To format your hard disk during Windows 7 installation,
you'll need to start, or boot, your computer using the Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive.
« Turn
on your computer so that Windows starts normally, insert the Windows 7
installation disc or USB flash drive, and then shut down your computer.
« Restart
your computer.
« Press any key when prompted,
and then follow the instructions that appear.
« On
the "Install Windows"
page, enter your language and other preferences,
and then click Next.
« If
the "Install Windows" page
doesn't appear, and you're not asked to press any key, you might need to change
some system settings. To learn how to do this, see Start your computer from a
Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive.
« On
the "Please read the license
terms" page, if you accept the license terms, click I accept the license terms, and then
click Next.
« On
the "Which type of installation do
you want?" page, click Custom.
« On
the "Where do you want to install
Windows?" page, click Drive
options (advanced).
« Click
the partition that you want to format
and click Format.
« If
you have more than one partition on this hard drive and want to get rid them to
make one big drive again, then select a partition and click on the Delete option for each partition. Once
you have deleted all of the partitions, select the Unallocated Space partition and click Format.
« Pick
the formatting option that you want.
« When
you've finished formatting, click Next.
« Follow
the instructions to finish installing Windows 7, which include naming your computer and setting up an initial user account.
« If
you do not want to reinstall Windows 7, you can cancel the installation at this
point and keep your newly formatted drives.