Formatting my Hard Drive for disk Utility

I've tried to repair my HD using disk utility but i'm told that this isn't possible,-  back up , then format the HD  - I know this may seem like a stupid question, but if I format my HD - where will OS X come from to re start my iMac?  I have backed everything up using time capsule
i.e is there an idiots guide of what to do? simple language, simple steps.
Thanks

You can boot from your recovery partition - reboot and hold down cmd-R when the screen goes black, keep it held down until you see the Apple logo. You can then run Disk Utility from there and try Repair Disk.
sorry this was exactly what I tried

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