xp format

[jay3stix]

hi all
can anyone help me? i am trying to format my pc, i have xp pro on it and can not format i have put the xp disk in and changed the bios to boot cd rom but it just keeps bootin up as normal, can anybody tell me what i am boin wrong
thanks

[wafflepunk]

If your system is booting to Windows, your disk is already formatted. If you want to reformat your drive and start from scratch, you need to make a system disk that contains some basic DOS commands. You can do that in Windows by doing a help search for "boot disk." Then you need to reboot your system with the disk in and run the fdisk.exe command to start the formatting process. Check out the "building your own pc" guide on this site for more detailed instructions. It's how I built my system.

[jay3stix]

cool, thanks am guna try it now
nice one

[wafflepunk]

Yep.

[Cricket]

Originally posted by jay3stix hi all can anyone help me? i am trying to format my pc, i have xp pro on it and can not format i have put the xp disk in and changed the bios to boot cd rom but it just keeps bootin up as normal, can anybody tell me what i am boin wrong thanks

When you have the WinXP CD in the CD-ROM drive and the system is set to boot to the CD, you have to watch the monitor screen while it's booting up...it'll come to a point when it will ask you if you want the system to boot to the CD-ROM drive you have to hit any key...when you do this, the system will boot to the CD-ROM drive and the WinXP installer will take over. You then tell it to reformat and reinstall WinXP.

Cricket

[jay3stix]

did that and nothin it just booted xp as per normal, idid a fdisk and that did nothin typed in format c:/s it came up bad command

[Cricket]

Okay, time to post your system specs (name and model of all parts if you know them) and if it's a home built PC or a store bought one.

Also, is that a genuine Microsoft WinXP OS installation CD?

Cricket

[wafflepunk]

Did you make a boot disk in some version of windows? When you do that, it should copy the fdisk and format command files to the floppy. Check it to verify before trying to use it. If not, find the files and copy them manually.

[raftero]

jay,like cricket said-it should work.if not try in bios set first boot cd then disable floppy and hard drive,see if that works,i had to do that on one setup.afterward then enable floppy and hd.but be sure to look for the boot from cd hit any key.hth

[Alfie]

If you boot from a disk from Windows,it will format the drive using Fat32 file system,with XP,you're better off with ntfs file system,this can all be done from the cd,make sure cd is first bootable device,or as suggested.make the cd the only bootable device,just remember to change it back once all is said and done!