How to clean a computer hard drive? Learn all the basic steps to clean the hard drive of your computer here.
There is a simple way to clean a computer hard drive. It involves you to perform some tasks manually, browse the internet, and use any of the easily available free software programs designed for the purpose.
Thus, cleaning the hard drive of desktop computer is quite a simple procedure that can be done in a short period of time. Once done, you will be able to work faster on your computer with a cleaned hard drive. Let us try to better understand how to clean our computer hard drive.
Procedure
Step 1
The first step to clean a computer hard drive is to locate all the important data that you will need after cleaning or reformatting it. Some of the data could be books of e-mail addresses, financial spreadsheets, and other documents.
Step 2
Copy the data in a rewritable compact disc (CD). You may also use a jump drive or a USB device to meet the purpose here.
Step 3
To be on the safer side, save a copy of the anti-virus program and installation files for the firewall in a CD or a jump drive. This is a very important step and must not be skipped.
Step 4
In case you have an internet connection, remove the Ethernet cable running between the computer and the modem.
Step 5
A recovery CD usually comes with the computer. Place it into the CD drive. If you don’t have the recovery CD that came with your computer, you can use the web browser and navigate to a website that offers boot drive replacement files.
Step 6
Find a file that is in correspondence with your operating system. Download it and save it on a 3.5-inch floppy disc. Leave it in your computer’s floppy drive.
Step 7
If your computer lacks a floppy drive, you can download an ISO version of the boot drive replacement file from the internet. Burn it on a CD and leave the CD in the drive. Or you could save the ISO file in a bootable USB drive.
Step 8
Now, you have a recovery CD, burned CD, or a floppy boot disk or a USB Drive in your computer. Whatever is present, allow it to stay in the drive and restart your computer.
Step 9
There will be a message asking whether you want to boot the computer from the disk. Press any key as an answer.
Step 10
Wait for a couple of seconds. There will appear a list of drives on the monitor. Highlight the C:/ drive and click on it or press enter.
Step 11
Again, there will be a list of entries on the monitor. Highlight the entry ‘Unpartitioned Drive’ and press enter or click on it to open.
Step 12
Now, you will find a list of entries along with a message saying what type of format you want the hard drive to use. Select the entry ‘NTFS’.
Step 13
The OS will reinstall. Wait and allow your computer to complete reinstallation. Once all is done, follow the instructions displayed on the screen to set the date and time. Connect the Ethernet cable coming from the modem with your computer. This will connect it to the internet.
Step 14
Reinstall the anti-virus and firewall program that you saved, before starting with the task of cleaning your computer hard drive.
Software Programs for Cleaning Hard Drive
Software like EasyBCD will help you get access to your disk management in a user-friendly manner. Installing the software will allow you to observe and modify different partitions of your system, along with the access to wipe every partition except the primary drive.
You can also use the Rufus software to make your USB bootable. After making your USB bootable, you can copy the ISO file and continue with the installation. When the hard drive is cleaned, it is in a blank state. It can have a fresh copy of an operating system installed in it.
You need to clean the hard drive of your computer from time to time, to gain smooth and efficient performance. You can conduct the cleaning task once a week or a month, depending upon your requirement.