installing from usb HD because of no cd availability

[sarah]

i want to format a desktop machine previously loaded with
win xp. no cd rom available. instead, i have an external
harddisc with many programs, softwares and operating
systems copied to it. this harddisc could interact with
the computer via usb connection.
- can i format the desktop harddisc using the fdisk
utility that i have it on a seperate floppy?
once the harddisc is formattted, will the usb HD be
supported so i can call the windows setup file and
install the operating system that i want?
your imput to my questions is appreciated and will
appreciate any idea to have the job done.

 

[Rich Barry]

Sarah, what is it that you exactly want to accomplish? Yes you can
format the harddisk on the desktop
with a bootdisk but the disk has to be formatted in FAT32. If NTFS
then the bootdisk will not be able to
see it. You could probably copy Win98 or WinMe from the external hard
drive to the freshly formatted
hard drive in the Desktop but not WinXP. With both hard drives
connected you could use XCopy.
Check here for xcopy. www.xxcopy.com and here for a super boot
disk www.bootdisk.com