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I need to format my hard drive and I know I need to start in dos mode or go into dos mode. My computer won't let me restart my computer in dos using the option with shutdown and reboot. It also doesn't give the option if I shut down my computer while windows loads and then start it back up. Please help because I don't know what else I can do
first make a bootable system disk.You can do this in add/remove programs in control panel. next shutdown. put disk in floppy drive and turn on ur computer. All being well you should be in dos. You may have to check your bios to ensure that the floppy drive is the first in line to be booted from.
actually I just found that out on my own and the disk is being created right now
well it didn't allow me to format it using that
what you need to do is:
1) create a bootable windows system disk
2) check the system disk works (set the machine to boot from floppy and make sure the disk works)
3)if the disk works ensure you make copies of all data you wish to keep and you have the required rivers for your hardware
4)restart your machine in dos
5)type FORMAT C: at the command prompt
6) after the format is complete reboot from the boot disk and this will setup your cd rom drive - place win cd rom in and launch ssetup - if yo have a bootable cd rom and are running win98 boot staright form the cd rom
7)reinstall os and all drivers, reinstate any saved data
8)smile
I don't know if this works for every BIOS. but I usualy boot from cd rom(put boot from cd rom first in your BIOS),enter your windows cd in your cd rom drive.Then windows asks me if I want overwrite the system or format the hard disk, choose format. after you format, he will begin installing windows.
after that:
Quote:
8)smile
well when I start with a boot disk and type FORMAT C: it doesn't do anything
Because it can't find format.com
Do this:
Copy format.com, fdisk.exe, sys.com from c:\windows\command to a:
Boot to the floppy and be SURE you can access the CDROM!
Then format.
Thanks for the help everyone, but I got it installed another way. My only problem now is that I can't do a dual boot with me and xp. I may decide not to later on, but I want to make sure I can run all my programs on xp first. Anyway, I have a 40 GB hard drive that I got with my computer. About 30 GB was devoted for windows, leaving the rest for linux. I deleted linux while trying to install xp. now that drive still has me with 30GB for it, and 10 GB formated with ntfs. I also bought a new 80 GB hard drive which is currently set up as my master hard drive and the windows xp os is loaded on there and it is completely in ntfs format. I am wondering how I can set up a dual boot for me and xp with the way it is now, and how and where I should install linux when I end up reinstalling it.