format drive and re-install XP

[cekulko]

i have XP Pro and was wanting to erase the hard drive and
re-install the o.s. but when i tried to do so, all that
happened was one of my partitions was erased and the o.s.
was installed on that partition. well, now i have two
instances of XP on my computer on different partitions.
what did i do wrong?

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

Boot from the CD and choose new install - delete all the old partitions.
Then cancel (or reboot), boot up again, create a new partition, format,
install.

 

[cekulko]

the re-install process won't delete the old data, it re-
uses the old data instead of deleting. i never saw an
option to delete any data.

 

[Alex Nichol]

i have XP Pro and was wanting to erase the hard drive and
re-install the o.s. but when i tried to do so, all that
happened was one of my partitions was erased and the o.s.
was installed on that partition. well, now i have two
instances of XP on my computer on different partitions.
what did i do wrong?

You do it by 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 partition where the system currently is,
and make a new RAW one to be formatted at the next stage. You can
delete other partitions as well if you like - if so make a suitable size
one for the system and make the other(s) later

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

 

[Plato]

i have XP Pro and was wanting to erase the hard drive and
re-install the o.s. but when i tried to do so, all that

One can always use a free zero-fill utility to make the drive factory
fresh. It will only take 10 seconds to use google to find one.