Formatting harddrive

ppd1000

Okay i want to format my harddrive and then reinstall windows xp what would the best way to do this be?

Thanks

Edit: only have one harddrive, (one plugged in to the comp)

Ruckus

1. Backup everything you want to keep (eg Music, Movies, documents) to CDs, DVDs or an external harddrive.

2. Locate your Windows Key (it's usually on a sticker fastened to the case or with the computer's documentation)

3. Make sure you either have System Restore disks from the computer manufacturer or an original Windows disc of the version matching your key (eg if your key says it's for Windows XP Home Edition, a Windows XP Professional disc won't help).

4. Come back for further instructions.

ppd1000

Done all that

Ruckus

Do you have a Windows disc or is this a manufactured system with recovery discs?

ppd1000

I have a windows prof disk + key

pacbowl

Ok. Put the windows disk in your CD/DVD ROM and restart the computer. If it comes up with the "Press any key to boot from CD...", press any key. If it does not show that message, then you need to boot into your bios and set the cdrom drive to be the first boot device.

After booting off the CD it will inspect your harddrive. Follow the prompts. It's a good idea to delete your old (and any other) partition(s) off the hard drive and create a new one. It's also a good idea to do a full format on the drive instead of a quick one. Follow the instructions when it comes time for them.

Sit back and let windows copy files. It pretty much runs on its own from here on out, except for choosing language and regional settings. One it is finished, chances are you will have a lot of devices that do not work. The most important one is the network drivers. Once that is installed, you can get anything else from the internet. I recommend immediately patching and doing all of the windows updates. Then visit the manufacturers website for all of your components if its a clone, or Dell, HP, Compaq, etc... and get the software/drivers for your model.

ppd1000

thanks

Ruckus

Pacbowl's procedure is solid, I'd just add one suggestion: Delete your existing partitions, and create at least 2 partitions in the total space. Assuming your harddrive is <100GB, I recommend 50GB for the first partition and the remainder for the second partition. Then when you choose which partition to install Windows onto, choose the first (50GB) partition.

This way you can store all your documents, music, and shit on the second partition, and if you ever have to reinstall Windows again, as long as you don't delete the second partition, it should still all be there with your data.

saltiness

Ruckus wrote: »

Pacbowl's procedure is solid, I'd just add one suggestion: Delete your existing partitions, and create at least 2 partitions in the total space. Assuming your harddrive is <100GB, I recommend 50GB for the first partition and the remainder for the second partition. Then when you choose which partition to install Windows onto, choose the first (50GB) partition.

This way you can store all your documents, music, and shit on the second partition, and if you ever have to reinstall Windows again, as long as you don't delete the second partition, it should still all be there with your data.

Good advice. Just make sure your Windows partition is on the primary partition so it will be on the C drive or else you will get tons of headaches. Also, make sure it's at least 20GB or you'll run into problems when you need swap space such as when you unzip large files or when stupid installers like the Battlefield 2 patches use a fuck ton of swap space and can only use the C drive for it.

ppd1000

okay when i try to install it, it doesnt reconise the hard drive....

Ruckus

Is the harddrive SATA?

Does the motherboard have more than one drive controller (eg two different sets of harddrive connectors)?

pacbowl

This is where it gets a bit tricky. If windows setup does not automatically see the harddrive it's probably sata or scsi. Chances are it's sata. I've had success going into the bios and poking through the sata settings, looking for an option that says "compatible mode" or "standard", something like that. It's different for each bios. I'm not sure what it does but it might have something to do with the sata raid options. This usually gets windows setup to see it.

The other option is to make a floppy boot disk with the sata controller drivers for that chipset. Then insert it when windows asks.