How to Format a Notebook: Everything You Need to Know
With time of use, every laptop usually presents some wear and tear that can result in loss of performance, slowness and crashes. To solve these problems you need to learn how to format a notebook.
But before performing the procedure, you need to identify when it is necessary to format the notebook, know the steps of this procedure, learn how to perform the backup of the content, among other subjects covered in this article.
First, the most important
- Technical specifications, storage conditions, time and form of use directly influence the performance of a notebook and are related to the need to format the machine.
- Formatting a notebook requires knowledge, so we recommend that you hire a computer technician. To avoid unnecessarily requesting this service, you need to identify when a notebook needs to be formatted.
- Even if your computer is protected with an antivirus program and is not overloaded with a large volume of files, formatting the notebook will be necessary, as system updates overlap, causing slowness.
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What is formatting a notebook?
Formatting a notebook is a process that consists of erasing the entire contents of the computer’s hard disk to clean the machine and eliminate any gagging, crashes, slowness and other signs of system overload.
After formatting the notebook, it is necessary to reinstall the operating system, programs, drivers and files – previously saved when backing up the computer. Formatting a notebook is a relatively quick process, but it is not simple.
When should I format my notebook?
When a general crash occurs, that is, when the laptop detects an error in the system that it cannot fix without losing data, it is necessary to format the notebook. But this is just one of several reasons that can lead you to perform this procedure:
- Virus infestation.
- Excessive slowness.
- Leakage of personal and banking data.
- System updates.
- Hardware renovation.
- Computer sale.
What are the advantages of formatting a notebook?
You don’t have to wait for some of the problems mentioned in the previous section to happen to format your notebook. Many experts argue that formatting the computer sporadically only benefits the machine.
The advantages of formatting the notebook are to free dispersed fractions of programs already uninstalled and deleted from memory, decrease the slowness, restore the original operating system settings and clean the disk.
There is no reason to fear formatting your computer, as long as the backup is performed correctly and the process is conducted by a professional. Then, just enjoy a fast notebook, free of locks and gagging. Find out more advantages of formatting the notebook in the table below:
What is the difference between restoring and formatting a notebook?
When restoring a computer , the operating system will return to the factory settings, while stored files will be preserved – only files saved on the same drive as the operating system will be deleted.
In contrast, when formatting a notebook , it is necessary to delete the entire contents of the machine, including the operating system, and reinstall it. That is, it is essential to backup data and files, otherwise, you will lose all content.
Generally, the restoration is performed on newer computers, while formatting must be performed on computers with at least three years of use, during which time the machine has undergone several system updates and does not have the same performance.
Is it safe to format the notebook at home?
You can format a notebook on your own, but this procedure is complex and requires technical knowledge – during the process, problems may arise that a person without computer skills will be unable to solve on his own.
Therefore, we recommend that you count on the help of a technical support in informatics or consult a specialized professional. The procedure costs between R $ 60 and R $ 160 – considering that the cost of an IT technician’s work hour is R $ 25.
How to format a notebook with Windows system?
Regardless of the version of the Windows operating system you use, at some point, you will need to format your computer and reinstall the software or install a newer version.
Although it is an older version, some people still use notebooks with Windows 7 operating system.
To format the system, open the “Start Menu”, right-click the “Computer” option, proceed to “Properties”, click “System Protection” and “Create” – your restore point will be ready.
Then open the “Start Menu”, type “System Restore” and follow the instructions that appear on the computer screen. At the end, you will be asked “What type of installation do you want?”, Choose the option “Customized / Advanced” and proceed to formatting.
Notebooks with Windows Vista or Windows 7 operating systems must use the installation DVD to format the machine.
First, create a restore point for your operating system. Go to “Start Menu”, type “Restore Point”, click “Create a Restore Point” and finish with “Create”.
To restore the operating system, hover the mouse on the right side of the screen, click “Settings”, proceed to “Change computer settings”, click “Update and Recovery”, select “Update your computer without affecting files” and finish at “Remove everything and reinstall Windows”.
A notebook with Windows 10 operating system is easier to format. Open the “Start Menu”, proceed to “Settings”, click “Update and Security” and select “Recovery”.
Then, click on “Introduction” and select the desired option, it is possible to keep or discard the files. To continue, click on the “Next” option, select the “Restore” option and start the procedure.
After a few minutes, the notebook will restart and the system will reinstall Windows 10 in its latest version.
How to format a Macbook?
Formatting a MacOS notebook is as simple as a Windows machine. Just back up the files and proceed to the step by step below:
MacOS X 10.6 and earlier
Insert the installation disc that came with the Macbook into the drive. Then, open the “Apple Menu”, click “Restart / Restart” and confirm. Wait for the machine to shut down, when restarting, press the “C” key, select the “Utility / Utilities” option and then “Disk Utility / Disk Utility”, find the hard disk and click the “Erase / Erase” option.
