I have my Grandma's old computer and my cousins have installed many programs that i will never use, so i need help to completely reformat and clean my computer clean so nothing, not even windows is installed and i can start my computer from scratch, many thanks!
Answers (3)
If you insert the CD/DVD with the OS on it, it should give you a repair/uninstall option, however you will still have portions of data left on the drive. Your best bet might be to shell out $30 or so on a new HD. If you go that route, make sure you check to be sure you have the right connections.
A better way to reformat your WHOLE hard drive for free is by downloading something called a live disk. Live disks are like operating systems on a cd that can't remember anything you do to it. However, anything you do on the live cd to a part in your computer will be remembered. If you fry your processor with the live disk, your processor will stay fried while your cd won't remember it. You can download one and burn it on a cd. I recommend something like Ubuntu if you're new to it. You can then find a partition manager on it and format your entire drive. Be careful, because should you choose to format the WHOLE drive, you will lose your entire operating system. When you're done, plop your installation disk in the drive and install your os of choice.
You will be better off getting a new HD. If it truly is a very old PC, there is not that much space to work with, and it will be very slow. If you want my suggestion though: Build your own PC. Its cheaper than buying a pre-built and is much more satisfying knowing that YOU created it with the parts YOU wanted.