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Windows XP: Formatting system running XP
Formatting system running XP
by suninhair - 8/7/05 1:58 PMI am having some difficulty formatting my hard drive that has XP loaded on it. I use to be able to do anything on my system that used Windows 98 but I'm lost trying to do anything on this system. Any suggestions?
^_^
by jahnez14 - 8/7/05 2:39 PM In reply to: Formatting system running XP by suninhairlots of difference between 98 and XP.. 
Anyway, ware you encountering any error messages when u tried formatting?
What page exactly stumps you?
Reboot On XP CD
by batonrougeenglish - 8/7/05 3:13 PM In reply to: Formatting system running XP by suninhairThen click on the links to format the drive
OEM Recovery Disk
by suninhair - 8/7/05 6:28 PM In reply to: Reboot On XP CD by batonrougeenglishAll I have is the Recovery Disk from my Dell can I do that using that disk?
Each Vendor
by batonrougeenglish - 8/7/05 7:33 PM In reply to: OEM Recovery Disk by suninhairsuch as DELL have their own procedure.
You have 2 choices;
1. Read dell.com tech support for your make and model
2. Reboot on the CD you have and read the options.
Recovery disk
by glb613 - 8/8/05 3:03 AM In reply to: OEM Recovery Disk by suninhairI have a Dell and it came with two disks. One has Windows XP and the other is a recovery disk. The recovery disk has the drivers and factory installed software. If you don't have the XP CD, call Dell.
A word of advice, be sure to write down all of the hardware and product key numbers prior to reinstalling XP. I use Belarc and it does a good job. If you don't know what hardware is installed, installing the drivers will be a nightmare. You also need the product key number for XP and many other programs to be installed.
Format with NTFS
by saurp7 - 8/7/05 8:34 PM In reply to: Reboot On XP CD by batonrougeenglishYou'll need to boot from the Windows XP CD, Change the boot device proority in the BIOS and then restart with the Windows XP CD in the computer, it'll give you an option to boot from the CD. Follow artical 316941 from the Microsoft Knowledgebase. 
saurp7
by pacifist - 8/7/05 9:50 PM In reply to: Format with NTFS by saurp7contact me about a spell check program you need
English!
by Cursorcowboy - 8/8/05 6:35 AM In reply to: saurp7 by pacifistAoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by istlef but the wrod as a wlohe.
Johnathan Powell, Reader's Digest, 12/03
sorry, trying to help
by pacifist - 8/8/05 11:59 AM In reply to: English! by Cursorcowboyif it easier to hide behind sarcasm than to learn or accept help, good luck to you. I was only trying to assist you with programs such as spell check that can be used on this site so you would not appear to others as uneducated.
I know by conferencing with others how seriously people take advice from some one who appears to be illerate....life goes on.
Check my profile.
by R. Proffitt
- 8/8/05 12:14 PM
In reply to: English! by Cursorcowboy
I'm not spellchecking it. A long standing tradition of some USENET groups was to flame spelling errors.
Thankfully we don't have such an outlook in Cnet forums except for one item. The error messages are best supplied as-is and without error for the best help to be rendered.
Best of luck,
Bob
Bob, and my opinion on spelling
by pacifist - 8/9/05 9:36 PM In reply to: Check my profile. by R. Proffitt
Thanks for your opinion and I understand your view point. Lets take yourself as an example, you come across a lot of different ways to people, but no one thinks of you as illiterate or uneducated. People take your advice for a lot of reasons but the main one is how you present yourself. This other person who I was trying to help and not flame as you put it, comes across as some one low on the educational ladder.
The original post that person made and their reply made for many a giggle on the university message board.
My point is people won't take, trust or use ''expert'' computer advice from someone who probably cannot even spell computer. If you want to be taken seriously look the part.
It does not matter how smart you are if you sound like the village idiot!
Profile in India
by batonrougeenglish - 8/10/05 5:37 PM In reply to: Bob, and my opinion on spelling by pacifistSo, now you write in Hindi or Dravidian or whatever without it being your first language. So what if they write by phonics or sound?
Why aren't you a brain doctor? Cause your Moma never raised you to be a brain doctor. Same way we are all raised a certain way.
And how could his reply wind up on a University BB? That is dumb or dumber? I am as smart as you get but when I am in a hurry I mis-spell every day and every week.
The word seperate is the most misspelled word in the entire world (6,397,257,907 PPL)
Have a nice day
by pacifist - 8/10/05 11:01 PM In reply to: Profile in India by batonrougeenglishok?
Yet again !
by arunprakashl - 8/8/05 5:09 AM In reply to: Format with NTFS by saurp7I've seen this question many times . For all of you guys, here it is step by step . Never tell me ,its not working!
This should definitely work, if it doesnt, its probably a mistake either with you or your PC !
NOTE : This is an excerpt from Dana as found in a cnet newsletter.
First, keep in mind that reformatting and reinstalling Windows brings your computer back to the first day that you used it. You will lose everything that you installed and saved to your hard drive since that first day. This includes any online updates. It is extremely important that you have backed up all the data that you want to bring back to your computer. Word documents, photographs, music, address books, and e-mail are just a few examples of the things you might want to save. Don’t assume your backups are good. Double-check backups by reading the files or restoring a few of them back to your computer and viewing them. Don’t forget to run a complete virus scan on your saved data to prevent bringing back viruses that you may have had.
A few notes on backup: There are a number of methods and programs available for backing up data. Check each of the programs that you use for a built-in backup routine. Programs such as Quicken and Act! have their own backup routines (usually under the file menu). If you use outlook for email you can down load a backup routine from Microsoft to save your emails and address books. Windows XP Pro also has its own backup program under Programs-Accessories-System Tools. XP Home does not come with a backup program by default, but is available on the original installation CD.
