How to Format a Notebook: Everything You Need to Know

Over time, every laptop usually begins to show some signs of wear and tear that can result in performance degradation, slowness, and crashes. This can be resolved by formatting your laptop.

However, before you are able to format the notebook, you need to determine when it is necessary to do so, understand the steps involved, and learn how to backup the content.

First, the most important

• The specifications, storage conditions, time and mode of use of a notebook directly impact its performance and determine whether it needs to be formatted.
• Our recommendation is to hire a computer technician if you want to format a notebook. You need to know when a notebook needs to be formatted so that you don’t request this service unnecessarily.
• Having an antivirus program and not being overloaded with files will not prevent you from formatting the notebook. Overlapped system updates cause the notebook to slow down.

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What is formatting a notebook?

The formatting of a notebook involves wiping out the hard drive of the computer to clean the machine, eliminate errors, crashes, sluggish behavior, and other signs of overload.

To reinstall the operating system, programs, drivers, and files – that were previously backed up when the notebook was formatted – it must be done after formatting. It is relatively easy to format a notebook, but it is not straightforward.

When should I format my notebook?

If the notebook detects an error in the system that it cannot fix without erasing data, that is when it is necessary to format the notebook. This is just one of several reasons for undergoing this procedure:

• Infestation with viruses.
• Excessive sluggishness.
• Security breaches.
• Updating the system.
• Renovating the hardware.
• Selling computers.

What are the advantages of formatting a notebook?

To format your notebook, you do not have to wait for some of the problems mentioned earlier. According to many experts, periodically formatting a computer is better for it.

By formatting the notebook, dispersed fragments of programs already uninstalled and deleted from memory are freed, a decrease in slowness is achieved, the original operating system settings are restored, and the disk is cleaned.

If your backup is performed correctly and the procedure is handled by a professional, there should be no reason to worry about formatting your computer. Afterwards, you can simply enjoy a fast notebook, free of locks and gagging. Please see the table below for more benefits:

What is the difference between restoring and formatting a notebook?

When restoring a computer , default settings will be restored, while stored files will be preserved – only files stored on the same drive as the operating system will be deleted.

On the other hand, when formatting a notebook, the entire contents of the computer, including the operating system, must be deleted and reinstalled. In other words, it is vital to backup your files and data, otherwise, you will lose everything.

As a rule, restorations are performed on newer computers, while formatting is required on computers with at least three years of use, during which time the machine has been subjected to multiple system updates and no longer performs as well.

When formatting a notebook at home, is it safe?

A person without computer skills may not be able to solve problems that arise during the process of formatting a notebook on his own because the procedure is complex and requires technical knowledge.

For this reason, we recommend that you enlist the assistance of an informatics expert or consult a specialized professional. Considering that the cost of an IT technician’s work hour is R $ 25, the procedure would cost between R $ 60 and R $ 160.

How to format a notebook with Windows system?

Irrespective of the version of Windows you are using, you will have to format your computer at some point and reinstall the software or install a newer version at some point.

Windows 7

Many people are still using notebooks with the Windows 7 operating system, despite the fact that it is an older version.

To create a restore point, click “System Protection”, select “Create” in the “Properties” tab of the “Computer” option, and then click “Start”.

Follow the instructions on the computer screen after you open the “Start Menu” and type “System Restore”. As a final step, you will be asked “What type of installation do you want?want?want?“. Select “Customized / Advanced” and proceed to formatting.

When formatting a laptop with Windows Vista or Windows 7, the installation DVD must be used.

Windows 8

Create an operating system restore point first. To create a restore point, click on “Start Menu”, type “Restore Point,” then click “Create a Restore Point.”.

The operating system can be restored by hovering the mouse on the right side of the screen, clicking “Settings,” going to “Change computer settings,” selecting “Update and Recovery,” choosing “Update your computer without affecting files,” and finishing the operation by selecting “Remove everything and reinstall Windows.”.

Windows 10

With Windows 10, formatting a notebook is easier. Launch the computer, select “Settings”, then “Update and Security”, and then “Recovery”.

Simply click on “Introduction” and choose whether to keep or discard the files. You can now select the “Restore” option and start the process by clicking the “Next” button.

After restarting the notebook, Windows 10 will be reinstalled in its most recent version.

How to format a Macbook?

