Possible Duplicate:
Clean (re)install of Windows 7
Is there a way to format PC (Windows, Windows 7 to be precise) without losing the data in it?
Possible Duplicate:
Clean (re)install of Windows 7
Is there a way to format PC (Windows, Windows 7 to be precise) without losing the data in it?
Don't ask what you think needs to be done. Post what your actual problem is, because I think you're asking the wrong question.
If you corrupted Windows and just want to boot into the computer to get some files on an external drive, you can just install Windows overtop of the existing partition (just don't format it), and then you should be able to boot up the computer.
Alternatively, you can use the UBCD to resize your existing partition, install Windows on a new one, move your files over, then format the original one, and then move the files back and re-merge the partitions.
Oh, and just an FYI, formatting is deleting all data. It basically clears the partition's filesystem information, as well as all of the file tables and directory structures.
If by data you mean your documents, sure thing. Just move them to different partition (create one if you haven't, reformat the system drive with Windows installer, and now you get a fresh Windows booting up. If you mean you need the applications too, well, be prepare to backup the settings (they can be anywhere) and find the original installer
The point of formatting a hard drive is to wipe out the data. If you want to reinstall Windows and format the hard drive but keep your files such as pictures, documents etc, make backup copies and put them on another storage device such as on a:
Do note, that for wiping out data formatting is very bad option. Use proper disk wipe tools instead. For example, boot from Linux Live CD and run "shred -vz -n 3 /dev/sda" or similar.
Your question is to vague. You can convert a filesystem from fat32 to NTFS without destroying data with the following command
convert c: /fs:ntfs