Second: Check to make sure that you have all the installation disks for the hardware that you mentioned as well as any software that you originally installed. Download and save to CD all updated drivers and software for your Video Card, printers, scanners and any other hardware that you plan to use. If you have downloaded any programs, you will need all your Key codes for them as well.
Ok, let’s get started on the reformat and restore process. You did not mention the make or model of your computer, so there is one of four possible methods available to you.
A. Built in Restore – Many newer computers come with a built-in restore process saved to a second partition on the hard drive. This can usually be accesses by pressing a key during the boot process. For Example: Pressing F10 during boot on HP computers will bring you to a restore menu. Check your computers manual or online to see if you have this option.
B. Restore CD’s – Some computers come packaged with a set of Restore or Recovery disks. The first disk is a bootable CD and is inserted into the CD drive during boot-up.
C. Original Windows XP Disk – If you don’t have either of the above, then you will have to use your original Windows XP disk (you will need your Installation Key Code). If your XP CD is an upgrade version, then you will need an old Windows 95, 98, ME disk as well.
D. No CD’s and No Restore Partition – If you have lost your Restore CD’s or never received any and your computer does not have a restore partition, you can usually order a set of Restore CD’s from the manufacturer of your computer for a minimal charge of about $20.
STEP-BY-STEP
A. You Have Built in Restore
1. Backup All Data.
2. Unplug all USB devices like printers, scanners and palm pilots. If you have several internal cards that you added after you purchased the computer, you may need to remove these.
3. Check Manual for proper key to press for restore or it may show up on the opening screen.
4. Enter restore mode.
5. Follow onscreen instructions. (takes about 30 min)
6. Install Drivers for special hardware (hardware that did not come with computer)
7. Check Device Manager for any Yellow Exclamation Points indicating missing drivers or errors. Click START-CONTROL PANEL-SYSTEM-HARDWARE-DEVICE MANAGER. (Select Classic View) If you have any Yellow Exclamation Points, you will probably need to install drivers for these devices from your CD for that piece of hardware.
8. At this point you have a fairly clean installation and it is time to Update windows. Download and install all Windows updates, especially Service Pack 2 (if not already at SP2).
9. Install and setup any additional external hardware like printers, scanners, Palm pilots, etc. Install each one at a time and reboot and test before installing the next item.
10. Install additional software that you have on CD like Office, Quicken and Photoshop, except Antivirus software. Again install one at a time, reboot and test before going on to the next.
11. Once you have all the hardware and software installed and running, it is now time to install any security products that you may have like antivirus software, Software Firewalls and Spyware/popup blockers. (you don’t want to have too many redundant programs running)
12. With Antivirus software up and running and updated online with the latest virus definitions installed, you can now go online and look for updates for other software or download programs that you want to reinstall.
13. Using whatever method you used to backup your data, you can now restore your data back to your computer. Don’t do this until you have antivirus software running. You don’t want to bring back viruses that may have caused your original problems.
14. You can now go in and tweak your settings to what ever you like, add screen savers and set things up the way you want.
15. Now that everything is up and running just the way you like it, it is time to backup your settings. I prefer to use something like Norton Ghost to make a disk image of this state. If you want to reformat and restore your computer again in the future, you can restore it back to this point instead of all the way back to the beginning, saving a huge amount of time. You could also use Windows XP Pro Backup to make a recovery set. I also recommend using Windows Restore to save a Restore Point at this point. Some people like to set a restore point after each of the steps above in the event that something goes wrong along the way.
B. You have Restore/Recovery CD’s
1. Backup All Data.
2. Unplug all USB devices like printers, scanners and palm pilots. If you have several internal cards that you added after you purchased the computer, you may need to remove these as well.
3. With computer running, insert Recovery CD in drive and restart computer. Note: Make sure your CD’s are clean of any finger prints and smudges by wiping them from the center out. If recovery window does not come up you may have to go into your bios and change your boot order to boot from CD first. (Check your manual for exact key sequence to enter the bios settings)
4. Enter restore mode.
5. Follow onscreen instructions. (takes about 30 min)
Follow Steps 5 thru 15 above
C. Using Windows XP Disk
1. Backup all data.
2. Unplug all USB devices like printers, scanners and palm pilots. If you have several internal cards that you added after you purchased the computer, you may need to remove these as well.
3. With computer running, insert Windows XP Installation CD in drive, ignore the installation screen and restart computer with the CD in the drive. Note: Make sure your CD’s are clean of any finger prints and smudges by wiping them from the center out. A short message will display “Press Any Key to boot from CD” Press key quickly. .If your computer will not boot from the CD, you may have to go into your bios and change your boot order to boot from CD first. (Check your manual for exact key sequence to enter the bios settings)
4. Windows will now load some setup files and if you need some 3rd party disk drivers such as those required for some SATA drives you will have only a moment to press F6 to do this. Otherwise wait until you see the Welcome to Setup screen. This screen will display your current disk partitions. I would suggest using the ”D” key to delete the current windows partition and then use the “C” key to recreate the partition. NOTE: If you have a fairly large hard drive I would suggest creating 2 partitions. One for the windows operating system and another for your data. This way if you want to reinstall windows again in the future, you data will be safe on the 2nd partition.
4a. Once you have created the partition or decided to keep the original partitions, Windows will format and start to install windows as well as prompt you for your Code Key for the CD case. This should take about 30 to 60 minutes.
Follow Steps 5 thru 15 above
Sorry about the length of this, but you asked for step-by-step and did not supply enough information to narrow down the response.
Good Luck!
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