I have a formatting hard drive/reloading XP problem.....

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chris
  • Start date Start date
C

Chris

I'll try to make this as short and sweet as possible,

I have a computer that came with XP loaded on it. I want
to reformat the 'C' drive (my only hard drive, no
partitions) and reload XP. Here is how I am currently
trying to go about it.....

- Go to DOS

- Type format C:

I get an error message to the effect of, "cannot format C
because volume is in use from other programs" (I don't
know the exact wording of the problem, I'm at work at the
moment.) It gives me the option to disable the volume,
and when I do, it gives me another error message saying
that it was unable to do this.

I somehow figured out how to get my BIOS to boot from my
CD-ROM drive first (if you can't already tell, I'm not the
most computer savvy person on Earth). Anyway, when I put
in my XP cd and tried to reinstall it, it wouldn't let me
delete my 1 "partition" and instead tried to load XP on
again (while giving me a message telling me about the
dangers of installing two operating systems on one
computer).

Basically, all I want is to reformat my C (hard) drive,
and reload XP. I don't want anything fancy, or any more
partitions, or any other operating systems, I just want to
delete everything and reload from scratch. I'm sorry this
is so long-winded but I've pretty much exhausted all my
knowledge on my computer already (which isn't alot), and I
was looking for a helping hand. Any info. would be
greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
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.

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 Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
and download the available "Critical Updates".

7. 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

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

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


| I'll try to make this as short and sweet as possible,
|
| I have a computer that came with XP loaded on it. I want
| to reformat the 'C' drive (my only hard drive, no
| partitions) and reload XP. Here is how I am currently
| trying to go about it.....
|
| - Go to DOS
|
| - Type format C:
|
| I get an error message to the effect of, "cannot format C
| because volume is in use from other programs" (I don't
| know the exact wording of the problem, I'm at work at the
| moment.) It gives me the option to disable the volume,
| and when I do, it gives me another error message saying
| that it was unable to do this.
|
| I somehow figured out how to get my BIOS to boot from my
| CD-ROM drive first (if you can't already tell, I'm not the
| most computer savvy person on Earth). Anyway, when I put
| in my XP cd and tried to reinstall it, it wouldn't let me
| delete my 1 "partition" and instead tried to load XP on
| again (while giving me a message telling me about the
| dangers of installing two operating systems on one
| computer).
|
| Basically, all I want is to reformat my C (hard) drive,
| and reload XP. I don't want anything fancy, or any more
| partitions, or any other operating systems, I just want to
| delete everything and reload from scratch. I'm sorry this
| is so long-winded but I've pretty much exhausted all my
| knowledge on my computer already (which isn't alot), and I
| was looking for a helping hand. Any info. would be
| greatly appreciated. Thanks.
|
|
|
|
 
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