Formatting hard disk on an XP computer

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

"Chris Rowntree" <superchicken123456789@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:u51wH9zKFHA.3076@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
> I'm trying to format my hard disk, but having a lot of trouble. I'll
> explain:
>
> I've created a boot disk by right-clicking on the floppy disk icon in 'my
> computer', selecting 'Format...', and checking the '...boot disk...'
> option.
>
> Once I've done that, I've restarted the computer using the boot disk, and
> it's come up with a command prompt.
>
> It says 'A:\>' after a few lines of technical stuff. I've tried typing
> 'C:' and variations on that, to change the prompt to 'C:\>' instead of
> 'A:\>', but it says something like 'bad drive name' or something similar.
> Typing 'format' gives 'bad command name'.
>
> Who can help me get from this prompt, to format my hard disk completely so
> I can then go on to reinstall Windows?
>
> Thanks in advance!
>


How to partition and format a hard disk in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313348

--
William

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

I kinda don't have the XP CD itself - I have a 'system recovery disc'.

"Jerry" <NoSpamChiefZeke@MSN.com> wrote in message
news:%23Fv3Ih0KFHA.3380@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
> If your harddrive is formatted NTFS and you made a DOS boot floppy then
> that's the issue - a DOS floppy cannot 'see' an NTFS harddrive.
>
> The XP CD is bootable. Just chnage the boot order in the BIOS to boot from
> your CD drive using the XP CD and you can then reformat the drive and
> install XP fresh.
>
> "Chris Rowntree" <superchicken123456789@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:u51wH9zKFHA.3076@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
>> I'm trying to format my hard disk, but having a lot of trouble. I'll
>> explain:
>>
>> I've created a boot disk by right-clicking on the floppy disk icon in 'my
>> computer', selecting 'Format...', and checking the '...boot disk...'
>> option.
>>
>> Once I've done that, I've restarted the computer using the boot disk, and
>> it's come up with a command prompt.
>>
>> It says 'A:\>' after a few lines of technical stuff. I've tried typing
>> 'C:' and variations on that, to change the prompt to 'C:\>' instead of
>> 'A:\>', but it says something like 'bad drive name' or something similar.
>> Typing 'format' gives 'bad command name'.
>>
>> Who can help me get from this prompt, to format my hard disk completely
>> so I can then go on to reinstall Windows?
>>
>> Thanks in advance!
>>
>
>

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

Chris Rowntree wrote:
> I'm trying to format my hard disk, but having a lot of trouble. I'll
> explain:
>
> I've created a boot disk by right-clicking on the floppy disk icon in 'my
> computer', selecting 'Format...', and checking the '...boot disk...' option.
>
> Once I've done that, I've restarted the computer using the boot disk, and
> it's come up with a command prompt.
>
> It says 'A:\>' after a few lines of technical stuff. I've tried typing 'C:'
> and variations on that, to change the prompt to 'C:\>' instead of 'A:\>',
> but it says something like 'bad drive name' or something similar. Typing
> 'format' gives 'bad command name'.
>
> Who can help me get from this prompt, to format my hard disk completely so I
> can then go on to reinstall Windows?
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
>


A boot diskette is a thing of the past, as all legitimate WinXP
installation CDs are already bootable.

Simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be offered the
opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part of the
installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of boot
devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/defau [...] -us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH