Internet Security ABC - When Formatting the Hard Drive is Your Only Recourse

When Formatting the Hard Drive is Your Only Recourse

Your hard drive is working perfectly. You're computing and working steadily with the computer as your friend, when suddenly, you start receiving error messages. Your computer starts stalling and worst of all; you get the blue screen of death. You may have picked up a vicious virus or a worm that has affected the performance of your computer.

Maybe you receive a message such as "this program performed an illegal operation and will be shut down." These error messages, freezes, and stalling can be caused by several different problems. You may have added new hardware that is not matched to your computer components, or may even be defective. Electric Static Discharge can make a computer go haywire. Some versions of Windows actually came with a bug that can cause these computer problems. You may have installed new software that may

have bugs that can cause problems or it could be a combination of all the above.

There are several ways you can correct these problems without totally formatting a hard drive. Several programs on the market will help you clean up your computer and get it running properly again. These can be bought either through the Internet or at a local retailer.

Every Windows system has a registry. That system registry holds a lot of information about your computer. You may have software that you are no longer using or software that was not properly removed causing your computer to hang up or freeze. Removing these and cleaning up the registry will sometimes fix the problems of a sluggish or freezing computer.

The most common problem with computer hang-ups is often caused by the video driver. The video driver will have new demands that it may not be able to handle. You can sometimes fix this problem by finding the exact make and model of your video card, then downloading and installing the latest drivers from that company's web site.

Sometimes, clearing out software that you no longer use or uninstalling software and reinstalling will clear up any problems you are experiencing. This is something you should try before reformatting. Look at your files, are there any software programs that you no longer need or use? If so, then uninstall them, free up room on your hard drive.

You will probably want to try to fix your sluggish computer by trying other options available before your turn to reformatting your hard drive. Sometimes, that's the only action that can repair your sluggish computer.

Reformatting a hard drive is not something you should do unless all other avenues have been explored. Clearing and reformatting a hard drive is a huge challenge and if you do it wrong, it will make your computer worthless. First, back up any information that is important to you. Second, gather all the needed software and original CD's and start up disks that came with your computer purchase. Be sure you have your Windows Certificate of Authenticity at hand also.

If you're lucky, you may have a "Restore Disk" that came with your computer that you can be used. In addition, manufacturers will sometimes provide the system restore information right on the hard drive. Instructions for these methods of reformatting should have been included in your computer package and are specific to each computer manufacturer.

Do you have added software that you use on a regular basis? You should have that software disc available as well. Go to your control panel and open the system icon. Under the hardware tab, you will find the Device Manager. Make a list of all the devices and drivers that you are currently using.

If you are using a Windows NT or older system, you will need to boot your computer from the Windows CD and then follow the prompts. It will give you the choice of repairing your Windows Installation, performing a clean installation of Windows, reformatting your hard drive or deleting everything and starting over from scratch. Remember, this is a drastic step and should only be done if all else has failed, AND after you have backed up all-important information.

If you've done all that's possible and reformatting is your only recourse, then follow the above steps and start with a clean slate.

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