help reformat xp

Status
Not open for further replies.
i upgraded my pc from win 98 to xp and it worked for two days then while playing a downloaded game my pc hanged so i restarded it and went to safe mode checked for errors but there was none.i cant go go to the normal mode anymore so i decided to reformat my pc while in the safe mode. when my installation setup will be completed within 35 minutes it hunged again.can u help me im a beginner.please
 
You don't want to install XP from safe mode. For one thing it won't let you format the drive (partition) that XP is installed to and running from. You will end up with a dual boot. You want to boot from the XP CD and do your format and install.
 
you can try this:
works everytime.
get a 98 floppy boot disk from www.bootdisk.com
start your pc with boot disk in the machine
select "start windows 98 with cd-rom support"
after win98 comes up, enter fdisk
display partition(s) (if any)
delete partition(s)
create new partition
restart
format the hard disk
turn pc off
take win98 boot disk out
put xp cd in the cd rom drive
turn pc on
get into bios
go to boot sequence and choose "boot from cd first"
save bios, exit.
let xp install.
alternately you can start with 98 boot disk with cd-rom support, then navigate to i386 folder in the cd rom, and start the install process by winnt.exe or winnt32.exe command. the former is for dos, and the latter is for windows.
 
but how can i start the pc with win98 cd support if the pc automatically opens up to the set up installation process... it says there set up will be completed in approximately 39 mins.. after 5 mins it hungs. its just like that everytime i open the pc..
 
You go into the BIOS and change the boot order so it's not booting from the hard drive. You set the first boot device to "floppy" if you want to boot from a win 98 floppy or "cd-rom" to boot from your windows XP CD. You can partition and format your drive during the XP install so you don't need to boot to a floppy and fdisk the drive beforehand. On the first reboot during the install change the boot order back to HDD0.
 
It depends on the BIOS used in the PC but generally you have to hit a certain key while the the PC is booting up. You may see a message that says "depress the del key to enter the bios", displayed during the post. The manual for your motherboard will tell what key to hit and how to get into your BIOS. Once you are in the BIOS you find the menu with the "boot order" or "first boot device" and change it. Then you save the change and reboot. If you set it to "CD-ROM" and you have a bootable CD in the drive it will boot from the CD instead of from the hard drive.
 
to get to bios, you have to hit "del", or "f10", or "f2" or some keys like that.
it just depends on the brand, like alpha says. in any case, you should follow the instructions i posted above to fdisk and format.
 
I'm not trying to start a flame war or be a jerk but you don't have to boot from the windows 98 floppy to create a blank partition and format it. That is unless you want to use a fat 32 partition. If you are going to use NTFS you can do it all during the XP install. IMHO NTFS is the way to go.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back