cant format

[ineedhelp]

i tried to format using the command prompt but everytime
i tried it gives me the message "format cannot run
because it is in use by another process.format may run if
this volume is dismounted first.Would you like to force a
dismount ?"(y.n)" when i choose y, it says, "Cannot lock
drive,the volume is still in use"

^^ what should i do? please help me thank you..^_^

 

[Cerridwen]

i tried to format using the command prompt but everytime
i tried it gives me the message "format cannot run
because it is in use by another process.format may run if
this volume is dismounted first.Would you like to force a
dismount ?"(y.n)" when i choose y, it says, "Cannot lock
drive,the volume is still in use"

^^ what should i do? please help me thank you..^_^

You're beyond any help we can give you! Of course you can't format the drive
containing the OS from within the OS! I would have thought that would have
been common sense (or don't you have any of that either?!)

Boot from the XP CD (RTFM if you don't know how to do that).

 

[Tony Talmage]

You'll need to boot with a DOS disk or your XP CD to format your drive - it
sounds like you're trying to format your Windows drive while you're running
Windows, which, as you've discovered, will not work. If you need a DOS boot
disk, one may be located at http://www.bootdisk.com, otherwise, just load
your XP CD into the drive and boot the machine (make sure your BIOS is set
to boot from CD-ROM). Just follow the onscreen prompts once the CD boots.

--
Tony Talmage
Web Developer
Graphic Education Corporation
URL: http://www.graphiced.com
Phone: (888) 354-6600

 

[Malke]

i tried to format using the command prompt but everytime
i tried it gives me the message "format cannot run
because it is in use by another process.format may run if
this volume is dismounted first.Would you like to force a
dismount ?"(y.n)" when i choose y, it says, "Cannot lock
drive,the volume is still in use"

^^ what should i do? please help me thank you..^_^

Please go here and read instructions:

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm - Repair Install
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html - Clean Install

Malke