Hard Drive format.

  • Thread starter Thread starter PC398
  • Start date Start date
P

PC398

Help needed please. I have tried to format my hard drive. I went through
Start, My Computer, right click drive, choose Format, but when I click on
Start, then tells me all data will be erased, click OK, then get message "
Windows can not format this drive. Quit any disk utilities or other programs
that are using this drive, and make sure that no window is displaying the
contents of the drive. Then try formatting again" I have nothing opened, I
am using Windows XP Pro, and file system NTFS. I have formatted many times
when I had Win 98 with no problem. Thanks in advance.
 
'PC398' wrote, in part:
| Help needed please. I have tried to format my hard drive. I went through
| Start, My Computer, right click drive, choose Format, but when I click on
| Start, then tells me all data will be erased, click OK, then get message "
| Windows can not format this drive.
_____

Which hard drive are you trying to format? Is it your system drive? (You
are not allowed to format your system drive with the Windows XP system
loaded and operating from that drive.)

Phil Weldon

| Help needed please. I have tried to format my hard drive. I went through
| Start, My Computer, right click drive, choose Format, but when I click on
| Start, then tells me all data will be erased, click OK, then get message "
| Windows can not format this drive. Quit any disk utilities or other
programs
| that are using this drive, and make sure that no window is displaying the
| contents of the drive. Then try formatting again" I have nothing opened, I
| am using Windows XP Pro, and file system NTFS. I have formatted many times
| when I had Win 98 with no problem. Thanks in advance.
|
|
 
[email protected],
PC398 said:
Help needed please. I have tried to format my hard drive. I
went through Start, My Computer, right click drive, choose
Format, but when I click on Start, then tells me all data
will be erased, click OK, then get message " Windows can not
format this drive. Quit any disk utilities or other programs
that are using this drive, and make sure that no window is
displaying the contents of the drive. Then try formatting
again" I have nothing opened, I am using Windows XP Pro, and
file system NTFS. I have formatted many times when I had Win
98 with no problem. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

You can't format the drive that Windows is installed in from
within Windows. You'll need to boot from your XP installation
CD or another bootable CD or floppy to format your C drive.

Scroll down to this section in this article:
How to partition and format your hard disk by using the Windows
XP Setup program
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313348

Good luck

Nepatsfan
 
You certiainly never formatted your system drive while running Windows 98.
You cannot format any drive you're currently running from (you can't boot to
a floopy disk running dos 4.0 and then issue a format command on that disk --
same in any version of Windows).
 
Uhhh, you cannot format the same drive you are looking at. It'd
be like sawing thru the tree limb between you and the tree.
 
Thanks Denise,
Will take a look. I know I have to Boot from my
Win XP Pro disk, I set the BIOS to boot from the CD Rom, it opens up and
says to boot from this CD, press any key, I do that immediately, but it does
not boot, it opens up into my Windows Pro as normal, for some reason it is
not booting. Looks as if I will have to get a new hard drive, and start from
scratch. Thanks for all help.
 
PC398 said:
Thanks Denise,
Will take a look. I know I have to Boot from my
Win XP Pro disk, I set the BIOS to boot from the CD Rom, it opens up and
says to boot from this CD, press any key, I do that immediately, but it does
not boot, it opens up into my Windows Pro as normal, for some reason it is
not booting. Looks as if I will have to get a new hard drive, and start from
scratch. Thanks for all help.
Click to expand...

I doubt that getting a new HD will help.

BIOS should boot from the CD without prompting, if a bootable CD is in
the drive. If there is no CD, or if the CD is not bootable, BIOS will
try booting from the next device on its list - the HD in your case.

If your XP install disk doesn't boot, then there is something wrong with
it. You could try setting the floppy drive (if you have one) as the
second boot device - this should BIOS time to notice you want it to boot
from the CD drive. If you have more than one CD drive, you must ensure
that the CD is in the one listed as the first boot device. Or set the
other CD drive as the second boot device.

If you had to create the XP install/restore disk yourself (these days,
that's often the case), try creating another one.
 
Well, I just stopped thinking about reformatting my hd myself. I'll spend
the $100 and get a tech to do it for me. It's worth the price to save me
from the headaches, frustration, aggrevation and problems.

I sincerely wish you all the luck PC.

Denise
 
Hi Denise and others, after trying to Boot from the Windows XP CD and it
would not let me, kept opening my Windows XP Pro. As a last resort I
contacted a friend who is in charge of all the computers in his company, he
told me that it could be possible that the CD was not booting, because I had
a USB Keyboard, he told me to take it off, connect a PS2 Keyboard and try
for a boot again. Bingo, it worked right away, and I formatted, thought I
would share this with everyone. Thanks for all your help.
 
Back
Top