How to format your hard drive

[MadGamer]

For Windows 95/98

First of all you will need the following

• Your Microsoft Windows 95/98 CD
• All discs for hardware
• All discs for your software

First of all you will need to boot your PC into Windows. Once you have done this, you need to go Start then shut down and select from the drop down menu "Restart in MS-DOS Mode."

once you have done this, type cd\ and press enter. Then type format c: with a space in between the format and c. It will then ask you if you want to continue, just type y and then press enter.

Once this is done i always type c:\dir this is to make sure there is nothing on the drive.

For the next stage you MUST HAVE MS-DOS on floppy disks.

staying in MS-DOS place in your floppy drive your MS-DOS disks to reinstall DOS on your system. Once the disk is in the drive press ctrl alt and del all at the same time. Once your computer restarts it should read the disk that is in the floppy drive and start to install MS-DOS. You will get a few prompts and then just let it install. After installation of DOS take the disk out the floppy drive and open your CD Rom drive and place your Windows CD in. then i usually type D:\ and then return but obiously substitute the letter for your drive. You will then get D:\ .

After this you will type setup. So you will have something that looks like this.

D:\setup

press enter

D:\SETUP

enter

Setup for Windows 95/98 will then start and then just follow the on screen prompts.

For Windows ME

Just do the above again but with in Windows 95/98 open your CD-Rom drive and place the Windows ME disk in. You will then get and auto run box appear. Choose "install Windows ME."

Follow on screen prompts to set it up. Once installation is complete you WILL need to install all your applications and software for your hardware.

For Windows 2000

Within Windows 95/98/ME place your Windows 2000 in your CD Rom drive and follow on screen prompts to install Windows 2000.

For Windows XP Home/Professional

If you have the upgrade version just do the same when within Windows 95/98/ME/2000.

If you have the full version you will need to reformat your hard drive (Follow the part labelled Windows 95/98). After you have done this place your Windows XP CD in your CD Rom drive and press ctrl alt and del all at the same time and your cd rom drive should read the XP CD and start to install. Just follow the on screen prompts to install. For Windows XP you may find it best if your hard drives file system is NTFS. But dont worry if it is not.

EDIT: For Windows 95/98 before installing you MAY need to install your cd rom drivers.

Hope this guide is useful

WNA

Thats not how I did it on 98

[MadGamer]

Originally Posted by Damien

Thats not how I did it on 98

How did you do it? Enlighten me.

Oh it is the way i did it, i didnt see the format c: section. I looked like you where simply re-installing windows.

Note be careful with this, back up your work. Also if you are doing it with windows 98 there is the possiblity going wrong. I deleted all the root paths and everything. Bloody difficult to repair

[MadGamer]

Originally Posted by Damien

Oh it is the way i did it, i didnt see the format c: section. I looked like you where simply re-installing windows.

Note be careful with this, back up your work. Also if you are doing it with windows 98 there is the possiblity going wrong. I deleted all the root paths and everything. Bloody difficult to repair

Especially if you have no experience.

Mods is it possible to make this a sticky?

[Bifta]

you don't HAVE to have MS DOS on floppy disks at all.

To format a hard disk for any Windows based operating system, download ultimate boot disk, burn the ISO to a CD, reboot with CD in drive, follow on screen menu.

http://www.startdisk.com/Web1/ubd/ubd.htm

[MadGamer]

Originally Posted by Bifta

you don't HAVE to have MS DOS on floppy disks at all.

Well no but it is useful.

[Bifta]

Originally Posted by WNA

Well no but it is useful.

EDIT: <Comment removed>

Maybe "...as a chocolate teacup" would've been better Bif

I would recommend that people research the process more fully, WNA had produced a good overview here but if anyone without the experience may find difficulties and there can be other ways to do this and other problems that can occur. My advice is that this is a simple process in windows xp so upgrade to that if you have 98, where formatting is a real pain in the arse

(although judging by the average audience of this forum I think most people have done this at least once)

Originally Posted by Bifta

EDIT: <Comment removed>

Maybe "...as a chocolate teacup" would've been better Bif

mmmmmmmmm...tea and chocolate..........yum yum

[Nemesis]

On the basis that you have an older machine, whose BIOS does not allow booting from CD-ROM, the guide above is fine

Originally Posted by Bifta

you don't HAVE to have MS DOS on floppy disks at all.

To format a hard disk for any Windows based operating system, download ultimate boot disk, burn the ISO to a CD, reboot with CD in drive, follow on screen menu.

http://www.startdisk.com/Web1/ubd/ubd.htm

Good advice (if you have a cd burner, a lot of system with 98 wouldn't have a burner)

[Bifta]

Originally Posted by Nemesis

On the basis that you have an older machine, whose BIOS does not allow booting from CD-ROM, the guide above is fine

http://www.bootdisk.com

MS DOS floppies .. pfft

(and besides, I'd always use format c: /s if it's going to be a system drive, and if it's a seperate drive/partition then there's no reason not to format the thing actually in windows)

[Nemesis]

, Yeah ok ok ....

Originally Posted by Nemesis

On the basis that you have an older machine, whose BIOS does not allow booting from CD-ROM, the guide above is fine

Must be a real old computer, my one downstairs (i use a powerbook now) is easy to change the bio to booting of cds.

Again I recommend using windows XP for formatting it is a much better OS and easier to format