many many things are stored onto your hard disk to make sure your experience is as great as it can be. As your hard disk ages without regular maintenance, you might face any 1 of many problems including :- Infections in your computer that affect performance, memory & security. Your machine feels sluggish and difficult to use. Unnecessary tid bits , records are lying around cluttering up space and other resources So, users often format their computers regularly to "wipe the slate clean" so to speak. What is formatting? Remember how I said your files are stored methodically? Hard disks don't automatically know how to do this. Formatting is the process where your hard disk is first wiped clean of all previous records. Wiped clean = all data on it is deleted and once completed , a "file system" (the structure that will help your computer store files properly / organized) is added. Now, your hard disk is ready for use where you can add the operating system of your choice. STEP 1 :- GETTING STARTED - KNOW YOUR COMPUTER Software that will help you with this Ccleaner Speccy -- Catalogue / List all the programs you have installed on your computer -- List of Software. List of passwords. Browser History (optional) List of hardware components on your computer. - Getting a list of Software -- The painful part of formatting your computer is setting up your computer to its old working state. Without a list, you are looking at a very painstaking process because you are left wondering which software you have with you or software that you would still like to use. I usually end up discarding 5-15 applications during this process, things I add which I would have forgotten to remove or postponed the uninstallation. - How to get a List of software added by you -- We will be using a software called Ccleaner, the download link has been given above (To those unsure on how to install, Click No to any downloads / free toolbars.. Click Next for everything else) -- After installation, run the program by double clicking the program icon. Navigate to the Tools -> Uninstall Section . Here , you will find all the software you have installed on your computer. Through windows you would Start -> Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs (Uninstall a Program for Windows 7) - List of saved Passwords -- If you have a habit of using the "save Password" "Remember Password" feature of your browsers (Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Maxthon, Opera, Safari & so on) . Here are a few softwares that can help you export your stored passwords Firefox - Password Exporter Multi Browser Support(Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, and Opera.) - WebBrowserPassView Optionally you can also save your history in case there are links you need. BrowsingHistoryView (Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer & Safari) - List of hardware components & their drivers -- Like your hard disk, your other components also require some help in order to function properly. These programs are called "drivers" they help operate your all hardware including your mouse, keyboard, motherboard and so on. -- It is always recommended that you directly download these drivers from the maker's website since the driver version on your CD would probably be outdated. Also, download before the format in case your internet does not work after the formatting (It usually does not since the "Network drivers" are missing) -- To get your computer's complete system information, we are going to use "Speccy" . There is another one called Belarc Advisor but I prefer Speccy since it is pretty easy to understand -- Install and run the software, note down the Motherboard, Graphics & Audio model names / numbers. Graphics & Audio model name / numbers show only if you have an external card installed. Most commonly, if you search this number in google with the word driver, you will get links from where you can download these drivers. Something like "XYZ Model Number 2343453 driver" STEP 2 :- BACKING UP YOUR FILES Firstly, let us remember that the C drive on Windows is only for Windows and not for data storage, if you have so far been using it for storing data, make sure to not use it for storing software, files and so on. If you are using programs like Photoshop, your brushes and so on will have to be copied by you. Personally, I back up my files by hand picking the files I need to make sure I copy only the files I recognize. Ccleaner has a duplicate file finder in case you want to make sure your computer is not filled with copies of the same stuff For those looking for a quick and automated back up process, you can do it using AOMEI DATA BACKUPPER . It allows you to backup either the complete hard disk or simply the partitions that need backing up. I like this tool because it offers Incremental backups and restoration options. STEP 3 :- FORMATING THE HARD DISK When upgrading to Windows 7 , you need to remember that your previous version of Windows is stored in a folder of its own. It might be useful to others but I find this to be pointless, I prefer having everything erased off the hard disk before installing a new operating system on it. With older versions of Windows, you can format the hard disk OR You can use DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke) . DBAN wil delete EVERYTHING from your Hard Disk for good. You need to first download the software and then add (burn) it onto a CD using CDBurnerXP . Please use only CDBurnerXP since the developer of DBAN has recommended this. STEP 4 :- POP IN YOUR WINDOWS CD AND TWIDDLE THUMBS UNTIL DONE STEP 5 :- REINSTALL DRIVERS , SOFTWARES AND BACKUPS I wrote this article for those attempting their first format I tried as much as I could to keep it as novice friendly as I could.. If you have questions, shoot away