format the boot drive

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Guest

Agreeing that I cannot format the boot drive in order to then install a new
o.s. disc: - can such a complete clean-up can be done at the computer shop,
so that no remnants are left, and that it will then be safe to use the drive
to do a clean install of win xp pro ? Or should I buy a new hard drive ?
Former help much appreciated, and a response to this will be also
John
 
john said:
Agreeing that I cannot format the boot drive in order to then install
a new o.s. disc: -
Click to expand...


Of course you can. You normally do it part of the Windows installation. Just
boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if necessary to
accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean installation (delete the
existing partition by pressing "D" when prompted, then create a new one).

You can find detailed instructions here:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm

or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm


can such a complete clean-up can be done at the
computer shop, so that no remnants are left, and that it will then be
safe to use the drive to do a clean install of win xp pro ?
Click to expand...


Safe? I don't understand the question at all. What kind of safety are you
worried about. Nothing needs to be done at any shop, and there is no danger
to worry about.

Or
should I buy a new hard drive ?
Click to expand...


Why would you think you needed to buy a new drive?

Former help much appreciated, and a
response to this will be also
Click to expand...


What former help? Are you trying to follow up to an earlier message? If so,
you've started a new thread instead of replying to the earlier one, and
thereby severed any links between this and your previous message. I have no
idea what you may have posted before.
 
Sure you can. To do a clean install, boot the Windows XP install CD-Rom.
Setup inspects your computer's hardware configuration and then begins to
install the Setup and driver files. When the Windows XP Professional screen
appears, press ENTER to set up Windows XP Professional.

(Note: If your drive controller is not natively supported then you'll want
to boot the Windows XP CD-Rom. Then *F6* very early and very important (at
setup is inspecting your system) in the setup to prevent drive controller
detection, and select S to specify additional drivers. Then later you'll be
prompted to insert the manufacturer supplied Windows XP driver for your
drive controller in drive "A")

Read the license agreement, and then press the F8 key to accept the terms of
the license agreement and continue the installation.

When the Windows XP Professional Setup screen appears, all the existing
partitions and the unpartitioned spaces are listed for each physical hard
disk. Use the ARROW keys to select the partitions Press D to delete an
existing partition, If you press D to delete an existing partition, you must
then press L (or press ENTER, and then press L if it is the System
partition) to confirm that you want to delete the partition. Repeat this
step for each of the existing partitions When all the partitions are deleted
press F3 to exit setup, (to avoid unexpected drive letter assignments with
your new install) then restart the pc then when you get to this point in
setup again select the unpartitioned space, and then press C to create a new
partition and specify the size (if required). Windows will by default use
all available space.

Be sure to apply SP2 or at least these two below to your new install before
connecting to any network. Internet included. (sasser, msblast)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...be-3b8e-4f30-8245-9e368d3cdb5a&displaylang=en

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-043.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-049.mspx

--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
| Agreeing that I cannot format the boot drive in order to then install a
new
| o.s. disc: - can such a complete clean-up can be done at the computer
shop,
| so that no remnants are left, and that it will then be safe to use the
drive
| to do a clean install of win xp pro ? Or should I buy a new hard drive ?
| Former help much appreciated, and a response to this will be also
| John
 
in message
Agreeing that I cannot format the boot drive in order to then
install a new
o.s. disc: - can such a complete clean-up can be done at the
computer shop,
so that no remnants are left, and that it will then be safe to use
the drive
to do a clean install of win xp pro ? Or should I buy a new hard
drive ?
Former help much appreciated, and a response to this will be also
John
Click to expand...


- Boot using the Windows install CD and select to format the partition
when so prompted.
- Or boot using a DOS bootable floppy (you can get them at
bootdisk.com) and format the partition. You can also use a Knoppix CD
to boot Linux and use its partitioning software.
- Or use KillDisk (from killdisk.com) to wipe the partition(s).
- Get a partition utility to do the work, like Partition Magic or
Ranish Partition Manager (which is free).

If you noticed the other posts, nope, no one is agreeing that you
cannot format the boot drive. I suspect that if you don't know how to
format a drive then you might not have the expertise to be installing,
configuring, and maintaining an OS. Got any friends or family that
are a bit more computer savvy? You can probably bribe them with
cookies or beer (depending on their age and preference).
 
Not 'quite' right ....
I had a similar situation in that the drive was used with Win ME and had a
'Dynamic Drive Overlay' so the full 80gig could be used.
When trying to clean install XP, it would not format. Did the delete partition
etc & formatted OK ... but ... after installing XP & rebooting I see that the
'Dynamic Drive Overlay' is obviously embedded on the drive & still active,
indicated by onscreen message before XP started. I even tried FDISK, deleted
everything, replaced the MBR, still didn't work.

I eventually found out that to completely remove any sign of the previous system
(not necessarily my case but any case), I had to use a utility (from the hard
drive manufacturer) to write 0's to all sectors of the drive. Took about 6
hours on the 80gig drive but solved the problem.

Of course you can. You normally do it part of the Windows installation. Just
boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if necessary to
accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean installation (delete the
existing partition by pressing "D" when prompted, then create a new one).

You can find detailed instructions here:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm

or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm





Safe? I don't understand the question at all. What kind of safety are you
worried about. Nothing needs to be done at any shop, and there is no danger
to worry about.




Why would you think you needed to buy a new drive?




What former help? Are you trying to follow up to an earlier message? If so,
you've started a new thread instead of replying to the earlier one, and
thereby severed any links between this and your previous message. I have no
idea what you may have posted before.
Click to expand...
--

Australia isn't "down under", it's "off to one side"!

(e-mail address removed)
www.cobracat.com (home of the Australian Cobra Catamaran)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cobra-cat/
 
Stan said:
Not 'quite' right ....
I had a similar situation in that the drive was used with Win ME and
had a 'Dynamic Drive Overlay' so the full 80gig could be used.
When trying to clean install XP, it would not format. Did the delete
partition etc & formatted OK ... but ... after installing XP &
rebooting I see that the 'Dynamic Drive Overlay' is obviously
embedded on the drive & still active, indicated by onscreen message
before XP started. I even tried FDISK, deleted everything, replaced
the MBR, still didn't work.

I eventually found out that to completely remove any sign of the
previous system (not necessarily my case but any case), I had to use
a utility (from the hard drive manufacturer) to write 0's to all
sectors of the drive. Took about 6 hours on the 80gig drive but
solved the problem.
Click to expand...


Yes, you had a special situation. That's why I said "You *normally* do it
part of the Windows installation" (stress on "normally" added).
 
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