
Windows on its own isn’t enough you’ll want to reinstall additional software. We won’t cover that step here, since it varies dramatically depending on what applications you use.

This typically means booting from a Windows setup disk and letting the setup program do its thing. While “reformatting” refers to a specific operation, in this situation, it refers to any technique used to erase or overwrite everything on the hard disk. This saves all current content in case you want it later. Take an image of the existing machine, if possible.


Reformatting a machine and reinstalling everything to start over is typically a five-step process.
