how to format computer

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this may sound dumb but could somebody please tell me how to format windows
xp. please give steps on how to do it. thank you.
 
desert said:
this may sound dumb but could somebody please tell me how to format
windows xp. please give steps on how to do it. thank you.
Click to expand...

You don't format windows; you format the hard drive. Boot from the XP CD
and do the install; that will format and install XP.
 
On Thu, 24 May 2007 14:19:01 -0700, desert eagle 102 <desert eagle
this may sound dumb but could somebody please tell me how to format windows
xp. please give steps on how to do it. thank you.
Click to expand...



First, note that you can't format Windows XP. What you presumably want
to do is format your hard drive, and then reinstall Windows.

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://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how_do_i_install_windows_xp.htm

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.
 
some excellent suggestions
have been provided and i don't
think it's "dumb" you asked.

however, is this the best option
to resolve whatever issue you
are having?

i think the it could be a dumb
thing to do if you didn't look
at all the alternatives and methods
to resolve an issue other than nuking
your disk with formatting.

if you can elaborate maybe we
can offer solutions that are easier
and better in the long run.


this may sound dumb but could somebody please tell me how to format windows
xp. please give steps on how to do it. thank you.
 
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