how do i format Drive C:\ on a computer that has xp ?

Question

i want to start over with win98

Answer 1

STEP 1: This section explains how to reformat a drive from the Windows XP installation CD. This can be used when installing a fresh copy of Windows onto a computer. Here it is especially important to backup all of your important information because upon formatting you will lose EVERYTHING that used to be on the drive. This includes all applications and device drivers, so you must backup everything you can.

STEP 2: Insert your Windows XP installation disc into your CD drive (Home or Pro it does not matter).

STEP 3: Restart your computer. On the first screen that comes up as your computer starts it should say at the bottom a key that you can press to change the Boot Sequence (may also be called Boot Device or Boot Order), press whatever key is specified. If your computer does not give you the option to change the boot sequence directly from the startup screen you will need to enter your BIOS Setup by pressing whichever key your computer specifies for Setup, and then from the BIOS setup you need to change your boot order so that the CD drive is before Hard Disks. If all you see right when your computer starts up is a splash screen with the computer manufactuer's name press the 'Esc' key to display which keys to press for boot sequence or BIOS setup.

STEP 4: Now as you computer boots a little more it will say “Press any key to boot from CD..” press a key to do so.

STEP 5: The CD will load up a blue screen and then spend a while loading files it needs. When it is finished it will list a few options mainly “Press ENTER to set up Windows XP,” press Enter or Return.

STEP 6: Now you will be at a screen to select where to install Windows to, this is where you can delete old partitions and format drives. The box in the bottom half of the screen shows all your drives and the partitions that exist on them. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to highlight your “C:” partition and press the 'D' key (if all that shows up is “Unpartitioned space” and you have no C: or D: partitions skip this step). On the next screen press the 'L' key to finalize deleting the partition.

STEP 7: Now you are back on the screen to choose where to install Windows. The box on the lower half of the screen should no longer show a partition but simply have an entry “Unpartitioned space xxxxxMB.” Select this with the arrow keys and press the 'C' key to create a partition on the drive. The next screen tells you the minimum and maximum sizes the partition can be and lets you pick the size. The default size is the maximum, but double check that the number entered is the maximum and hit enter.

STEP 8: Now you will again be back at the choose where to install Windows screen only this time you will have a partition that looks something like this “C: Partition1 [New (Raw)] xxxxxxMB.” Highlight this entry and press enter.

STEP 9: The next screen lets you choose which filesystem to format the drive with. If your computer will be sharing files over a network with a Windows ME, 98, or 95 computer select “FAT32” otherwise choose NTFS as it is faster and more secure. If the drive is brand new and has never been used before then use one of the options that ends in “(Quick)” otherwise choose one of the lower down options. Use the arrow keys to select the proper one and press Enter or Return.

STEP 10: From here you are all set and the installation of Windows will proceed starting with a format of your drive. This will take a while (over half an hour) so you can go take a little break. Overall Tips & Warnings

YOU MUST BACKUP BEFORE FORMATTING OR YOU WILL LOSE DATA YOU NEED.

Answer 2

Formatting with win98 immediately means you can not receive any updates. It also means you can not use any new products because they will not run on 98. Your reasoning is unsound and will lead to problems. Also xp is embedded in the hard drive and regular format will not remove its ability on restart to immediately start load xp.

Answer 3

Find a startup win98 disk and put format files on that startup disk. Typically your XP installation will have an NTFS partition, and you'll have to re-format that c drive as FAT32.

Answer 4

insert a bootable disk and restart. then decide on the boot from disk selection. if the disk u're utilising is of media center basically then u can first delete partition c: and format the unused area on annoying disk it will reveal. If u're booting up with DOS floppy disk then in a: stress sort the command format c: you may decide for speedy format or finished format.. i'm hoping u comprehend the version. If not ask lower back!

Answer 5

Why do you want to start over with Windows 98? That is so 90's. Go to Windows XP. XP is more stable and alot more safer for computers.

Answer 6

Very Simple, boot your computer using windows 98 bootable cd... and then sellect boot computer with cd rom suppot ...
soon u will get commmand prompt (dos) c:\> on that type "format c: /q /s" and in few seconds c: drive is empty... But rember to backup ur data from c drive (e.g. my documents,..etc..)
all the best and wish u happy new year 2007 :)

Answer 7

Stick your XP distribution DVD in the optical drive and reboot. Then, follow the prompts.

Answer 8

Insert your windows disk and select the format option.

Answer 9

use a program called gparted
available at http://gparted.sourceforge.net/livecd.php
Download the .iso file, burn it to a cd, and then boot using it, then do your job

Answer 10

go to start run .. type in format c:/ I think that will do it..