format error

[imported_Mike]

im trying to format my western digital, it errors telling me to close all diskette applications that are using the drive(C. but i have nothing open, and no applications show up in task manager.

 

[ElFenix]

you're not booting windows off it are you?

 

[Shooters]

You're trying to format the C: drive while in Windows?

 

[imported_Mike]

ok, now im embarrassed, how do you format a drive?

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: CheapArse
ok, now im embarrassed, how do you format a drive?

Please surrender your platinum membership to me immediately.

 

[Shooters]

If it's not your boot disk or patition, then you can do it through Windows Disk Manager. If it is your boot disk, then you can boot from the Windows CD and do it or use fdisk.

 

[imported_Mike]

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: CheapArse
ok, now im embarrassed, how do you format a drive?

Please surrender your platinum membership to me immediately.

lol, sorry ...this is my first built computer besides a decade of dells & hp

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Shooters
If it's not your boot disk or patition, then you can do it through Windows Disk Manager. If it is your boot disk, then you can boot from the Windows CD and do it or use fdisk.

actually you'd use format.com

 

[imported_Mike]

Originally posted by: Shooters
If it's not your boot disk or patition, then you can do it through Windows Disk Manager. If it is your boot disk, then you can boot from the Windows CD and do it or use fdisk.

i tried doing a clean install using the windows cd, but when i tried deleting my partition, its said that it had setup files needed to complete the install.

 

[Shooters]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Shooters
If it's not your boot disk or patition, then you can do it through Windows Disk Manager. If it is your boot disk, then you can boot from the Windows CD and do it or use fdisk.

actually you'd use format.com

come again?

 

[Shooters]

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Shooters
If it's not your boot disk or patition, then you can do it through Windows Disk Manager. If it is your boot disk, then you can boot from the Windows CD and do it or use fdisk.

i tried doing a clean install using the windows cd, but when i tried deleting my partition, its said that it had setup files needed to complete the install.

Is this WinXP?

 

[imported_Mike]

Originally posted by: Shooters

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Shooters
If it's not your boot disk or patition, then you can do it through Windows Disk Manager. If it is your boot disk, then you can boot from the Windows CD and do it or use fdisk.

i tried doing a clean install using the windows cd, but when i tried deleting my partition, its said that it had setup files needed to complete the install.

Is this WinXP?

yes, i have win xp. I am trying to delete everything off my current hard drive, and then reinstall windows on a new hard drive.

 

[Shooters]

Try this:

Install the new hard drive and disconnect the old one. This will insure that Windows Setup will mark your new drive as C:. Boot from the CD and go through Windows setup. Then once you have Windows installed, reconnect the old drive. Pull any files from it that you want to keep and then go into Disk Manager where you can format, delete partitions, etc.

 

[dartworth]

Originally posted by: Shooters
Try this:

Install the new hard drive and disconnect the old one. This will insure that Windows Setup will mark your new drive as C:. Boot from the CD and go through Windows setup. Then once you have Windows installed, reconnect the old drive. Pull any files from it that you want to keep and then go into Disk Manager where you can format, delete partitions, etc.

 

[fredtam]

Don't know what the problem is but can you go ahead and put the new drive in and install XP. then connect the old drive as the slave and format it through Windows.

Edit: Beaten by seconds. I need to learn to type one day.

 

[imported_Mike]

hmm, i could try that...though new hard drive & current one are in different comps. I suppose i could move the current over with the new one temp just to get this sorted out.