<<fdisk> partitions your hard drive into multiple drives c, e, f, g, h, etc. Each virtual drive is much smaller than the original hard drive. An operating system such as Windows NT installs all software on drive C and allows the user to save work on drive E, or some other virtual drive. All these virtual drives are called "partitions", since the original hard drive is divied up to create them. I've never seen multiple partitions created on a home pc, although it is done frequently by businesses with a single server shared by various departments.

Most people use a single hard drive for their home computer, usually referred to as drive C. Everything is located and saved on drive C, including the operating system, installed software, and personal files. This setup has always been adequate for my home pc, so I recommend just a straight <format c: /s> and reinstalling, if that is the route you want to take.

Troubleshooting hasn't always been fruitful for me either, and it could take just as long as reformatting. One more advantage of reformatting & reinstalling is that it gets rid of all viruses on your computer, whether your antivirus software has found them or not. Also you get rid of all the "things" on your computer that you really didn't want on there anyways - it is a great way to clean house, and you will feel more like a master of the machine rather than the other way around.