SOLVED wd 500 back up hd

[cobra1]

I have a wd500 back up hard drive will windows let me erase it and take all my junk off it and start over fresh with it

 

[TrainableMan]

Of course. Format the drive.

If you are thinking of selling it to someone new then you should also have it overwritten with 0 and 1s several times so your data cannot be recovered. CCleaner includes a tool to do that if that is something you might need. But if it is just so you can reuse it then I wouldn't bother.

 

[cobra1]

so if I wan't to keep it I should just leave it alone or can I clean it up I've had them for 8 years anything special I should do
















i

 

[TrainableMan]

Nothing special, simply hook it up and format it.

Since it is 8 years old, after formatting you might right-click on the drive, choose the Tools tab, and run check disk making sure "scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors" is checked.

 

[cobra1]

Sorry how do I format it I'm learning how to do different stuff I'm a new to this

 

[TrainableMan]

Right-click on the drive in Windows Explorer. Choose "Format" from the context menu. For the type of format choose NTFS.

 

[cobra1]

Right-click on the drive in Windows Explorer. Choose "Format" from the context menu. For the type of format choose NTFS.

 

[cobra1]

ok that worked should I back up my computer now and will it have a fresh start again like new

 

[TrainableMan]

Isn't your old drive in the computer, too? All you did was add another drive for extra storage space. For example that is a good place to store back-ups.

EDIT: It is "a fresh start" for that drive, yes. When I first read your last post I thought you were thinking this is a fresh install of your OS, which it is not.

 

[cobra1]

my wd is a usb hard drive. thank you Alan
I'll see how it works now

 

[TrainableMan]

That's perfect for back-ups.

 

[cobra1]

what is the best way to update drivers on my computers and does it cost anything?

 

[TrainableMan]

The best ways do not cost anything.

Programs that try to update your drivers for you are extremely dangerous because they are so often wrong. They may suggest 13 updates and 8 are great, 4 refuse to install, & 1 completely screws up your computer so it will not even boot in normal mode.

The best way is to go to the manufacturer of each piece of hardware. So if you built your own you start with the motherboard manufacturer and get their drivers for your particular model. Next you go to the video card manufacturer if it's a separate board, and your printer manufacturer, etc ... each piece of hardware.

 

[cobra1]

thank you
you are great for helping me, just trying to learn about my computers and do things the right way
Alan