c drive not formatted error

  • Thread starter Thread starter joe
  • Start date Start date
J

joe

when trying to access the startup folder i receive the message c drive is not
formatted. format now? will i need to do an external backup before or will a
recovery point be enough insurance. thanks for your time.
 
Joe, if WinXP is on the C: drive then you can't format it. Formating will
wipe it clean.
 
joe said:
when trying to access the startup folder i receive the message c drive is not
formatted. format now? will i need to do an external backup before or will a
recovery point be enough insurance. thanks for your time.
Click to expand...


I'd run chkdsk /f
 
It sounds like XP is not on drive C. If it was on drive C you would never
get that message. What is your drive assignment? Look in My Computer and
tell use what Hard Disk drives you see listed and their drive letters. If XP
is not installed on drive C you could end up with problems as that is where
it is supposed to be installed.
 
Please be careful. If you are not sure what the C drive is or what it should
contain, then do not format it. Perhaps you need to get an experienced
technician to help you.
 
when trying to access the startup folder i receive the message c drive is not
formatted. format now?
Click to expand...


Exactly how are you trying to access the startup folder? From within
Windows? Since Windows is normally installed on the c: drive, if
you're trying to do from WIndows, it's highly unlikely that it's not
formatted.

Do *not* just go ahead and format it.

Are there other problems? Do other things work in Windows?

will i need to do an external backup before or will a
recovery point be enough insurance.
Click to expand...


You mean a "restore point," not a "recovery point." Bear in mind that
the restore point too is normally stored on C:. So if you create a
restore point, and then format the drive, you wipe out that restore
point along with everything else on the drive. It's not that it's not
*enough* insurance; it's that it's no insurance at all.

Regarding an external backup, if your drive isn't formatted, you can't
do that either. If C: isn't formatted, there's nothing to back up.

Unless you have multiple hard drives or partitions (do you?) and/or
for some reason Windows is installed on a drive other C: (is it?),
something is wrong with what you are reporting here, and the situation
is not what you think it is. Be very careful and do not format
anything. Please report back on exactly what your sithuation is and
what you've done.
 
Why is it saying "not formatted" if it's clearly being used by the Operating
System??
 
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