Formatting a hard drive

[Guest]

I have two hard drives in my computer--C: is a 4 gig, D: is 1.4 gig. XP Pro
resides on C:. Since capacity is obviously very limited, my objective is to
wipe C: clean and re-install XP Pro on it, then re-install my programs and
documents/music/pix on D: to preserve as much space on C: as possible.

I am getting messages that Windows is unable to format C: drive and I am at
a loss.

Any help is much appreciated.

 

[Plato]

I have two hard drives in my computer--C: is a 4 gig, D: is 1.4 gig. XP Pro
resides on C:. Since capacity is obviously very limited, my objective is to
wipe C: clean and re-install XP Pro on it, then re-install my programs and
documents/music/pix on D: to preserve as much space on C: as possible.

I am getting messages that Windows is unable to format C: drive and I am at
a loss.

That is to prevent the regular home user from tossing their OS out the
door.

 

[Guest]

That will not work well since XP requires more space than you have to
operate. The programs install most of their files on the boot drive. I
suggest you buy a bigger drive. XP might install, but won't work very well
and won't leave much room for programs. You cannot reformat the boot drive
from within Windows. You must boot to the XP cd to reformat and reinstall.
This is a good site for directions:
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sg_clean.asp

 

[Ken Blake]

In

I have two hard drives in my computer--C: is a 4 gig, D: is 1.4
gig.
XP Pro resides on C:. Since capacity is obviously very
limited, my
objective is to wipe C: clean and re-install XP Pro on it, then
re-install my programs and documents/music/pix on D: to
preserve as
much space on C: as possible.

I am getting messages that Windows is unable to format C: drive
and I
am at a loss.

You can't format the Windows drive from within Windows, since
that would leave Windows without a leg to stand on.

Just boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if
necessary to accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean
installation (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when
prompted, then create a new one).

You can find detailed instructions here:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm

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



But whatever you do will be a temporary expedient. 5.4GB is a
tiny amount of disk space these days. You badly need more hard
drive space and sooner or later (more sooner than later) you're
going to have to buy it.

 

[Cyberbear]

That is to prevent the regular home user from tossing their OS out the
door.

What Don says is correct.

If you want to wipe the drive, just make sure the PC is set to
boot from the CD ROM drive, and start the computer with your XP
CD in the drive, and go through the installation process. You
will have the opportunity to delete the existing partition, then
create a new partition and format the drive during the normal
installation procedure.

 

[Cyberbear]

That is to prevent the regular home user from tossing their OS out the
door.

What Don says is correct.

If you want to wipe the drive, just make sure the PC is set to
boot from the CD ROM drive, and start the computer with your XP
CD in the drive, and go through the installation process. You
will have the opportunity to delete the existing partition, then
create a new partition and format the drive during the normal
installation procedure.

 

[Andrew Murray]

Programs these days take anything up to 1 gig in their own right (ms office
for example) anyway, they take a good chunk of disk space (300-400meg), so
you won't manage to install many programs on a 1.4gig drive.

Even XP itself could take up to 3 or 4 gigs (with all options installed plus
SP2 is around 250megs).

 

[Michael Stevens]

In

I have two hard drives in my computer--C: is a 4 gig, D: is 1.4 gig.
XP Pro resides on C:. Since capacity is obviously very limited, my
objective is to wipe C: clean and re-install XP Pro on it, then
re-install my programs and documents/music/pix on D: to preserve as
much space on C: as possible.

I am getting messages that Windows is unable to format C: drive and I
am at a loss.

Any help is much appreciated.

You need a larger hard drive and a 10 to 20 gig HD can be picked up very
cheap.
Click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into the address box
if using the web based newsgroup.
Format XP
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/format_XP.htm
--
Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com
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