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[HELP] how do I reformat and reinstall XP ?

UnatcoAgent

UnatcoAgent

Diamond Member
My system just came from the shop and its really messing up. WMI is crashing every 20 seconds and now windows hangs for about 4 minutes at startup. I want to reformat.

XP 2500+
ASUS A7N8X Delux
Maxtor 80 GIG SATA
Radeon 9100
Crucial DDR 2700

Here are my problems/questions:

A) To reformat I insert either a startup disk or go to dos and type format c:, let it do its thing and then restart with the windows cd in and then run startup from the cd, correct ?

B) I have a SATA drive and an ASUS a7n8x, I know that I have to make a floppy disk with the SATA drivers on it, how do I actually do that from the ASUS CD I have (what files do I copy/how - I have my other computer operational to do so)

C) I press F6 before windows installation and then insert the disk when it asks me to for the SATA drivers, correct?

D) I have a partition on my Maxtor 80 Gig SATA drive, c: at 20 gigs for Windows, and d: at 60 gigs for whatever. The initial installation of windows had a RAID setup, will I need to setup RAID if I reformat/reinstall?

E) Do I need to load any software/drivers in order to have a RAID setup, if I infact need it? My asus cd has software which was installed on here before, that is why I ask.

Thank you for your time!
 
My system just came from the shop and its really messing up.
Click to expand...
Don't mess with it..If it came from the shop goofed up, Take it back. If you reformat and re-install, then they will just say that it was something you did, not them.
 
I suppose thats the best idea. I'm worried that there is a hardware issue since this is the second time windows has been installed, the 1st time WMI would crash, and now that problem has carried over.

The thing is that I was uninstalling service pack 1 when that damn WMI error popped und it sort of cut the uninstallation in half. Now win hangs at startup for literally 4 or 5 minutes, so I want to erase everything.

Just for future knowledge however can someone please tell me about the SATA / RAID stuff I listed above ?
 
A) You don't have to go through all that trouble. Just go into the BIOS and find the setting that says something about first boot device; change it to CD-ROM. Then reboot with the WinXP CD in the drive and follow the onscreen instructions.

B) You can download the SATA driver from here. It's under the drivers tab.

C) Correct, press F6 when you're prompted to do so. Then just follow the onscreen instruction and you'll be fine.

D) Unless you're running a RAID setup, there's no need to do any of that stuff. If you only have one hard drive then RAID isn't a possibility, so I doubt you had a RAID setup before. I think you're probably confusing it with something else.

E) Yes, if you were running a RAID setup then you would need to install the drivers and go through the whole RAID setup process, but like I said before, you can't do RAID with only one hard drive. The only driver you will need to get your hard drive up and running to install Windows is the SATA driver.
 

D) Unless you're running a RAID setup, there's no need to do any of that stuff. If you only have one hard drive then RAID isn't a possibility, so I doubt you had a RAID setup before. I think you're probably confusing it with something else.

E) Yes, if you were running at RAID setup then you would need to install the drivers and go through the whole RAID setup process, but like I said before, you can't do RAID with only one hard drive.
Click to expand...


SEE thats what I THOUGHT! BUT the GUY at the shop TOLD me that he HAD to set up a RAID thing so it would recognize the D partition.
 
Originally posted by: Magnum375
D) Unless you're running a RAID setup, there's no need to do any of that stuff. If you only have one hard drive then RAID isn't a possibility, so I doubt you had a RAID setup before. I think you're probably confusing it with something else.

E) Yes, if you were running at RAID setup then you would need to install the drivers and go through the whole RAID setup process, but like I said before, you can't do RAID with only one hard drive.
Click to expand...

SEE thats what I THOUGHT! BUT the GUY at the shop TOLD me that he HAD to set up a RAID thing so it would recognize the D partition.
Click to expand...

I think it's time to find a new shop to go to 🙂

When the guy said he had to install the RAID drivers, he may have been referring to the SATA drivers. But just the fact that he said RAID when you only have one hard drive tells me that he doesn't really know as much as he should to be working on computers.

This is all you need to do:

Backup any data you want to keep.
Download the SATA drivers onto a floppy disk.
Insert the WinXP CD.
Reboot, enter the BIOS, and set the first boot device to CD-ROM.
Save changes and exit the BIOS.
After the POST, you'll probably be promted to hit any key to boot from the CD-ROM; do it.
Press F6 when prompted. Windows setup will then proceed to install some files.
Then when asked if you want to install any mass storage controller drivers just follow the instructions with your SATA driver floppy disk ready.
When you get to the partitioning screen follow the instructions if you want to change your partition arrangement.
Then just follow the instructions to format and install WinXP on the desired partition.

That's it, good luck.
 
Originally posted by: Shooters
Originally posted by: Magnum375
D) Unless you're running a RAID setup, there's no need to do any of that stuff. If you only have one hard drive then RAID isn't a possibility, so I doubt you had a RAID setup before. I think you're probably confusing it with something else.

E) Yes, if you were running at RAID setup then you would need to install the drivers and go through the whole RAID setup process, but like I said before, you can't do RAID with only one hard drive.
Click to expand...

SEE thats what I THOUGHT! BUT the GUY at the shop TOLD me that he HAD to set up a RAID thing so it would recognize the D partition.
Click to expand...

I think it's time to find a new shop to go to 🙂

When the guy said he had to install the RAID drivers, he may have been referring to the SATA drivers. But just the fact that he said RAID when you only have one hard drive tells me that he doesn't really know as much as he should to be working on computers.

This is all you need to do:


Backup any data you want to keep.
Download the SATA drivers onto a floppy disk.
Insert the WinXP CD.
Reboot, enter the BIOS, and set the first boot device to CD-ROM.
Save changes and exit the BIOS.
After the POST, you'll probably be promted to hit any key to boot from the CD-ROM; do it.
Press F6 when prompted. Windows setup will then proceed to install some files.
Then when asked if you want to install any mass storage controller drivers just follow the instructions with your SATA driver floppy disk ready.
When you get to the partitioning screen follow the instructions if you want to change your partition arrangement.
Then just follow the instructions to format and install WinXP on the desired partition.

That's it, good luck.
Click to expand...

ThankYOU!!!
 
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