Q&A for How to Format a Laptop Hard Drive

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  • Question
    Can I format my laptop by myself?
    Yaffet Meshesha
    Yaffet Meshesha
    Computer Specialist
    Yaffet Meshesha is a Computer Specialist and the Founder of Techy, a full-service computer pickup, repair, and delivery service. With over eight years of experience, Yaffet specializes in computer repairs and technical support. Techy has been featured on TechCrunch and Time.
    Yaffet Meshesha
    Yaffet Meshesha
    Computer Specialist
    Expert Answer
    Yes, it's not hard to do it. I actually accidentally formatted a family member's phone when I was a child, so it can't be that tricky!
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  • Question
    Why would you want to format a drive?
    Yaffet Meshesha
    Yaffet Meshesha
    Computer Specialist
    Yaffet Meshesha is a Computer Specialist and the Founder of Techy, a full-service computer pickup, repair, and delivery service. With over eight years of experience, Yaffet specializes in computer repairs and technical support. Techy has been featured on TechCrunch and Time.
    Yaffet Meshesha
    Yaffet Meshesha
    Computer Specialist
    Expert Answer
    It's one of the easiest ways to erase everything on a drive, although it'll keep some of the really small files that are required for the drive to function.
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  • Question
    Will formatting my hard drive delete everything on it?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Yes, part of the formatting process involves deleting all of the data on the drive. This occurs because a new file system is being applied to the drive.
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  • Question
    Without backup, can I format the laptop?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    You can, but all data will be deleted after format, and you can never get it back. If you don't need that data, you can format without backing up.
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  • Question
    Why does it take so long to start up my laptop when I turn it on?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    If your laptop is old, it may be because your laptop has an older model hard drive. If this is the case, buy an SSD. Your laptop should boot up within a minute or less.
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  • Question
    What formatting does the Windows installer do? Does it do a full format, or does it just delete the files and write new data?
    Adam Hendi
    Adam Hendi
    Community Answer
    Windows usually does a quick format, so your installation doesn't take as long.
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