reformat hard drive

J

jamestime88

[H]ard|Gawd
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Dec 10, 2003
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i know im going to get flamed alot for this one, but ive been trying for the last 4 hours and cant seem to do it.
i have 1 80gig hard drive in my computer and its not partitioned (well, its 1 partition.....).

i am trying to reformat my hard drive so i can do a fresh install of windows xp. i have tried to reformat using the windows xp pro cd several times and each time all it does is erase the current windows files and writes over them (it doesnt erase any program files).

i have tried making boot disks, those didnt work. i have tried reformatting from command prompt, that didnt work. tried with the cd, that didnt work. it seems like NOTHING will work.

am i just a moron and am missing something obvious or is this actually a serious issue. i have reformatted many computers with many operating systems, but this is my first time reformatting a windows xp system.

so if you know how to reformat a hard drive please tell me. but please try not to give me general instructions such as "put the windows xp cd in and follow directions" or "create a bootdisk". i am looking for someone to give me a step by step guide of how to do it.

please try and keep your flames to yourself. i am a noob, im trying my hardest to learn.

thanks for the help.
 
When you go through the setup, are you deleting the partitions and then re-creating them? If not, take your time and read the options....it's clearly explained in the setup.
 
When you get to that lovely blue screen where you choose what partitions to install to, you have to delete the Windows partition and then format it. If you just press Enter, the installer will think that's the partition you want to install Windows to.

I think you press 'D' to delete the partition, then it asks are you sure you want to delete, and you have to press 'L' or something. Then the parition will become unpartitioned space, and then you make partitions by pressing 'C' and choosing a size.

When you're finally ready, press on a partition to copy Windows Install files onto the partition.

And yes, it's good to read the instructions on the screens, don't just press Enter as the first reaction.
 
it wont let me delete the partition. i tried several times but each time i cant remember the wording but something about it cant be deleted because of important windows files.
 
Your not running this from a DOS prompt right? If your booting from the CD, it should work fine. If not, just get another partition deleter and kill the partitions and the MBR.
 
ok i tried to reformat by booting with the windows xp disc again, this is what came up when i went to delete the partition:

setup is unable to perform the requested operation on the selected partition. This partition contains temporary setup files that are required to complete the installation
Click to expand...

what do i do?
will it work if i get another hard drive to run as master and run my current hard drive as slave. than load windows on my new master hard drive. from windows i could go into command prompt and reformat a slave couldnt i?
 
The absolute easiest solution then is to find a third party partitioner and wipe the drive and start over.
 
I always just put the other CD in, and type 'format c:' when the command promt comes up
 
98 boot disks rule. Got me out of many hairy predicaments with W2K when I screwed up. Legacy hardware saves the day again!:p
 
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