Restart in MS-Dos mode!!!

[Guest]

Hello,

Using Windows XP Pro, can I restart my pc but in MS-Dos mode??? You see, I
wanna format my PC but I must be in Dos (and no, I don't wanna use the MS-Dos
prompt in Windows).

Thanks!!!

 

[Richard Urban]

1. You can not use the MS DOS prompt in Windows to format the Windows
partition.

2. You can not restart computer in MS DOS mode to format, as there is no
"pure DOS" included with Windows XP. It just can't be done!

Soooo, insert your Windows XP CD in the tray. Boot the computer from the CD.
Choose to install a new Windows XP installation (not repair). You will be
given the opportunity to format one, or more, partitions during the
installation process.

--
Regards,

Richard Urban

If you knew as much as you thought you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Jim Macklin]

XP has no DOS to boot into. However, just put your XP CD in
the drive and boot the CD (set the CD top be the first boot
device). Select install by pressing ENTER. Then install
will offer the option to format and install.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm



message
| Hello,
|
| Using Windows XP Pro, can I restart my pc but in MS-Dos
mode??? You see, I
| wanna format my PC but I must be in Dos (and no, I don't
wanna use the MS-Dos
| prompt in Windows).
|
| Thanks!!!

 

[Ken Blake]

In

Using Windows XP Pro, can I restart my pc but in MS-Dos mode???

No.


You
see, I wanna format my PC but I must be in Dos (and no, I don't
wanna
use the MS-Dos prompt in Windows).

You couldn't even if you wanted to. 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

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.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hello,

Using Windows XP Pro, can I restart my pc but in MS-Dos mode??? You see, I
wanna format my PC but I must be in Dos (and no, I don't wanna use the MS-Dos
prompt in Windows).

Thanks!!!

There is no way to reboot a WinXP PC into Real Mode DOS unless
you've set up a dual-boot system. The WinNT family of 32-bit
graphical operating systems, of which WinXP is the latest generation,
has never used, included, or "ridden upon" MS-DOS.

Simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be offered the
opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part of the
installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of boot
devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

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


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[NobodyMan]

1. You can not use the MS DOS prompt in Windows to format the Windows
partition.

True - but it's because there is NO ms-dos promt in XP.

2. You can not restart computer in MS DOS mode to format, as there is no
"pure DOS" included with Windows XP. It just can't be done!

There is no ms-dos of ANY kind, pure or otherwise, in XP.

Soooo, insert your Windows XP CD in the tray. Boot the computer from the CD.
Choose to install a new Windows XP installation (not repair). You will be
given the opportunity to format one, or more, partitions during the
installation process.

Good advice.

 

[Robert Gething]

Hello,

Using Windows XP Pro, can I restart my pc but in MS-Dos mode??? You see, I
wanna format my PC but I must be in Dos (and no, I don't wanna use the MS-Dos
prompt in Windows).

Thanks!!!

Format a floppy and create an MSDOS startup disk. restart your PC
booting from the floppy and format HDD from there.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Format a floppy and create an MSDOS startup disk. restart your PC
booting from the floppy and format HDD from there.

And what is the OP to do if the hard drive is larger than 2Gb in size?
MS-DOS won't recognize it's existence.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Steve N.]

True - but it's because there is NO ms-dos promt in XP.

That is true, but people are used to calling it MS-DOS mode but what
Richard said is otherwise true, you cannot use the command prompt to
format the current system partition.

There is no ms-dos of ANY kind, pure or otherwise, in XP.

Actually, there is. XP can create an MS-DOS bootable floppy and it is
actually the same version of MS-DOS as in WinME, so XP must at least
include MS-DOS versions of FORMAT, SYS.COM, IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS and
COMMAND.COM, however the resulting diskette lacks FDISK and FORMAT as
well as all other external DOS command files, so you can't partition and
format a hard disk using it.

Good advice.

Yup.

Steve

 

[Steve N.]

Format a floppy and create an MSDOS startup disk. restart your PC
booting from the floppy and format HDD from there.

Won't work. The MS-DOS startup disk created in XP will be lacking the
external FDISK and FORMAT command files.

Steve

 

[Steve N.]

And what is the OP to do if the hard drive is larger than 2Gb in
size? MS-DOS won't recognize it's existence.

Excellent point.

Steve

 

[NoStop]

From his spyware and virus infected Windoze box, Robert Gething had this to
say:

Format a floppy and create an MSDOS startup disk. restart your PC
booting from the floppy and format HDD from there.

And when did MSDOS allow for a NTFS format?

 

[Bruce Chambers]

From his spyware and virus infected Windoze box, Robert Gething had this to
say:




And when did MSDOS allow for a NTFS format?

It won't, but it would allow one to use FDISK to delete a "non-FAT"
partition, assuming it could see the hard drive at all.

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[NobodyMan]

Actually, there is. XP can create an MS-DOS bootable floppy and it is
actually the same version of MS-DOS as in WinME, so XP must at least
include MS-DOS versions of FORMAT, SYS.COM, IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS and
COMMAND.COM, however the resulting diskette lacks FDISK and FORMAT as
well as all other external DOS command files, so you can't partition and
format a hard disk using it.

You're splitting hairs. XP may contain those files, but they are
their SOLELY to be put on this boot disk. It does not use them in any
way, nor does it allow you to access and run them.

 

[Incognitus]

You're splitting hairs. XP may contain those files, but they are
their SOLELY to be put on this boot disk. It does not use them in any
way, nor does it allow you to access and run them.

Splitting hairs even further, type mem /p from Start/Run or mem from Command
Prompt and read the last line "MS-DOS resident in High Memory Area".

 

[Richard Urban]

DOS emulator (-:

--
Regards,

Richard Urban

If you knew as much as you thought you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Steve N.]

You're splitting hairs.

Well, yeah, I am

XP may contain those files, but they are
their SOLELY to be put on this boot disk. It does not use them in any
way, nor does it allow you to access and run them.

Agreed. But technically XP does contain some MS-DOS for this very
purpose, that's all I was saying. No offence intended, BTW.

Steve

 

[NoStop]

From his spyware and virus infected Windoze box, Richard Urban had this to
say:

DOS emulator (-:

Or remnants of DOS code within XP's code base?

 

[Pete]

No !

1. You can not use the MS DOS prompt in Windows to format the Windows
partition.

2. You can not restart computer in MS DOS mode to format, as there is no
"pure DOS" included with Windows XP. It just can't be done!

Soooo, insert your Windows XP CD in the tray. Boot the computer from the
CD. Choose to install a new Windows XP installation (not repair). You will
be given the opportunity to format one, or more, partitions during the
installation process.

--
Regards,

Richard Urban

If you knew as much as you thought you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!