Need help on windows

[apaullo]

hi all...i just want to ask if it is possible to format the drive automatically without even pressing the ENTER key when prompted to install fresh XP in the CD?

i work in the government and i am incharge in computer maintenance and i also have several interns with me...what happened is that one employee accuses my intern of formatting her pc without properly backing up her files...all her files were lost...i tried recovering it from her formatted hdd using easy recovery but not all were recovered...

i asked my intern what happened and he told me that the pc automatically formatted itself...he inserted the XP cd then it went on and on to the format stage and to the installing of fresh XP stage...thus automatically formating the drive without his permission...is it possible? or my intern is just lying?

 

[kimsland]

A restore disc can do that.

Or a faulty harddrive can format itself, and then seem to work (but not showing the steps ofcourse)

No a standard Windows Disc must have user intervention

 

[apaullo]

so in saying that he inserted the XP disc it must have user intervention? wat could be the possibilities that the HDD could format itself using the XP disc?

 

[whitelatte]

Kimsland, may i ask can a Restore CD auto format the HDD? as far as i know Standard or non standard XP Disc still need user intervention before it proceed. normally it will ask Continue and so on right? By the way from my country of origin, there it LOTS of pirates stuff. (and i tried it) heheehe

Apaullo: i am not suggesting your intern is lying. i am confused myself.

Just posting my thoughts

 

[kimsland]

The only hipothetical (or is that hypothetical) is that they put in the ORIGINAL Windows setup disc, and the computer suddenly had a hard drive failure, that caused it to format, and then they continued the Setup steps.

I'd say Extremely unlikely !

Edit:

Yes a restore disc that has been privately made can Autoexec this easily

 

[anand1]

No its not possible to format without user confirmation (By Booting from XP CD) as i think so...

 

[apaullo]

hmm..so my intern is lying about it...but it my head to the giullotine for losing the files

 

[kimsland]

Oh I know what happened.

Most techs did this way at the start of Repairing Windows (ie the intern's experience and also booting off the CD, WHY?)

He/She has pressed Enter to setup Windows, instead of Repairing Windows.
Easy and costly mistake by the intern

 

[whitelatte]

It's a possibility, cause the last time my friend try to repair his windows, he ended up formatting it. Luckily all data was on the other partitioned hdd.