formatting the HD

[Jeremy S.]

I was wondering if anyone know's the procedure for
formatting the C:\ drive on a WinXP pro comp.

 

[Nicholas]

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:

1. Open your BIOS and set your CD Drive as the first bootable device.
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. After installing Windows XP, 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.

7. It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except for you mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.
After XP is installed, visit the support website of the manufacturer
of each hardware device to obtain the latest drivers or software
designed to work with Windows XP.

 

[Plato]

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary

I've been meaning to say this for a bit, and I have no problem with your
advice at all Nicholas as you probably already know, but even tho the XP
cd is bootable rest assured that it doesn't always work as designed,
even with a new PC with EVERTHING SET CORRECTLY.

Point is, yes, it "should" work, but doesn't always. This may be due to
the cdrom NOT spinning up in time when the bios asks for it, or spinnig
up too fast who knows etc. It may be due to dirty cdroms or just a
fingerprint in the wrong place, or cdrom drives that just aren't up to
snuff. etc. Just an aside.