Format System Disc

[newtie 533]

Hi-I had my old XP system that I used for FS9 set up with two separate XP OSes, C and D drives (I'm using Vista now on another machine). I want to format the second drive (D) in the old machine and use it as a network backup for my new machine. How do you format (wipe) the disk? I've tried format D: /q but I get an error saying the disc is in use. Can I use the original MS install disc to format but not install XP?Thanks,Mark

[Guest UlfB]

Hi,I assume that you've booted the XP on the C-drive.If you have a swapfile on the D-drive, you might try to disable it before formatting the drive.Try to use the /X switch. Should force the volume to dismount before formatting.Hope this helps!

[Sharrow 0]

Hi MarkMy apologies if this is a bit long winded!For XP: Step One Right-Click on the "My Computer" icon either on your desktop or in the Start Menu and select "Manage." Step Two A new window titled "Computer Management" comes up. Select "Storage" from the left hand side by clicking it once, then select "Disk Management(local)" from the right side by double-clicking it. Step Three Now in the lower part of the main frame (right side) of the window you should see a nice visual of all your hard drives. Each line is a different drive. Each box on a line (with a colored bar at the top and a size displayed in MB or GB) is a partition on the drive. Partitions are separations of space on a drive. Unless you are doing something specific that requires multiple partitions, you only want one partition per drive. Step Four First you must delete any existing partitions on the drive you are going to format. Do this by right-clicking on the partition's box and selecting "Delete Partition..." Since you already know that you will be deleting everything on the drive, and have already backed everything up, you can safely say yes to any warning the computer presents you with. Step Five If there are multiple partitions make sure you have saved everything off them since they might each have different drive letters (i.e. "D:" or "F:"). Then repeat the above step for each of them. If you only want to format one partition that is OK and you can continue to the next step without deleting the other partitions. Step Six The box for the drive to be formatted should now have a black bar at the top of it and should say "Unallocated" under its size. Right click on it and select "New Partition..." The New Partition Wizard comes up. Step Seven In the New Partition Wizard click next. On the next page make sure "Primary Partition" is selected and click next. Now make the size equal to the maximum (it should already be set to it), and click next again. On the next page the computer will automatically choose the first available drive letter for the new drive. However, if you like you can choose another drive letter from the drop-down menu, and then click next. Step Eight Finally the New Partition Wizard asks if you would like to format the new partition and if so what format. If your computer will be sharing files over a network with a Windows ME, 98 or 95 computer select "FAT32." Otherwise choose "NTFS" as it is faster and more secure. Leave the "Allocation unit size" as "Default." In the "Volume label" field enter whatever name you want the drive to have. Simple is better. Avoid using spaces. Lastly, if the drive is brand new and has never been used before check the "Perform a quick format" box. If the drive has been used before leave this box unchecked. Leave the "Enable file and folder compression" box unchecked and click next. Then on the next page click finish. Step Nine The wizard will now spend a little while formatting the drive. On old or large drives this may take a while. Do not close the "Computer Management" window until it finishes. You will know it is done when the word under the size of the drive changes from "Formatting" to "Healthy" and the name and drive letter you chose for the new drive show up. After it is finished you can proceed to use your newly formatted drive. Hope this helpsKonrad