How do i format my hard disk

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Guest

My harddisc is partitioned into to drives c and d and whem i try to write format c:(or d:) it says that the drive is in use and it asks if i want to force a dismantle of the drive, i press yes and it just tells me that the drive still is in use not able to format ...or something like that...now the problem is that i think i have some viruses on the machine and i want to get rid of it...How do i Format my harddisc?????
 
Are you botting from the XP CD when you are trying this? If not, boot from the CD and use the fdisk option to delete the primary and secondary partitions first, create new partition(s) and then format.
 
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/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]

Note: If you are unable to activate Windows XP again via the internet,
then select the option to "activate by telephone".

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

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

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


| My harddisc is partitioned into to drives c and d and whem i try to write format c:(or d:) it says that the
drive is in use and it asks if i want to force a dismantle of the drive, i press yes and it just tells me that
the drive still is in use not able to format ...or something like that...now the problem is that i think i
have some viruses on the machine and i want to get rid of it...How do i Format my harddisc?????
 
Remember formating a drive removes everything! Ok you need to get ahold of a utility called fdisk. You run fdisk in DOS mode. This allows you get your drive ready for formating. When you use fdisk you can determine how many drives you want. Unless you need to have two partitions don't create them.
1- Run fdisk off of a floppy- A:fdis
2-Delete the active partitio
3- Create and activate a new partition make sure you say yes to large disk support
4- After you have created the new partion you need to format
5- A:format c
6- When you are done with all of this you need to have a utility that will allow you to put a driver in DOS mode for the CD rom and then you can use a CD to install your OS

http://www.pchelplive.com

Try this website and save the 98 boot disk files to a floppy. Good Luck!
 
Find out the name and number of your hard disk from system information and visit the web site for thyat manufacturer
Download the tools for that mode


more to come soo
 
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