How to Format Laptop with Windows XP?

Posted on March 9, 2010

This article deals with how to format laptop with Windows XP. In case your laptop is running Windows XP and you have some problem like a virus attack, then you could follow these steps for a complete format and installation of the OS.

  1. Step
    1

    Take a back-up of all files that you require (could be photographs, documents, additional third party software etc.). In case your laptop is used by multiple users with different logins, then ensure that all necessary files from all logins are backed-up. You could either burn it onto a CD or DVD; store it in a USB drive; transfer them to another laptop/PC on your LAN; or use online storage. There are many online storage that are available today. Remember a complete laptop format can delete all your information stored in the laptop.

  1. Step
    2

    Put the Windows XP installation CD into CD drive of your laptop and power it up or restart it.

    For enabling the laptop to boot up from CD, the BIOS setup should be altered accordingly.

    (If your laptop does not have a CD drive, visit How to Format Hard Drive Without CD)

  1. Step
    3

    As the laptop boots up, it should automatically detect the CD and display the following -
    Press any key to boot from CD.
    Press any key quickly and the laptop will get all busy with some internal processing.

  1. Step
    4

    A short while later, you’ll be presented with another message -
    Press ENTER to set up Windows XP.
    Once you press “Enter”, you’ll have to accept the Windows XP license and then you’ll get the option of repairing the existing Windows XP OS. In case you want to do a fresh install, press the ESC key. You’ll then be taken to a screen, where the existing partitions*1 of the hard drive will be displayed.

  1. Step
    5

    You’ll need to first delete the existing partitions before proceeding. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to move on this screen. Move to the C: partition; press the D key to delete it and then the L key to confirm the deletion.

  1. Step
    6

    In case you’ve had more partitions, delete each of them similarly. Once this is done, you have a clean hard drive with no partitions.

  1. Step
    7

    You can either create*2 fresh partitions now or directly proceed with installing the Windows XP OS. In order to create a partition, select the unpartitioned drive which will now be indicated as -
    “Unpartitioned space xxxxxMB” on the screen. Press the C key to create a new partition.

  1. Step
    8

    You will then be presented with a screen which will let you set the size*3 in MB (megabytes) for the partition that you’re creating. Set the size you want and press “Enter”. If you do not want any partitions, accept the default value and press “Enter”.

  1. Step
    9

    Create additional partitions in a similar manner (Steps 7 and 8).

  1. Step
    10

    Once all your partitions are created, select the partition in which the operating system will be installed and press “Enter”.

  1. Step
    11

    The next screen that appears will present you with options regarding the file system*4 you want to use. These will include NTFS and FAT options*5 .
    * Format the partition by using the NTFS file system (Quick)
    * Format the partition by using the FAT file system (Quick)
    * Format the partition by using the NTFS file system
    * Format the partition by using the FAT file system
    * Leave the current file system intact (no changes)

    Choose the one that you require and press “Enter”.

  1. Step
    12

    The formatting of the drive and the installation process will then kick-off. You might have a few on-screen instructions to follow only initially. The whole process might take about 40 minutes to complete. These steps pretty much sum up how to format laptop with XP.

For other options of formatting laptop visit – How to Format Laptop?

partitions*1 – The hard drive has been divided into sections. For example – C: drive, D: drive etc.

create*2 - It is always better to create partitions for your hard drive. By creating partitions, you can easily segregate files that are required by your system and those that are required by you. Thus, when you want to reformat your system the next time, you need not touch your files; instead only reformat the partition that has the system files. Most often, two partitions are created:- C: for your system files and D: for your files.

set the size*3 – The Windows XP installation might take up an approximate of 3GB of hard drive space. Depending upon how much of additional software you need to install, set the size of the partition (usually C: drive) that will hold the system files (including the OS) accordingly.

file system*4 , NTFS and FAT options*5 – This is a method by which the computers store and organise files and their data to enable finding and accessing them easily, when required. The NTFS is newer than the FAT file system and gives a more flexible way of doing this. It is faster and more secure too. Hence, it is better to choose NTFS while installing the OS.

Filed under How To

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