help with HD format

[maiden_monu]

Hi guys. I have ACER travelmate n i dont have the recovery cd (i think i lost them). how can i format my hd ? it is partitioned into 2 drives n i have already moved all my stuff into my d: partition. i realised i have some bad clusters in my HD n that caused my laptop to crash a couple of times. I thought of formatting the HD now n re install XP n increase my ram. Ne1 can help me out coz i used to be a win95/98 guy n xp is really putting my head in. wud appreciate any help possible.

[breadtrk]

Replace your HD if you have bad sectors.

Increase your RAM.

This is not a chat room, please use real words.

[Bryce W]

There is a possiblity that your computer already has a recovery partition on it. When you boot the computer up, right at the very start, does it have a Press F-Something to Restore? or something similar?

Failing that, you could always contact Acer and ask for replacement CD's. These are typically $35-ish for them to send them out to you.

Seeing you have bad sectors, I would consider replacing the hard drive first.

If you are going to do a full blown format, installing XP with a CD etc... This article might help:
http://www.technibble.com/how-to-format-a-computer-like-an-computer-technician/

When you are installing RAM, this could help:
http://www.technibble.com/how-to-install-laptop-ram/