How to Format Computer Without a Windows CDYou can format a primary or secondary hard drive without a Windows installation disc. Ablestock. com/Able. Stock. com/Getty Images. Whether you’re looking to reinstall Windows, retire one of your company’s computers, or just prepare a second hard drive for reuse, it's a good idea to wipe the drive first by formatting it. You can format any drive from within the Windows interface except for the system drive. If you want to format your system drive, or C: drive, you cannot do so while Windows is running and will need to boot the system from a boot disc first. If you don’t have your Windows installation media, you can create a system repair disc from within Windows 7. Formatting a Non- System Drive. Log into the computer in question with an administrator account. Click Start, type “diskmgmt. Search box and press “Enter.”3. Right- click the drive you wish to format, and click “Format.”4. Click the “Yes” button if prompted. Type a volume label. This is just a display name, so feel free to select whatever descriptive name works for you. Uncheck the “Perform a quick format” box. A “quick format” doesn’t actually wipe any data; it simply flags the volume as “free” so it can be overwritten. Click “OK” twice. The formatting process can take anywhere between a few minutes and a few hours, depending on drive size.
Formatting a System Drive. Click Start, “Control Panel” and then “System and Maintenance.”2. Click “Backup and Restore.”3. Click “Create a system repair disc” on the left. Insert a writable CD into your CD/DVD drive and click “Create disc.”5. Click “Close” and “OK.”6. Reboot your computer, and tap the appropriate key to bring up your boot menu. F1. 0 and F1. 2 are common. Refer to your computer’s user manual if you’re unsure which key should be used. Select your CD/DVD drive as your boot device, and press “Enter.”8. Press any key to boot to the disc when prompted. Click the “Next” button. After a few minutes, the System Recovery Options dialog box will appear. Click the radio button next to “Use recovery tools that can help fix problems starting Windows. Select an operating system to repair.”1. Select your Windows installation. In most cases, there’ll only be one operating system listed. Disregard the reported drive letter, as it is often incorrect. Use the partition size as your reference instead (in most cases, your Windows partition encompasses nearly your entire disk). Click “Next.”1. 3. Click “Command Prompt.”1. Type the following command (without quotation marks here and throughout): “vol C: ”1. Press “Enter.” Note the volume label, which appears after “Volume in drive K is.”1. Type the following command: “Format c: /fs: NTFS”1. How to Reinstall Windows 7 Without CD. Occasionally, Windows operating systems need to be reinstalled to improve or restore function. Although most Windows PCs come. Tom's Guide > Forum > Laptop Tech Support > free Toshiba P300-159 recovery CD download of windows vista installation disk for toshiba P300-159 >. Press “Enter.”1. 8. Type the volume label you obtained in Step 1. Enter.”1. 9. Type “Y” and then press “Enter” when prompted. The process should take an hour or more to complete, depending on disk size. Type a new volume label for the drive, and press “Enter.”2. Remove the system repair disc, and shut down your computer. Things Needed. Writable CD (if formatting a system drive)Warnings. If you cannot access your Windows installation at all, or in the unlikely event that Windows prompts you to insert your installation media while creating your boot CD, you won’t be able to create a system repair disc. In this case, you can download a third- party boot disc, such as the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows or Bart PE (Links in Resources). Alternatively, remove the hard drive from the computer and install it as a secondary drive in any other working computer. Next, boot the system into Windows and format the drive using the instructions provided in the “Formatting a Non- System Drive” section. Formatting a hard drive permanently erases data. Therefore, make absolute sure you select the correct drive before initiating the format command. About the Author. A writer and proofreader since 2. B. Steele also works as an IT Help Desk analyst, specializing in consumer and business user tech support. She earned a B. A. Steele also holds certifications as a Microsoft- certified desktop support technician, Microsoft- certified IT professional, Windows 7 enterprise support technician and Comp. TIA A+ IT technician. Photo Credits. Ablestock. Able. Stock. com/Getty Images.
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