How do you format w/o being able to get on to the computer

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Guest

(WIN XP PRO)I currently got that hal thing and tried to repair it and screwed
something up in the process and I now NEED to format. is thee any wa to
format from cmos or any way at all before windows starts? I repeat i tried
repairing and I can't. I just need to know how to format my entire PC.
 
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.aspx

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/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

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

:

| (WIN XP PRO)I currently got that hal thing and tried to repair it and screwed
| something up in the process and I now NEED to format. is thee any wa to
| format from cmos or any way at all before windows starts? I repeat i tried
| repairing and I can't. I just need to know how to format my entire PC.
 
Carey Frisch said:
The Windows XP CD... <
Click to expand...
I don't have the Winxp cd, but I think I found it all out, but I havent
tried it yet. You can make a boot disk off of someone else's add/remove
programs thing and you have to type FORMAT C:\ or something like that when
you put the boot disk in your computer. can someone tell me If I'm right or
not?
 
NotTheSinner wrote: " I don't have the Winxp "

Do you have a major brand computer such as HP, Compaq, e-Machines, which
come with a restore partition? If so use the restore (or recovery, whichever
they call it) CD that came with your machine.

If you computer came with a full Win XP cd and you no longer have that CD,
you will have to obtain a replacement in order to install Win XP onto your
computer.

As for booting from a floppy and "type FORMAT C:\ or something like that",
yes, it is something like that if your disk is currently formatted as FAT or
FAT32. If it is formatted as NTFS, however, you will have to run FDISK,
remove the "non-DOS" partition, create a DOS partition, exit FDISK, and then
format.
Having formatted your "C" drive, it is now blank -- no Operating System, no
Application Programs, and no data files (any files that you have created).
How do you propose to get your Operating System loaded if you do not have a
Win XP cd?

steve
 
I'm gonna get blammed right the hell off this site, but I'm getting linux.
I've just had way too many problems with microsoft. I might have a secondary
comp to run on xp in the futue but I've gotta buy a new copy.

Not that anyone cares...


Penguin Power!
 
NotTheSinner said:
I'm gonna get blammed right the hell off this site, but I'm getting linux.
I've just had way too many problems with microsoft. I might have a
secondary
comp to run on xp in the futue but I've gotta buy a new copy.

Not that anyone cares...


Penguin Power!
Click to expand...

I know you are trolling, but I can't help taking the bait on this one...

If you are having trouble installing Windows XP (or any version since 2.0
for that matter) and you think Linux is gonna be an easy, troublefree
installation and overall solution, you are in for a world of hurt.

RaYzor
 
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