Trying to Reformatt, but can't.

Natty Bumppo

So I want to reformat my HD, but it doenst seem to work. The first thing I did was to put the XP cd in and reformat it from there, unfortunately I couldnt becuase a message popped up saying I couldnt do it because the version I had was more advanced that the one on the CD. My friend said that it was because I updated Xp and stuff and said I could still reformat because at the end it would automatically install updates. So he said I had to restart the computer and boot from disk.

Unfortuantely, I cant 'boot from disc' so I went back to my friend and he told me I had to change my BIOS settings. So thats exactly what I did. I arranged which devises I wanted to start first and stuff so I made it so the 2nd CD thingy could be first. (The top CD drive doesnt read CD's for some reason, so the 2nd one is my last resort.) I restarted again but, before XP started up, there was not a message to 'Boot from disk'. So now, I dont know what to do. My friend cant help me without actually being here with my physically, but I live 40 miles away, and he doesnt want to travel that far, therefore I dont know what I should try next.

If anyone can help me, then I would be grateful.

igalsfy

can't you try to run in msdos mode and do a good old format c:?

you can also make a startup floppy disk, add on it the format.exe that you can find somewhere in the windows folder of your pc, run it, and use the format c:/ command line. it worked for me.

GearSecond

Just FYI reinstalling Windows isn't reformmatting, it doesn't do the same thing.

Have you installed any more Service Packs since you got your computer or last reformmatted? It may be a safety feature somehow to prevent glitches or unwanted downgrading.

Natty Bumppo

If reinstalling Windows XP isnt reformatting than I dont know what is. All I know, is that I have something on my computer. Whether it be a virus, trojan, spyware, worm, or adware - I dont know.

I just want it off. Which is why I am attmepting to reformat, which I thought was a very easy process but isnt.

Oh, and I have most likely installed Service Packs. I wouldnt know if I did or didnt.

igalsfy

@Natty:

If reinstalling Windows XP isnt reformatting than I dont know what is.

then you don't know what it is… and did you even try what i said?

captain usopp

natty, hrmmm, ok, it's like spilling pop on a table cloth. Now, you could just put a new table cloth on the table. Nice and clean. works good. (like reinstalling windows) BUT, if you just put a new table cloth on the table, well, there is still pop ON the table. Formatting would be like whiping the table clean. So that you start brand new with NOTHING on the table.

re-installing windows will make windows run better, cause it is a clean start. But, You will still have all your files on your pc, untouched. including viruses. If you have a virus, you want to SAVE all your important files, (cause your gonna loose them) and then reformat, and scrub your hard drive clean.

Meltingice

@Natty:

So I want to reformat my HD, but it doenst seem to work. The first thing I did was to put the XP cd in and reformat it from there, unfortunately I couldnt becuase a message popped up saying I couldnt do it because the version I had was more advanced that the one on the CD. My friend said that it was because I updated Xp and stuff and said I could still reformat because at the end it would automatically install updates. So he said I had to restart the computer and boot from disk.

Unfortuantely, I cant 'boot from disc' so I went back to my friend and he told me I had to change my BIOS settings. So thats exactly what I did. I arranged which devises I wanted to start first and stuff so I made it so the 2nd CD thingy could be first. (The top CD drive doesnt read CD's for some reason, so the 2nd one is my last resort.) I restarted again but, before XP started up, there was not a message to 'Boot from disk'. So now, I dont know what to do. My friend cant help me without actually being here with my physically, but I live 40 miles away, and he doesnt want to travel that far, therefore I dont know what I should try next.

If anyone can help me, then I would be grateful.

If the top CD drive doesn't read CD's, I suggest taking it out since it's…useless. Then put your XP CD in the working one and go to the BIOS and boot from CD again. THEN see if it works. :happy:

Sometimes, you mix up which CD drive is primary and which is slave. So if it doesn't work, take it out so you don't get that confusion.

Natty Bumppo

So, my computer teacher told me why I couldnt reformat. Basically, I had both CD-Drives set to master, so I guess the computer got confused…...

Well, now that I reformated, I have a new set of problems....that I cant solve.

1. Before I reformatted, I had two hardrives. One was C: and the other was E:. The latter was mainly used for storage, because I had run out of room on my 1st HD. Now that I reformatted, my second HD (E:) doesnt show up. My computer only says that I have one HD, the C: one. What can I do to make it show the other one, or make me able to use the other one?

2. Basically, I used to be able to go on standby mode, but now I cant. The option for standby mode isnt clickable. How can I fix this?

THanks for everyones help.

captain usopp

oh you can set 2 CD drives to master? interesting. Um, I'm not the best person to ask, but I'm guessing you hard drive was partisioned (sp) before. That means dividing up the space on your hard drive. So, you had one hard drive, but it was seperated into part C and part E. this is something, I'm pretty sure, you have to set up when you reformat. so….you may have to reformat again if you want that.

Though, maybe someone a with a little more knowledge can come and give their 2 sence.

1. Ok, first things first, do u actually have two hard drives in your computer? If not then captain usopp is right. You needed to partition the hard drive whilst re-installing windows. However, i think there is software which will still let you partition your HDD.

If you do have two hard drives, then i suggest that you check the IDE and power connectors are in properly.

2. Install the drivers for your graphics card and maybe your monitor if you need to.

Natty Bumppo

Yes, I have 2 HD in my computer. One is 80GB and the other is 300GB. They are both 2 seperate HD's. I dont think I touched anything when I opened my computer up. All I did was change my top CD-Drive to slave and my bottom CD-Drive to master. Maybe I toucher something on accident, but I doubt it, I was very careful.

What would I look for to check if the IDE and power conecctors are in properly?

The way i would do it is to unplug them and then replug them. If its not the connectors, i dont really know what else it could be.

btw, you're drives aren't SATA are they? i was just assuming they were IDE

EDIT: click Run>"diskmgmt.msc" and see if the drive is there.

Meltingice

@Natty:

Yes, I have 2 HD in my computer. One is 80GB and the other is 300GB. They are both 2 seperate HD's. I dont think I touched anything when I opened my computer up. All I did was change my top CD-Drive to slave and my bottom CD-Drive to master. Maybe I toucher something on accident, but I doubt it, I was very careful.

What would I look for to check if the IDE and power conecctors are in properly?

Well, there are two was to going about this.
1. If you still have the CD your hard drive came with (The easy way)

-Find out which hard drive you installed windows on, and get the other hard drive's CD, and run that CD to install the drive. If you just put in 2 hard drives, and format one, the other WILL show up in the BIOS but will not show up in "My Computer"

2. If you have Windows XP CD (The hard way)

-Boot from CD, load Windows XP Setup screen. Format Windows on your OTHER hard drive so your first hard drive will detect it in "My Computer." Then once that is done, boot from Hard Drive, then right click your second drive, and click "Format" to erase windows to get those extra 10gigs or so of space. Or…You can just leave Windows installed and boot off of either one if necessary.