Clean Install of XP left all my old files on Hard Drive...Please help!

[omarBMX]

I just installed Windows XP (clean install, supposedly). I converted to NTFS, thinking it would format my hard drive for me, but instead all it did was delete the old Windows ME files and leave all the other junk. I want to format my hard drive and then reinstall XP, but i cant get to a MS-DOS prompt from startup. How do I do this?

 

[Compellor]

There are two ways you can do it. Either get a Win98/ME startup disk and do a fdisk and format, or set your CD-ROM to boot before the hard drive in the BIOS and let Windows XP do a format before installing it.

 

[omarBMX]

There are problems with this...

First, I used the WinME bootdisk, ran fdisk, but there was no option to format the drive....just to add or delete partitions, etc.

When I installed XP, it never asked me if I wanted to format my hard drive, only if I wanted to convert to NTFS, and it did so, only it left all my old files on the hard drive.

Any solutions?

 

[Compellor]

When you fdisk you won't see an option to format. The fdisk command just lets you set up partitions on your hard drive. Once you're done partitioning the hard drive, you need to exit fdisk by hitting the ESC key and reboot. After that, run the format command off of the startup disk (a:\format c: or a:\format c: /s). You can also do it from the Windows XP CD-ROM. It will have to format the hard drive before it will let you install the OS.

 

[omarBMX]

i didnt bother with fdisk because i didnt want to create any partitions. However, i did try format c:, but what I got back was "Format not supported on drive c:, Format terminated"

Windows XP Pro gives me no option to format, I did it over many times. It just asked to convert to NTFS, and so it did. Then it asks to overwrite the contents of my old Windows folder, yet no mention of formatting.

Even if I did format from DOS, I wouldnt be able to do setup from the CDROM because it says "This program cannot be run in DOS mode"

I need to figure this out soon...

 

[Compellor]

When you ran fdisk, did you delete the Primary DOS partition (option #3 then #1)? This has to be done to get rid of the old Windows system. Once that's done, create a new Primary DOS partition and any Extended DOS partitions if desired. After this reboot the machine and you can now format.

 

[KIAman]

Just like Compellor said on his very first post. You have to set the CD DRIVE as BOOT DRIVE in your bios and then restart your comp BOOTING off your CD, NOT your HD. I promise you there will be an option to format the drive, I delt with the same exact problem as you have.

 

[deeznuts]

that happens to me sometimes too. win2k and xp don't let you format the drive. when you select it, the option sometimes isn't even there!

here is what i do. make sure you have a ME or 98 recovery disk, not just a startup disk. make a clean one from the add/remove software window (it is the top right). go into fdisk, and delete any partitions you have, and create new one, taking up your whole drive (so one partition). then reset, and type in "format c:" at the a prompt. let it format into Fat32. after that, just do a normal install of XP with it booting up from the CD.

this is the only way i have gotten win2k and XP to let me partition when it doesn't let me initially. tedious but it works. i know what you mean though, when it wouldn't let me wipe the drive, i have like three different OS's at the bootup, until i did the above.

deez

 

[omarBMX]

tried all the stuff u guys suggested, fdisk is a waste. I tried deleting the primary partition, it said it couldn't do it, as well as creating a new primary partition.

when i try to "format c:" it still tells me "Format not supported on drive C:, Format terminated"

Keep in mind that I am already running XP with NTFS, except with ALL my old program files and junk are left over from WinME. I want to format then reinstall XP...please help!

 

[corkyg]

You can use any DOS boot disk prior to W2K or XP. The problem you are running into is that DOS cannot read NTFS. But, with FDISK, that should not matter. If all you have is one partition, then that would be the active partition.

Boot to DOS - run FDISK, and select Option (4) (Display Partition Information)

If you have more than one partition, you must first delete the Extended DOS partition before trying to do anything to the Primary. If that Extended Partition has virtual drives, each must be deleted before the partition can be deleted.

When you have only the Primary DOS partition left, then you do Option 3 (Delete Partition)

If you do not have a Win98 or earlier boot disk, then you must set your BIOS so that your CD ROM drive is the FIRST boot drive.

Then you boot to your XP CD (not the HDD) and use its tools to format the NTSC drive.

What happened was that you did NOT do a clean install. A clean install is on a freshly FDISK'd and formatted drive. No residual files are possible. You tried to do a clean install on a dirty drive. Tsk! Tsk! 🙂

 

[jsouth]

Did you try booting from CD (Set it in the BIOS). I'm sure you'll see the Delete, Install, and Format option. This way (boot from CD) is the easiest. You just Delete then Format the drive that you want Windows installed. If you have RAID you must hit F6 to install the RAID first before going any further.