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Don’t let the workings of your computer intimidate you. Once you learn to clean your computer hard drive you will feel more confident about dealing with other low key problems that might come up. First of all, know that manually deleting data may not erase all of your passwords and private information. If you are involved with secure sites, you may want to change your password and other important information on the site, that you do not wish anyone to have access to.
There are certain programs out there that will be able to recall your information, even though you have wiped the hard drive. If you are thinking of selling the computer, you may want to install a new hard drive. To manually clean a computer hard drive, you will need to go through all of your stored data and see which information you would like to keep. Once you have done this, you will need to download all of the information to a CD, or other information storage device. Once you are sure you have saved all of the information you want to keep, insert your Windows CD and reboot the computer. Type in ‘New install, please wipe out and erase my hard drive’. This procedure will take a bit of time (at least 2 hours, usually longer), so you will need to plan it on a day when the computer will not be in use. The next step, is to reformat your hard drive by installing partitions. You can divide your hard drive into as many sections as you want. Right click on My Computer and choose format. You should move your documents to a new location, as some of your files and documents can be misdirected when using the regular program. This way you will always know where your documents are. Format the entire hard drive, as any unformatted sections cannot be used. Next you will want to install any external software drivers, such as graphic cards and printers. After you have accomplished all of this, you can download any saved programs you use the most, onto your computer with shortcuts on your desktop. Do not put all of the programs you have, back onto the computer. Stick with those you feel you will use often. The others will be available on the CD or other device, and you will be able to retrieve them at any time. You will absolutely want your antivirus installed right away. If you do not have a good antivirus, AVG Antivirus-Free, is what I use on my computer, it is a very diligent and complete Antivirus and it can be downloaded free. |
