format hard drive

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H

help!

i have a virus and need to format my hard drive without
entering windows. i have been told that xp has not got
dos so i am stuck. can anyone help me???
 
help! said:
i have a virus and need to format my hard drive without
entering windows. i have been told that xp has not got
dos so i am stuck. can anyone help me???
Click to expand...

the XP CD is bootable - change your BIOS to boot from CD and follow the
instructions.
 
Hi, Help!

Right: WinXP is built on the NT architecture, not on MS-DOS. In WinXP, we
do things differently.

Set your computer to boot from the CD drive, then insert the WinXP CD-ROM
and reboot from it. One of the first options offered is to repartition
and/or reformat your HD. Use this to create and format your "system
partition" (almost always Drive C:) and, if different, your "boot volume"
(where WinXP will be installed - usually this is also Drive C:).

After WinXP is up and running, use Disk Management to create, delete, format
any other partitions or logical drives you want, and to assign or reassign
drive letters. To find Disk Management, type at the Run prompt:
diskmgmt.msc

But no OS (not even MS-DOS) will format the drive from which it just booted
and is now running, so any time you need to format Drive C:, you will need
to boot from some other source - such as the CD drive.

RC
 
Boot with the XP CD in the drive. When you see the message on the boot
screen to "Press any key in order to boot from the CD," do so.

After loading drivers and files, you should be taken to a screen with
the following:

To Setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.
To Repair a Windows XP Installation using Recovery Console press R.
To Quit setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

In your case, press ENTER.

Agree to the License agreement by pressing F8.

You will then be taken to a screen with two options.

To repair the selected Windows XP installation press R.
To continue installing a fresh copy of Windows XP without repairing,
press ESC.

This will bring you to a partition map where you
can delete, create and format partitions.
Select the drive you wish to format, delete the partition, then create a new
partition, format as desired and continue with XP installation.
 
As mentioned the XP CD is bootable. Ensure your BIOS is set to boot off the
CD-Rom. Check your mother board manual to learn how to access the BIOS/CMOS
Settings or look here http://michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm
Set the boot order or boot sequence so that the CD-Rom is listed before any
Hard Drives. Pop the XP CD into the drive and restart the computer. When
prompted to "press any key to boot CD" press the space bar. XP will begin
setting up a few files. When you see the screen that asks if you want to
Setup Windows XP or if you want to Repair using the Recovery Console press
"R" choose that option and you will launch the Recovery Console. If asked
for an Administrator password try pressing the Enter Key to provide a
default blank password. If that doesn't work then you will need to enter
your Administrator password. You should then see a command prompt similar to
a DOS prompt. Type HELP and you will have a list of commands. To Format the
drive type the following

FORMAT C: \FS:NTFS

this will format C drive. Substitute the drive letter if you are formatting
a drive other than C.

Once format is finished type EXIT . This will restart your computer. If you
want to reinstall XP just leave the CD in the drive and when prompted "press
any key to boot CD" once again press the spacebar and setup will begin. This
time select the option to Install Windows XP.
 
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