Hard Drive Format

[Guest]

I want to reformat a hard drive with XP Home installed. When I boot into Safe
Mode with Command Prompt, enter format c: & the drive label, I get the
following error message:

"Format cannot run because the volume is in use by another process."

It then gives me an option to dismount the volume. When I enter "Y", I get
the following message and am taken back to the command prompt:

"Cannot lock the drive. The volume is still in use."

Does anyone know of a workaround? Thanks.

 

[It's Only Me]

Simply insert the XP disc, make sure you boot from it and you can use the
tools there to reformat or partition the drive. You can then do a clean
installation of XP.

Have fun.


:: I want to reformat a hard drive with XP Home installed. When I boot
:: into Safe Mode with Command Prompt, enter format c: & the drive
:: label, I get the following error message:
::
:: "Format cannot run because the volume is in use by another process."
::
:: It then gives me an option to dismount the volume. When I enter "Y",
:: I get the following message and am taken back to the command prompt:
::
:: "Cannot lock the drive. The volume is still in use."
::
:: Does anyone know of a workaround? Thanks.

 

[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 delete all 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/athome/security/protect/default.mspx

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.

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

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

:

| I want to reformat a hard drive with XP Home installed. When I boot into Safe
| Mode with Command Prompt, enter format c: & the drive label, I get the
| following error message:
|
| "Format cannot run because the volume is in use by another process."
|
| It then gives me an option to dismount the volume. When I enter "Y", I get
| the following message and am taken back to the command prompt:
|
| "Cannot lock the drive. The volume is still in use."
|
| Does anyone know of a workaround? Thanks.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

I want to reformat a hard drive with XP Home installed. When I
boot
into Safe Mode with Command Prompt, enter format c: & the drive
label, I get the following error message:

"Format cannot run because the volume is in use by another
process."

It then gives me an option to dismount the volume. When I enter
"Y",
I get the following message and am taken back to the command
prompt:

"Cannot lock the drive. The volume is still in use."

Does anyone know of a workaround? Thanks.

You can't format the Windows drive from within Windows, since
that would leave Windows without a leg to stand on.

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 (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when
prompted, then create a new one).

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

or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm

or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm

However why do you want to reformat and reinstall? In my view,
it's usually 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.

 

[Michael Stevens]

In

I want to reformat a hard drive with XP Home installed. When I boot
into Safe Mode with Command Prompt, enter format c: & the drive
label, I get the following error message:

"Format cannot run because the volume is in use by another process."

It then gives me an option to dismount the volume. When I enter "Y",
I get the following message and am taken back to the command prompt:

"Cannot lock the drive. The volume is still in use."

Does anyone know of a workaround? Thanks.

Click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into the address box
if using the web based newsgroup.
Format XP
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/format_XP.htm
--
Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I want to reformat a hard drive with XP Home installed. When I boot into Safe
Mode with Command Prompt, enter format c: & the drive label, I get the
following error message:

"Format cannot run because the volume is in use by another process."

It then gives me an option to dismount the volume. When I enter "Y", I get
the following message and am taken back to the command prompt:

"Cannot lock the drive. The volume is still in use."

Does anyone know of a workaround? Thanks.

You're trying to format the drive containing the system volume from
within WinXP. You can't. This would be the computer equivalent of
sawing off the tree limb you're sitting on, and WinXP is "too smart" to
allow this.

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.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[docgeobz]

Hear! Hear!

I agree! A really competent PC doctor is hard to find though.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

Hear! Hear!

I agree!

Thanks.


A really competent PC doctor is hard to find though.

True. But there are lots of them here in the newsgroups. It's
worth looking for a solution in the newsgroups before decing you
have to reformat and reinstall.

And ultimately, you may not find a solution, and will *have* to
give up and reformat and reinstall. My point is not that you
should never reformat and reinstall, but that it should be the
last thing you try, not the first.

 

[Guest]

One very important piece of information I failed to mention is that I'm
unable to boot from the CD Drive. Sorry about that.

I'm try to reformat my old PC as a gift for my niece.