How To TOTALLY Format A Drive That You're Using ?
 

I have a big problem here. I've been using a system with XP installed on it from an old HP system that I used to have. With that version, the HP software made a 5 gig partition for Windows backup and left the other 75 gigs for windows.

Well, just recently, I went out and bought a FULL version of XP to put over that. I figured that it'd be simple, that I'd just pop it in and it'd erase everything on the hard drive and install a fresh XP. What it did was keep the partition AND it left all of the old data on the hard drive, it just installed windows and left the rest of the files that I don't want.

What I'd like to do is just clear the ENTIRE hard drive from all files AND partitions and install the fresh full XP cd that I have. If anyone could help me here, I'd greatly appreciate it.

I tried Fdisk, but for some reason, I can't get into it.

ALSO, Windows won't let me just format the drive while I'm in XP, I've tried a few different programs and options, no luck.

Hrmm usually something like format c:\ does it but you sound like your pc has serious issues :(

sounds like the issues im having...make sure the partitions you make are all NTFS..if not,you cannot expand the size of partition by using DOS

Interesting :Graucho

Do yourself a favor and download a debian distro. Burn it on a CD, and boot from it. Get into the HDD partitioning section of the install routine and swipe all partitions off. Use a Windows 98 CD to create a small partition for the WinXP install... format the partition with the format.com on the Win98 CD. Then run the XP install routine, choose to convert the existing parition to NTFS, and download Partition Magic off Kazaa to create additional NTFS partitions for your system.

That's how I do it.

you can always deltree your system

dos command
deltree c:\*.* /y

what you need to do is create system startup disks before you try installing XP.

I know with win 2k pro there are 4 system disks... you can not use f-disk! I would only recommend a NTFS format.

you can use the win pro startup disks if you would like... I am not as familar with XP as I am with win pro. but they install the same ways... somewhere within the control panel create your system startup disks... reboot your computer and run from a: then it will ask for your cd for XP...


hope this helps...

Have you tried a win 98 system boot diskette to FDISK?
Get it from www.bootdisk.com. Simply shut down and reboot your pc with this in the floppy drive. Hopefully your floppy drive is set as the first option in the boot sequence. If no then change that setting in your bios. Anyway as soon as the boot diskette is loaded run FDISK and you should be able to wipe everything out.

Good luck!

Thanks for all of your input everyone, I appreciate it.

As far as the booting from the floppy drives, I'm sorry to say, but I don't have one installed on my new system. I haven't used one in a looooong time, so when I bought my new black case, I never bothered getting one, maybe now I should have.

I just thought of something that might work. I have my old hard drive here. Do you think that it'd be good to just install that in my system and make my current hard drive as the slave, then while the old hard drive is running windows, format the hell outta it :)

you will need to fdisk seems your hard up for space anyway. You want at least 20 gig for your windows xp install or you will run out of program space get another harddrive and set that as your main hard drive put operating system on that. then leave the other hard drive as storage and just clean it up.

some guys on here are saying to run fdisk... this is an extra step that is a waste of time... first of all you will need a floppy disk.

You need to run a NTFS format.. with fdisk you can not do it.. its dos!! get the 4 windows 2000 startup disks and you will be set!

You will be able to partition and format very easily... do not fdisk though... waste of time

Well, my second hard drive plan didn't work. I think that tomarrow I'll have to pull out my old floppy drive and pop it in, it's pretty late here now. Wish me luck tomarrow, I may need it, ha ha ha.