You must name the hard drive by clicking on the “Name / Name” option, selecting what you want in “Format / Volume Format” and choosing the desired format, be it “Mac OS Expanded” or another desired option. Confirm your choice and press “Erase / Erase” to start formatting.
MacOS X 10.7 and later
Open the “Apple Menu”, click “Restart / Restart” and confirm your choice. Wait for the computer to restart and press the “Command + R” keys and release as soon as the Apple logo appears.
A window will appear with “MacOS Utilities”, select “Disk Utility / Disk Utility”, select “Continue / Continue”, choose your Macbook’s hard drive, then click “Erase / Erase” and rename at the location “ Name ”.
Then go to “Format / Format” and select the best option according to your preferences. To reinstall the system, you must select “Mac OS Expanded” (Timestamp) for faster formatting or “Mac OS Expanded” (Timestamp, Encrypted ”for more secure formatting. Finally, click“ Erase / Erase ” and wait for the system to format.
How to format a notebook without an installation CD?
Do you want to format your notebook, but the machine does not have a CD / DVD slot? Don’t worry, there is an alternative. You can configure a flash drive with the version of the operating system you want (the flash drive must have at least 4GB of memory).
To configure the gadget, download the Microsoft Windows 7 USB / DVD Download Tool program, run it and follow the indicated step by step. Basically, you must acquire the ISO image of the version of Windows you want to install.
Did you know that for some time Microsoft made the installation of the Windows operating system available through the ISO file?
The ISO image consists of a file that gathers all the information from the Windows installation DVD. Currently, Microsoft no longer distributes these files, but you can find several versions available for download – however, you must have the original product key to install Windows on your notebook.
Once the procedure is done, you can proceed to format the computer. Connect the flash drive and restart the computer, during startup, press the screen F2, F8, F10 or Delete – depending on the model – and navigate through the arrows until you get to “Boot”.
Select the option to “Start with the flash drive” and click “Enter”. There, your notebook will start through the pen drive, then just follow the step by step until you finish the formatting.
If your notebook’s operating system is based on Linux (Ubuntu or Mint versions), configure the pen drive using the Universal USB Installer program and use an ISO image of the system you want.
An advantage of the Linux system is that you do not need to format the computer to use this operating system, that is, only with the configured pen drive and the ISO, you can use this operating system without excluding Windows.
How long does it take to format a notebook?
The process of formatting a notebook – without considering the step of backing up files, which varies according to the amount of data stored on the computer – is only about an hour.
Formatting a notebook takes about two hours.
However, after cleaning the computer’s hard drive and reinstalling the operating system, it is necessary to reinstall the programs and reintegrate the files, which takes approximately another hour. In short, formatting a notebook takes about two hours.
How to Format a Notebook: The Importance of Backup
Before formatting your notebook, you must back up your files. In addition to the text, image, sound or video files, save important programs, drivers for mobile devices, internet browsers, among other important files listed below:
- Installed programs
- Favorite Sites
Have a DVD-RW, pen drive or external hard drive with ample storage capacity to store your content.
When formatting a notebook, it is essential that you back up your files. On removable media, save all your personal files and delete the ones that no longer make sense to you.
Take advantage of this moment to reorganize the files according to the category: Images, music, videos, digital books, college work, copies of documents, among others.
As important as the files is the list of programs installed on your computer. In addition to saving those you use on a daily basis, test new programs and applications, remove those you don’t use and save only the essentials.
You find tools that allow you to download and install dozens of programs or applications simultaneously, facilitating the process of reintegrating the content on the formatted computer.
Ah, do not forget that paid programs need to reinsert the license to be reactivated on the post-formatted notebook.
Before formatting your computer, be sure to save the sites marked as favorites in your browser. If you do not use any bookmarks and favorite sites management system, we recommend the purchase.
Save registered passwords
You can also save your browsing history, registered passwords and auto-complete fields in the browser itself. Take advantage of this time to remove links that are inactive or no longer relevant to you.
Anyone who works in advertising, design or programming, knows how important it is to have a good number of sources on the computer. Therefore, before formatting a notebook, perform the procedure of copying these files and reintegrating them.
When you buy an original notebook, you receive the drivers for the motherboard, audio and video card. These files can be made available on an accompanying CD / DVD or product.
If you do not have these files saved on a CD / DVD, you can search for them on the manufacturer’s portal, simply provide the name and numbering of the respective cards for the drivers to be made available for download. Save them to external media and reinstall them after formatting.