A MacOS notebook can be formatted just as easily as a Windows one. Back up your data before proceeding:

MacOS X 10.6 and earlier

Using the installation disc, install the Macbook. From the “Apple Menu”, select “Restart / Restart” and confirm. You can shut down the computer manually by holding the “C” key, selecting Utility / Utilities, then “Disk Utility / Disk Utility”, and finding the hard drive and clicking “Erase / Erase.”

The hard drive must be named using the “Name / Name” functionality, the “Format / Volume Format” selection, and the desired format, for example, “Mac OS Expanded.”. To format the drive, press “Erase / Erase.”.

MacOS X 10.7 and later

You can restart your computer by opening the “Apple Menu” and selecting “Restart / Restart”. When the Apple logo appears, hold down the “Command + R” keys and release them as soon as the computer restarts.

Choose “MacOS Utilities”, then “Disk Utility / Disk Utility”, select “Continue / Continue”, and then select the hard drive of your Macbook, then click “Erase / Erase” and rename at the location ” Name “.

You can then choose the best option according to your preferences under “Format / Format”. Select “Mac OS Expanded” (Timestamp) to reinstall Mac OS faster, or ” Mac OS Expanded” (Timestamp, Encrypted “) to reinstall Mac OS. Click “Erase / Erase” to finalize the reinstall.

How to format a notebook without an installation CD?

Your notebook does not have a CD or DVD drive, so you want to format it? No problem, there are alternatives. Flash drives can be configured to run any operating system (the flash drive must have at least 4GB of memory).

Run the Microsoft Windows 7 USB / DVD Download Tool program and follow the instructions to configure the gadget. To install Windows, you must acquire the ISO image of your desired version of Windows.

Did you know that Microsoft offered the installation of the Windows operating system through an ISO file for a long time?

ISO images consist of a file containing all the information from a Windows installation DVD. Currently, Microsoft does not distribute these files, but you can download several versions – however, to install Windows on your notebook you need the original product key.

You can then proceed to format the computer once the procedure is complete. As you restart the computer, connect the flash drive and press the F2, F8, F10, or Delete keys to navigate through the arrows until you reach “Boot”.

Click on “Start with the flash drive” and enter the password. You will start the notebook from the pen drive, and then proceed step by step until the formatting is complete.

You can configure a pen drive using the Universal USB Installer program and an ISO image of the system you want if your notebook runs Linux (Ubuntu or Mint versions).

Linux systems come with the advantage that you don’t have to format your computer to use them, that is, all you need is a pen drive configured with the ISO and you can use the operating system without excluding Windows.

How long does it take to format a notebook?

An hour is all that is required to format a notebook, excluding the step of backing up files, which varies according to how much data is on the computer.

It takes about two hours to format a notebook.

It is necessary to reinstall the programs and reintegrate the files after cleaning the hard drive and reinstalling the operating system. This takes approximately another hour. Formatting a notebook is quick and easy.

How to Format a Notebook: The Importance of Backup

Back up your files before formatting your notebook. Save critical programs, drivers and internet browsers, as well as images, sounds, and videos listed below.

• Files
• Installed programs
• Favorite Sites
• Sources
• Drivers

Ensure that you have ample storage capacity on a DVD-RW, pen drive, or external hard drive.

Files

Backing up your files is vital when formatting a notebook. Delete all the files you no longer need from removable media.

Utilize this opportunity to reorganize your files according to categories: images, music, videos, digital books, college work, and copies of documents, among others.

Installed programs

A list of the programs installed on your computer is just as important as the files. In addition to saving the ones you use every day, test new programs and applications, delete those you don’t use, and keep just the essentials.

It is possible to download and install dozens of programs or applications simultaneously, which facilitates the reintegration of content on the formatted computer.

You must reinsert the license on the post-formatted notebook for paid programs to be reactivated.

Favorite Sites

Make sure you save your favorite websites in your browser before formatting your computer. Purchasing is recommended if you do not use any bookmarks and favorite sites management system.

Passwords should be saved

Your browsing history, registered passwords, and autocomplete fields can also be saved in the browser itself. Use this time to remove inactive links or links that are no longer relevant to you.

Sources

A large number of sources on a computer is extremely important for anyone involved in advertising, design, or programming. Therefore, before formatting a notebook, copy and reintegrate these files.

Drivers

Drivers for the motherboard, video card, and audio card are included with the original notebooks. On an accompanying CD or DVD, these files can be made available.

You can obtain the drivers from the manufacturer’s website by providing the name and numbering of the respective cards, if you don’t have the files on a CD or DVD. After formatting the computer, transfer the files to an external drive and then reinstall them.