How do you format your hard drive in Windows XP?

Answer 1

Reformatting Windows XP Pro

One Way

1. BACK UP ANYTHING IMPORTANT!!! eg. Documents, Music, Saved Games, etc.

2. Insert your windows XP CD.

3. Follow the Menus till you get to drive formating. Pick ether NTFS (for windows Xp0 or FAT32 (windows 95,98)

4. Wait for the disk to be formated.

5. Restart computer or continue with installing if you like.

OR (FAT32 Drives only) Create a windows 98 boot floppy. Boot computer with the boot floppy. type "format [drive letter]:" (no quotes) Eg for the C drive: format c:

Format Drive Restart Computer

NOTE FORMATING THE DRIVE LOSSES EVERYTHING.

Similar Way

Insert the XP pro CD and shut down the computer. As it's starting to turn on repeatedly press the Enter key until you get to the Windows XP setup screen. Follow the instructions to reformat and reinstall the OS.

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Answer 2

Hey there i just answered a question about the same thing and will include the link below: remember reformatting will erase everything on the hard drive so make sure to back up any important files first.

Answer 3

Formatting a hard drive in Window XP can be divided into two categories: 1) Formatting the System Drive (Drive in which Operating System is Installed). 2) Formatting any other Drive. How to: Steps for Formatting the System Drive: 1) From BIOS (System Setup Utility) Choose CD/DVD Drive as your first boot device. 2) Insert installation CD of Windows XP in the CD/DVD Drive. 3) Restart the system. 4) The message "Press any key to boot from CD" will be displayed. Press any key. 5) On reaching the "Welcome to Setup" screen, press R. 6) It will then reach a black screen with the following message: Which Windows installation would you like to log on to (To Cancel, Press Enter)? 7) Then it will ask for Administrator password. 8) Type in your Administrator Password. In case you have not set any Password, Press Enter. 9) You will see the following message: C:\WINDOWS> 10) Type in the following command: Format C:* /Q /FS:NTFS** 11) Press Enter. 12) After the 'Format' completes type in Exit and press Enter. * Assuming that the Operating System is installed in C: Drive **Assuming that you want to format your drive NTFS. Other options are FAT16, FAT32, etc. Steps for Formatting any other Drive 1) Right click on the My Computer Icon. 2) Click on Manage. 3) 'Computer Management' window will open. 4) On the Left side of this window, locate the 'Disk Management' Icon. 5) Logical Disk Manager would open in the right Frame. 6) Right click on the drive you want to format. 7) Click on Format. 8) You will get a Warning saying 'All Data will be lost. Format anyway?' 9) Click on Yes. 10) Another warning would pop up. Click on Yes and the drive would get formatted. Warning: 'Format' erases all data from the drive that you are formatting.

Cheers,

Arijit

Answer 4

Boot from a bootable device OTHER THAN the hard drive you want to format. In other words, if you want to format the C drive, boot from a DVD drive, floppy, network or USB, THEN format the C drive.

Answer 5

You will need these tools:

1. Windows XP Installation CD, and proper Serial Key.

2. For backup, a Pendrive or External Hard Disk, depending on how much information you need to save.

3. Also you will need drivers for the new installation. The CD that comes with the Motherboard would be ideal.

Second, you will need to boot your computer from the CD. Some BIOS allow this by pressing the F12 or F8 key before the regular booting. From there, select "CD/DVD Drive".

From there, you can continue alone. Just follow the intructions. Good Luck.