Formatting Comupter

One cannot reformat a drive that is currently in use. Use the following
procedure to reformat your drive correctly:

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

NOTE: It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except the monitor, mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.

NOTE: If you have an internal Zip Drive installed, physically disconnect the
EIDE and power cable to it before proceeding, otherwise your main
hard drive may not be assigned the customary C: drive letter.
After installing Windows XP, you may then reconnect it.

1. Open your BIOS and set your "CD Drive as the first bootable device".

===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete all the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. ==> Immediately after installing Windows XP, turn on XP's Firewall.
==> http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

7. After Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
and download the available "Critical Updates".

8. After installing the critical updates, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.

9. If you happen to run into any installation difficulties, use the following resources:

How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;EN-US;310064

Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]

Note: If you are unable to activate Windows XP again via the internet,
then select the option to "activate by telephone".

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Adam" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message:
news:1934e01c41bec$182f95a0$a101280a@phx.gbl...

|I have a worm that I can't get rid of and all I want to do
| is format my computer and start over clean. So I got to
| the command prompt and tried ,C:/format C:/ and it said
| the drive was invalid. I'm not sure if Windows Xp has a
| different code to format the system drive than windows 98
| did, either way I need help.
|
| I'd appreciate any advice you can give me.

Even Win98 did not format the way you are trying. Use format c: - not
c:/format

Even then, you can not format the Windows drive while you are using Windows!
Do it during the install routine, after booting with the Windows XP CD! Read
the prompts carefully!


--
Regards:

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard :-)

"Adam" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:1934e01c41bec$182f95a0$a101280a@phx.gbl...

>I have a worm that I can't get rid of and all I want to do
> is format my computer and start over clean. So I got to
> the command prompt and tried ,C:/format C:/ and it said
> the drive was invalid. I'm not sure if Windows Xp has a
> different code to format the system drive than windows 98
> did, either way I need help.
>
> I'd appreciate any advice you can give me.

Greetings --

Formatting a hard drive to remove a virus or worm is rather like
using an
axe to trim one's fingernails: excessive in the extreme.

Because many of the newer viruses and worms, such as the
Spybot mentioned above, can disable antivirus applications whose
definitions aren't kept up-to-date, try using one or more of the free
on-line scanners to double-check your system.

Trend Micro - Free online virus Scan
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

McAfee Security - FreeScan
http://www.mcafee.com/myapps/mfs/default.asp

Symantec Security Check
http://security.symantec.com/ssc/home.asp


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html


You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH


"Adam" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:1934e01c41bec$182f95a0$a101280a@phx.gbl...

>I have a worm that I can't get rid of and all I want to do
> is format my computer and start over clean. So I got to
> the command prompt and tried ,C:/format C:/ and it said
> the drive was invalid. I'm not sure if Windows Xp has a
> different code to format the system drive than windows 98
> did, either way I need help.
>
> I'd appreciate any advice you can give me.