How to wipe everything from C?

[Burtti]

Help!
I am trying to format drive C.
-with right clicking and choosing FORMAT it give an error
saying "Windows was unable to complete the format"
-with fragmenting tool same thing "unable to complete...."
-I have XP Pro running on drive E

Is there another way to wipe everything?

 

[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:

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 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.


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

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


| Help!
| I am trying to format drive C.
| -with right clicking and choosing FORMAT it give an error
| saying "Windows was unable to complete the format"
| -with fragmenting tool same thing "unable to complete...."
| -I have XP Pro running on drive E
|
| Is there another way to wipe everything?

 

[Guest]

-----Original Message-----
Help!
I am trying to format drive C.
-with right clicking and choosing FORMAT it give an error
saying "Windows was unable to complete the format"
-with fragmenting tool same thing "unable to complete...."
-I have XP Pro running on drive E

Is there another way to wipe everything?
.
You may have a virus that prevents you from

Formatting I had the same problem and when I installed the
patch it let me format C: try running virus software??

 

[Larry(LJL269)]

On Wed, 15 Oct 2003 14:18:16 -0500, "Carey Frisch

|5. Clean Install Windows XP
| http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

Carey - He's got XP Pro running on drive E & I didnt
read that he wanted to dual-boot so I dont think he
wants to do that. Maybe I missed somthing!

With PM7 it'd take 2 clicks to format C.

TG it's almost cocktail time! Larry

Any advice given is my attempt to show appreciation for all
the excellent help I've received here but I'm no MVP so it
may only apply NUGS. Personal attacks, nitpicking & criticism
of anything but content will NOT be responded to. Those
posters should spend their time taking the test @
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/ocdtrt1.htm

 

[Gordon Burgess-Parker]

Formatting I had the same problem and when I installed the
patch it let me format C: try running virus software??

Rubbish. You can't format the boot drive from within windows.

 

[Michael Stevens]

Help!
I am trying to format drive C.
-with right clicking and choosing FORMAT it give an error
saying "Windows was unable to complete the format"
-with fragmenting tool same thing "unable to complete...."
-I have XP Pro running on drive E

Is there another way to wipe everything?

What is your final objective? If you format the C drive with XP installed on
E, you will no longer have a bootable system.

--

Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

 

[Burtti]

Thank you for your advice. My objective is to install XP
Pro to the drive C, after making sure that it's clean. I
have installed it two times already but some weird
problems keep appearing.
This is what happened:
1. I chose update XP over my 98. The result was that I
had them both on my drive C.
2. I clean installed XP. Result: Win98 and XP stil on the
drive C and another XP on drive E. Installer never gave
me an option to choose a drive!
3. I dragged everything from C to the trash. Rebooted.
4. I tried to format C but no luck.
5. I treid to defragment it but there's
still "hiberfil.sys" taking half a giga of space which I
can't see even "show hidden files" is enbled.
6. I started DOS and typed "format c:" It wouldn't.
7. My first bootable device is now set to CD but my
machine won't boot from the XP CD but starts the
excisting system from E instead.
So, if I get my C surely empty and clean I am plan to
install XP to that and uninstall somehow the one on E.
What's the change I have a virus and what's the best way
to check that?

 

[Michael Stevens]

Thank you for your advice. My objective is to install XP
Pro to the drive C, after making sure that it's clean. I
have installed it two times already but some weird
problems keep appearing.
This is what happened:
1. I chose update XP over my 98. The result was that I
had them both on my drive C.
2. I clean installed XP. Result: Win98 and XP stil on the
drive C and another XP on drive E. Installer never gave
me an option to choose a drive!
3. I dragged everything from C to the trash. Rebooted.
4. I tried to format C but no luck.
5. I treid to defragment it but there's
still "hiberfil.sys" taking half a giga of space which I
can't see even "show hidden files" is enbled.
6. I started DOS and typed "format c:" It wouldn't.
7. My first bootable device is now set to CD but my
machine won't boot from the XP CD but starts the
excisting system from E instead.
So, if I get my C surely empty and clean I am plan to
install XP to that and uninstall somehow the one on E.
What's the change I have a virus and what's the best way
to check that?

Follow the steps in the Clean install link below, paying close attention to
the screen during boot up for the "press a key to boot from CD". When you
get to the screen where you select the location, delete all the partitions
and allow XP setup to create and format the hard drive. There are some hints
in the step by step on configuration suggestions.
You boot from the CD and do a clean install.
Click on or copy and paste the link below into your web browser address bar.
How to clean install XP.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html
--

Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

 

[Larry(LJL269)]

Forget what I said. Below poster says ' My objective is
to install XP
Pro to the drive C, after making sure that it's clean.
I
have installed it two times already but some weird
problems keep appearing. '

Larry

On Wed, 15 Oct 2003 14:18:16 -0500, "Carey Frisch

|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.
|
| ---> 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 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.


Any advice given is my attempt to show appreciation for all
the excellent help I've received here but I'm no MVP so it
may only apply NUGS. Personal attacks, nitpicking & criticism
of anything but content will NOT be responded to. Those
posters should spend their time taking the test @
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/ocdtrt1.htm

 

[Alex Nichol]

Help!
I am trying to format drive C.
-with right clicking and choosing FORMAT it give an error
saying "Windows was unable to complete the format"

You can t format the partition XP is running from - like cutting off the
tree branch you are sitting on. You do it as part of a reinstall of the
system after booting the XP CD direct. Enter Setup, and after the
license agreement take New Install. When it asks you to confirm where,
hit ESC; select and delete the current partition and make a new RAW one
to be formatted at the next stage