reformat help

[hundredreas0ns]

hi i hope someone can help me.i have a dell computer and i want to reformat the hardrive but i am not sure how.i boot the computer with the dell windows xp disc and get to the the part showing the partitions and c drive but im not sure what to do now.this it what it says.......

-artition 1 [FAT] 31mb (24mb free)

C: partition 2 [NTFS] 38107mb (2629mb free)

unpartitiond space 8mb

now it will allow me to delete partition 1 but it wont allow me to delete partition 2 saying that there are temporary setup files that are needed to complete the installation,i thought being the c drive this should be the 1 that needs to be deleted and im not even sure what the partition 1 is,so i dont want to delete it incase i delete something i shouldnt delete,can anyone help please ???

 

[Lax]

Did you start the instillation before you tried to format the drive? Meaning on a previous boot.

 

[hundredreas0ns]

yeah i started trying an installation then i kinda got lost with what i was going on so i shut the computer off.

 

[Lax]

Ah. That might be a problem there. When you go into the menu's again does it give you an option of aborting the previous instillation attempt or does it bring you right to the delete/create partition screen?

 

[hundredreas0ns]

no,there is no option to abort,just takes me back to the partitions section again

 

[Praetor]

i boot the computer with the dell windows xp disc and

Thats a sign of problem already....

there are temporary setup files that are needed to complete the installation

This is suspicious....

yeah I started trying an installation then I kinda got lost with what I was going on so I shut the computer off.

Did you start it from boot or from windows?


Odds are the Dell XP CD is a dell-a-lized version and will have dell-specific modifications made to it that wont allow you to do (useful) stuff ... dunno just a bit of speculation

 

[Lax]

No, he started an installation that copied the files needed to install windows. WHen he tried to format it got angry cause it's in the middle of a previous installation it doesn't want to delete the partition because of it. If anything you need to slave the drive and format it that way, then start the installation again correctly.

 

[Blade]

if you have a friend, or id you have a second computer, put your h/drive in the second system, or your friends as a slave drive, then just hit

start ==> run ==> cmd ==> format [e]:\

*where [e] is the drive letter of your drive

then simply hit 'y' for yes and away we go

 

[Praetor]

WHen he tried to format it got angry cause it's in the middle of a previous installation it doesn't want to delete the partition because of it.

Yes but the installation will, if it formats the other partition, just copy everything again .... how do you think XP is installed on computers with new HDDs? (i.e., they are new and have no partition and filesystem so those files cant be copied ... and thus it must not be a critical component of the installation)

 

[Lax]

He screwed up and botched the first install, it still remebers and won't let him format.

 

[Blade]

manually disemble the drive, scrape all the data off the imaging disk and then put it back together and install windows?

 

[Praetor]

He screwed up and botched the first install, it still remebers and won't let him format.

Thats inconsequential. When you restart the installation process, the installer ... well... restarts

manually disemble the drive, scrape all the data off the iamging disk adn then put it back together and install windows?

That would certainly void any semblance of warranty ... not to mention the risk involved and the fact that not many people have direct plate reading devices

 

[Cromewell]

manually disemble the drive, scrape all the data off the iamging disk adn then put it back together and install windows?

for the love of god don't do this if you want a working drive when its done*


*if you have a clean room (the kind you wear a white plastic suit in) its ok

 

[Blade]

He screwed up and botched the first install, it still remebers and won't let him format.

i hate when hard drives remember you...he must have really hurt its feelings, what he should try is buying it some flowers, a candle lit dinner, some chardonnay and then get down on your knees and apologise to the drive