Installing the Operating System:
Once you feel confident that you have backed up everything you are going to need, you can now install an operating system. For this guide we are going to use Windows XP as an example, but something like Ubuntu is also a great choice.

If you have a brand name computer such as Dell, Packard Bell, Compaq, Sony etc… you most likely have a Operating System/Software reinstall CD or an option when you start the computer to revert the computer back to the way it was when it was first brought. If you have this option then you can skip this step.

For everyone else, to begin the format, start your computer with the Windows XP CD in your CD/DVD drive and the Windows XP CD should load up. Just follow the prompts.


Installing Drivers:

Once you have successfully setup Windows XP and are at the desktop you may need to reinstall drivers from the CD your computer came with or the ones you backed up before the format. To check to see whether you need to install them, goto:

Right Click on “My Computer” and press Properties. Then go to the Hardware Tab and then press the “Device Manager” button.

Here you will see a list of the devices that your computer currently has installed or plugged in, if any devices have a yellow question mark or an exclamation mark next to them, then they most likely need a driver.

If you have the CD that came with the computer, put it into your CD drive and install the appropriate drivers.

If you don’t have the CD but backed them up earlier with a tool like Driver Collector, right click on the device with the yellow mark and select “Update Driver”.
You should now see the “Hardware Update” wizard which will ask you whether you want to use the Windows Update site to search for software; choose “No, not at this time” and press Next.
Choose “Install from a list or specific location (advanced)” and press Next.
Tick “Include this location in the search”, press the Browse button, find where you saved the drivers earlier and click Next. Windows will search for the appropriate driver and install it for you.
Do this for each device that has the yellow question mark or exclamation mark.

Patching and Updating
Many times a month, hackers figure out new ways to break into operating systems like Windows XP, because of this we need to keep the system up to date with security patches otherwise an internet connected computer will most likely be attacked by a worm, virus or hacker within 24 hours.

Firewall
To start patching the system from the Windows Update site you need to first make sure you have a firewall switched on such as the one built in with Windows XP. To do this, go to Start > Control Panel > Network Connections.
Find your internet connection (Local Area Connection for most cable users) and in grey writing below the connection name it should say something like “Connected, Firewalled”.
If it says Firewalled then the firewall is already turned on, if it doesn’t then you need to turn it on by right clicking on the connection, choose Properties, Advanced Tab, Settings Button and choose “On” then Ok.

Windows Update Site
Once you have your firewall switched on and your internet connection setup, go online and visit the website http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com.

Reloading Applications
Install the software that you need on your computer and, if you have it, install Microsoft Office first. If you run any free software such as Mozilla Firefox, Winamp or MSN Messenger you should download the latest versions from their sites rather than from an old download file or CD as these applications are frequently updated.

Reloading Files
Now you need to reload your files back onto your computer from the backup you created earlier. For files such as Outlook or Outlook Express emails, Internet Explorer Favorites and Desktop items, just put them back into the same location of where you backed them up from mentioned at the start of this article. For Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird users, you can use MozBackup again to restore the files and settings to their correct locations.

Restoring Settings and Tweaking
The final step is to restore settings such as email server information and passwords, if you are a Mozilla user MozBackup can do this for you. If the computer you formatted is your own computer and not a clients, tweak toolbars, icons and backgrounds back to the way you like it.