My hard drive will not let me format

[JoeFahey]

When I try formatting through the command prompt, it says "Drive c: is currently in use by another process."
When I alternate click on the HD through My Computer, it says "Windows cannot format this drive because it contains files in use by windows."

How can I format? This is on Windows ME, btw.

THANKS!

 

[Lord Evermore]

You can't format the C drive because that's the drive Windows is installed on and that you've booted off of. If you format the drive, your entire system is wiped out. If you REALLY want to format it and get rid of Windows and all your files, you can do it from a floppy boot disk.

And nobody calls it alternate click. It's right-click. Alternate click makes me think of Mac users, isn't that what they call it when they hold down a button and click their one mouse button?

 

[JoeFahey]

Originally posted by: Lord Evermore
You can't format the C drive because that's the drive Windows is installed on and that you've booted off of. If you format the drive, your entire system is wiped out. If you REALLY want to format it and get rid of Windows and all your files, you can do it from a floppy boot disk.

And nobody calls it alternate click. It's right-click. Alternate click makes me think of Mac users, isn't that what they call it when they hold down a button and click their one mouse button?

Yes, I am wiping the entire drive. The reinstalling Windows. How do I get rid of Window?

EDIT:And how do I get a boot disk? I thought I right clicked on the floppy drive or something.
Also, I am doing this to my other rig, which has Windows XP PRO. Will I do the same thing?

 

[JoeFahey]

And nobody calls it alternate click. It's right-click. Alternate click makes me think of Mac users, isn't that what they call it when they hold down a button and click their one mouse button?

I usually say right-click. It's just that my brother recently used it, and I had it in my head.
I believe that both are interchangable too though.

 

[MTDEW]

Put a floppy in your a: drive
Right click on a: drive and choose format
Tick the box thta says create and MS-DOS startup disc.

Boot from the floppy to a dos prompt.

Type format c:

 

[Caecus Veritas]

i believe you can shut down to dos command prompt for winme...

when windows closes and goes to dos, you can run format

while you're at it.. you can also fdisk just for the hell of it... just make sure you have a way of rebooting/reinstalling before doing all this.

 

[Lord Evermore]

Not to be rude, but are you sure you know enough to handle reinstalling and setting up Windows if you didn't even know you can't format the drive you're running on, or how to make a boot disk?

 

[JoeFahey]

Originally posted by: Lord Evermore
Not to be rude, but are you sure you know enough to handle reinstalling and setting up Windows if you didn't even know you can't format the drive you're running on, or how to make a boot disk?

This is my first time formatting from a hard drive that isn't new. I just forgot how to get the start-up disk since it was on a different operating system when I first learned how to do it, and I havent done it since, and that was atleast a year ago.
Thank you for your conscern but I am very capable of doing this.