Formatting the Notebook

• 1). Create a full backup of the hard drive prior to beginning the format procedure to save any important files, which will be erased during the formatting process. Save this backup to an external device such as a USB hard drive or flash drive, or to removable media such as DVD-R discs.
  
  
• 2). Connect the AC power cord to the notebook prior to beginning the operation as the process can take a significant amount of time and will draw more power than normal use.
  
  
• 3). Insert the factory-restore or recovery disk into the optical drive and boot the computer, choosing to boot from the CD/DVD when prompted. Follow the prompts from the installation program, which will vary by manufacturer, to perform a full installation and overwrite of the hard drive.
  
  
• 4). Install the operating system directly from the restore disk if desired, or remove the restore disk and insert an alternate operating system disk to install after the hard drive has been partitioned and formatted but before the operating system has completely installed. Boot the computer by using the CTRL-ALT-DEL keystroke combination or by powering down and powering back on again, and choose to boot from the CD/DVD when prompted.
  
  
• 5). Install the operating system according to instructions provided on the screen and follow up on the installation by downloading and applying security updates, patches and drivers as needed.