Formatting hard drive during install

  • Thread starter Thread starter PizzaMan
  • Start date Start date
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PizzaMan

My dad gave me his old computer and I recently purchased
the student version of windows xp. I would like to
comletely delete everything on the hard drive and start a
new with xp. However when I tried a clean install, the
old op systems were still there - or parts of them, along
with the other programs and such. A second attempt made
the the old op systems unusable - and I haven't yet
registered my version of xp, but I think it would work.

Is there a way to format the hard drive during setup of xp?
Is there a way to boot up from floppy so that the hard
drive can be formatted completely?
Suggestions?

Thanks,

PizzaMan
 
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.

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 delete the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to 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

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


| My dad gave me his old computer and I recently purchased
| the student version of windows xp. I would like to
| comletely delete everything on the hard drive and start a
| new with xp. However when I tried a clean install, the
| old op systems were still there - or parts of them, along
| with the other programs and such. A second attempt made
| the the old op systems unusable - and I haven't yet
| registered my version of xp, but I think it would work.
|
| Is there a way to format the hard drive during setup of xp?
| Is there a way to boot up from floppy so that the hard
| drive can be formatted completely?
| Suggestions?
|
| Thanks,
|
| PizzaMan
 
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