I have a Dell computer that I bought about 3 years ago. With time it became
obsolete for the use I wanted to give it and I bought a brand new one but I
consider that my old machine is a good equipment and that my nephews could
still use it and I wanted to give it to them but without the burden of so
many old programs that make its start up to take too long.

So I thought of formating it and reinstalling the whole XP but I haven't
been able to do it. I changed the boot sequence to start with the CD and I
also enabled the Installing OS (or something like that) option but still
when I turn on the computer with the cd labeled as "Operating System" and
having the Dell logos and stuff, it starts normally and loads the whole Win
XP without giving me the option to format.

I also tried to format form Windows with the Win Explorer pointing at D: and
rightclicking on C and choosing Format, but after it tells me that this
action will erase all data and I agree, another message telling me that it
can not be formatted for the drive is being used.

Can anyone tell me how do I proceed to format this drive? Apparently it is a
hardware problem by which the computer doesn't do what i wannted it to do.

With Windows 98 it used to be so easy with those startup disks but this
computer doesn't even
have a 3.5 drive.

Thanks

Jorge E jaramillo wrote:
> I have a Dell computer that I bought about 3 years ago. With time
> it became obsolete for the use I wanted to give it and I bought a
> brand new one but I consider that my old machine is a good
> equipment and that my nephews could still use it and I wanted to
> give it to them but without the burden of so many old programs that
> make its start up to take too long.
> So I thought of formating it and reinstalling the whole XP but I
> haven't been able to do it. I changed the boot sequence to start
> with the CD and I also enabled the Installing OS (or something like
> that) option but still when I turn on the computer with the cd
> labeled as "Operating System" and having the Dell logos and stuff,
> it starts normally and loads the whole Win XP without giving me the
> option to format.
> I also tried to format form Windows with the Win Explorer pointing
> at D: and rightclicking on C and choosing Format, but after it
> tells me that this action will erase all data and I agree, another
> message telling me that it can not be formatted for the drive is
> being used.
> Can anyone tell me how do I proceed to format this drive?
> Apparently it is a hardware problem by which the computer doesn't
> do what i wannted it to do.
> With Windows 98 it used to be so easy with those startup disks but
> this computer doesn't even
> have a 3.5 drive.

If you have an actual Windows XP installation CD - and your hardware
(including the CD itself) is in good shape - then setting the BIOS to boot
from the CD first, putting in the actual Windows XP installation CD,
powering on and paying close attention when it says "Press any key to boot
from CD" and doing so should be all you need to start a successful clean
installation of Windows XP.

If - however - your CD is not an actual Windows XP installation CD, if the
hardware (including the CD) has issues, etc - this process will not work.

- Check for scratches on the CD.
- Check that the CD is a true Windows XP installation CD and not some sort
of restore.
- Double-check that the BIOS settings are "boot from CD" (and make sure you
have the CD in the right CD drive if you have more than one optical drive.)
- Check the manual for instructions on restoring that computer to the 'as
shipped' state.

What Dell model is it?

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

A close review of the steps you mentioned solved the problem.

Thank you

"Shenan Stanley" <(E-Mail Removed)> escribió en el mensaje de noticias
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Jorge E jaramillo wrote:
>> I have a Dell computer that I bought about 3 years ago. With time
>> it became obsolete for the use I wanted to give it and I bought a
>> brand new one but I consider that my old machine is a good
>> equipment and that my nephews could still use it and I wanted to
>> give it to them but without the burden of so many old programs that
>> make its start up to take too long.
>> So I thought of formating it and reinstalling the whole XP but I
>> haven't been able to do it. I changed the boot sequence to start
>> with the CD and I also enabled the Installing OS (or something like
>> that) option but still when I turn on the computer with the cd
>> labeled as "Operating System" and having the Dell logos and stuff,
>> it starts normally and loads the whole Win XP without giving me the
>> option to format.
>> I also tried to format form Windows with the Win Explorer pointing
>> at D: and rightclicking on C and choosing Format, but after it
>> tells me that this action will erase all data and I agree, another
>> message telling me that it can not be formatted for the drive is
>> being used.
>> Can anyone tell me how do I proceed to format this drive?
>> Apparently it is a hardware problem by which the computer doesn't
>> do what i wannted it to do.
>> With Windows 98 it used to be so easy with those startup disks but
>> this computer doesn't even
>> have a 3.5 drive.
>
> If you have an actual Windows XP installation CD - and your hardware
> (including the CD itself) is in good shape - then setting the BIOS to boot
> from the CD first, putting in the actual Windows XP installation CD,
> powering on and paying close attention when it says "Press any key to boot
> from CD" and doing so should be all you need to start a successful clean
> installation of Windows XP.
>
> If - however - your CD is not an actual Windows XP installation CD, if the
> hardware (including the CD) has issues, etc - this process will not work.
>
> - Check for scratches on the CD.
> - Check that the CD is a true Windows XP installation CD and not some sort
> of restore.
> - Double-check that the BIOS settings are "boot from CD" (and make sure
> you have the CD in the right CD drive if you have more than one optical
> drive.)
> - Check the manual for instructions on restoring that computer to the 'as
> shipped' state.
>
> What Dell model is it?
>
> --
> Shenan Stanley
> MS-MVP
> --
> How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>