When and how to reformat a hard drive
While many new computer users do not realize it, it is often necessary to reformat a hard drive. The reasons for reformatting run the gamut, from the need to recover from a virus or Trojan horse attack to the need to protect sensitive data when the computer is sold or given away. No matter why you need to reformat a hard drive, however, it is important to do it the right way. Fortunately, modern technology has made it much easier these days to reformat a hard drive, and a process that could take all day in the good old days of computers can take only a matter of minutes on today's modern computers. One of the most frequent reasons for needing to reformat a hard drive is a computer virus. With hundreds of new viruses being released on an unsuspecting public each and every month, the odds are good that just about every computer user, no matter how knowledgeable and cautious, will eventually be hit with one of these malicious programs. While in many cases the damage done by a computer virus is quite minimal, but at times it can be devastating. Sometimes the only way to truly cure a computer infection is to reformat the hard drive and start over from scratch. Fortunately, most computer manufacturers have made it a lot easier than ever before to reformat the computer and get it back up and running in no time. In fact, major computer manufacturers like HP and Dell ship special system restore CDs with their systems. These restore CDs are specially prepared bootable CDs which are designed to bring the system back to where it was when it first left the factory. If you need to reformat your hard drive to recover from a computer virus or software problem, the restore CD may be all you need. For those who need to reformat a hard drive before selling or giving away an old computer, the process can be a bit more complicated. That is because there are all sorts of software programs on the market that can recover data even after it has been erased. If you plan to give away or sell a computer that has ever stored sensitive personal information it is important to invest in a wiping software that can not only erase those sensitive files but overwrite them with ones and zeros in order to ensure that they cannot be recovered. It is not enough to simply reformat the hard drive.
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