fdisk windows xp

[Jim]

I want to wipe my hard drive clean and start over. In
previous versions I could use a 95 or 98 startup disk and
use fdisk. With windows xp it does not seem to work. It
gives me wrong version errors. How do I fdisk and
partision my hard drive to start clean again?

 

[Miha Pihler]

Hi Jim,

if you have Windows XP installation CD just insert it and boot from it. Part
of installation is where you can erase existing partitions, create new ones
and format them...

I hope this helps,

Mike

 

[Ken Blake]

In

I want to wipe my hard drive clean and start over. In
previous versions I could use a 95 or 98 startup disk and
use fdisk. With windows xp it does not seem to work. It
gives me wrong version errors. How do I fdisk and
partision my hard drive to start clean again?

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. It will do the reformat for you.

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

However why do you want to do this? In my view, it's almost
always a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be
necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've
run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows
2000, and Windows XP, each for the period of time before the next
version came out, and each on two machines here. I never
reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than
an occasional minor problem.

It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical
support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to
almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is
"reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them.
It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it
doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that
most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree).

But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You
have to restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all
your programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and
application updates,you have to locate and install all the needed
drivers for your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all
your apps to work the way you're comfortable with.

Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome,
you may have trouble with some of them: can you find all your
application CDs? Can you find all the needed installation codes?
Do you have data backups to restore? Do you even remember all the
customizations and tweaks you may have installed to make
everything work the way you like?

Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve
that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and
far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for
troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only
after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person
have failed.

If you have problems, post them here, it's likely that someone
can help you and a reinstallation won't be required.

 

[t.cruise]

Peviously posted by Carey Frisch [MVP] :


The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

NOTE: It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except the monitor, mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.

NOTE: If you have an internal Zip Drive installed, physically disconnect the
EIDE and power cable to it before proceeding, otherwise your main
hard drive may not be assigned the customary C: drive letter.
After installing Windows XP, you may then reconnect it.

1. Open your BIOS and set your "CD Drive as the first bootable device".

===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to format the existing
C: Windows partition (preferably NTFS) and then install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. ==> Immediately after installing Windows XP, turn on XP's Firewall.
==> http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

7. After Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
and download the available "Critical Updates".

8. After installing the critical updates, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.

9. If you happen to run into any installation difficulties, use the following
resources:

How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310064

Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

FDisk is an old MS-DOS utility that is neither available or needed
in WinXP.

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.)


Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:



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having both at once. - RAH

 

[Alex Nichol]

I want to wipe my hard drive clean and start over. In
previous versions I could use a 95 or 98 startup disk and
use fdisk. With windows xp it does not seem to work. It
gives me wrong version errors. How do I fdisk and
partision my hard drive to start clean again?

You do it as part of a reinstall of the system after booting the XP CD
direct. Enter Setup, and after the license agreement take New Install.
When it asks you to confirm where, hit ESC; select and delete the
current partition and make a new RAW one to be formatted at the next
stage

The important point is the delete. Without that it will just go ahead
and make a new install over the top of the old one