Reformatting hard drive XP

[Guest]

Urgent help needed step by step how do I formatt my hard drive which is
using XP

 

[RoadRunner]

Here you go http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm

.....

 

[Jeff]

Urgent help needed step by step how do I formatt my hard drive which is
using XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;313348

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com

 

[Rock]

Urgent help needed step by step how do I formatt my hard drive which is
using XP

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

 

[RoadRunner]

Also I should of added this first because this is what needs to be done
FIRST

Your computer will more than likely be configured to boot from your
computers hard disk drive. This is to say that once you turn on your
computer the hard disk drive takes over and your operating system will
eventually load. Now to change this we have to enter a part of the computer
that is known as the BIOS. Within the BIOS you can change many settings and
one of those settings should be the order in which your computer is set to
boot.
For example:
1) Hard Disk Drive
2) Floppy Drive
3) CD/DVD Drive
All that is required, is to swap the order so that the CD/DVD Drive is
first. This should then allow you to boot from the CD/DVD Drive.
Workshop... As I've said above to swap the order you will have to enter your
computers BIOS. To do this requires you to press a key or a combination of
keys when your computer is starting. Which key or combination of keys
depends solely on the manufacturer of the BIOS. To navigate, select and to
make any changes you will have to use your keyboard. Some modern BIOS's
allow you to use your mouse.
Please view How do I access my computer's setup (BIOS) and change my
parallel port mode / settings? for various BIOS manufacturers.

Motherboard Manual: The motherboard manual should tell you exactly how to
boot into the BIOS and to change the way in which the computer will boot.
The following is how you change the boot order in this computer’s BIOS...
By pressing the DEL key when your computer is starting in most cases you
should see the bios screen.
Using the arrow keys select Boot and press enter to access the Boot Device
Priority menu.
Press enter on the highlighted 1st Boot Device and select CDROM from the
menu.
In this BIOS you have to press F10 to save and exit any changes that you
have made. Press enter and the changes will be saved and you will exit the
BIOS. When your computer is starting it will now boot from the CD.
Summary... This is all that is required to make your computer boot from the
CD/DVD drive and as long as you save the change you should be fine. If you
do not you'll have to go back and start again. If you are uncertain of what
you are doing then choose not to save any changes.
Once you have finished booting from your CD/DVD drive make sure you change
the order back so that the hard disk drive will now be booted from first.
Note: Please consult your motherboard manual for specific instructions on
how to go about making your computer boot from the CD/DVD drive. Or visit
the website of your motherboard manufacturer to see if there is a manual
that you can download.





......

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Urgent help needed step by step how do I formatt my hard drive which
is using XP

For what purpose? Do you want to clean reinstall XP?

You can't format the Windows drive from within Windows, since that would
leave Windows without a leg to stand on.

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://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm

or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm

 

[Plato]

Urgent help needed step by step how do I formatt my hard drive which is
using XP

Most excellent advice has been provided by other posters.