Tek-Tips is the largest IT community on the Internet today!
Members share and learn making Tek-Tips Forums the best source of peer-reviewed technical information on the Internet!
-
Congratulations strongm on being selected by the Tek-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!
How do i format my hard drive, I have XP pro?!?!
- Thread starter mrlex
- Start date
Howdy:
Go into BIOS and make sure the first boot device is set to cd-rom.. Then, pop your XP cd into the cd-rom and re-boot your system. XP is self-booting and the options will allow you to partition, format and install...
As for size, make sure you have a couple of GB's at least. Then, make sure everything else you load goes to another partition INCLUDING programs or you will find yourself out of space and doing this all over again.
Murray
Go into BIOS and make sure the first boot device is set to cd-rom.. Then, pop your XP cd into the cd-rom and re-boot your system. XP is self-booting and the options will allow you to partition, format and install...
As for size, make sure you have a couple of GB's at least. Then, make sure everything else you load goes to another partition INCLUDING programs or you will find yourself out of space and doing this all over again.
Murray
Hi
frend 1 put the operating system cd in u cd rom drive
2 cd rom should be first boot device that seting is done in u main board bios
3 follow the steps which is given in cd if u want to save u data then be carefull transfer the data to d drive
format the c drive
4 about the space the drive which u sellect for operating systim at lest 1GB if u hdd have lot of space then go for
4Gb
frend 1 put the operating system cd in u cd rom drive
2 cd rom should be first boot device that seting is done in u main board bios
3 follow the steps which is given in cd if u want to save u data then be carefull transfer the data to d drive
format the c drive
4 about the space the drive which u sellect for operating systim at lest 1GB if u hdd have lot of space then go for
4Gb
intrepidxxxx
Technical User
Operating System Installation
After you have prepared your system for the installation
process, you are ready to proceed with the installation.
Perform the following steps:
Insert the CD labeled Operating System Reinstallation
CD Microsoft Windows XP into the CD or DVD drive.
Restart the computer.
The following message appears: Press any key to boot
from the CD.
Press the <Spacebar> to boot to the Windows XP CD.
The Windows XP Setup screen appears.
Press the <Enter> key to setup Windows.
The Windows XP Licensing Agreement screen appears.
Press the <F8> key to accept the license agreement.
The partitioning screen appears.
If the hard drive is already partitioned (this is most
common), press the <Enter> key to continue.
If the hard drive partitions are not listed or
detected, you will need to create a partition on the
hard drive. Press the <C> key and then follow the
on-screen prompts to create a partition. If you are
unsure which settings to select, you may want to use
the default selections that are displayed.
If your hard drive already contains a copy of a
Windows operating system, a Caution screen appears.
Press the <C> key to continue.
The format options screen appears.
You have several options to select from to format your
hard drive:
Format the partition using the NTFS file system
(Quick)
Format the partition using the FAT file system (Quick)
Format the partition using the NTFS file system
Format the partition using the FAT file system
Leave the current file system in place (no changes)
Dell recommends that you select the first option,
Format the partition using the NTFS file system
(Quick).
NOTICE
erforming the following steps will lead
to the loss of all data on the hard drive.
Please ensure that all necessary backups have
been created prior to proceeding.
Press the <Down Arrow> key to select the option that
you want and then press the <Enter> key.
The Caution screen appears if you select to format the
hard drive.
Press the <F> key to format the hard drive.
The setup program will now copy files to your system.
This will take several minutes, please wait. After the
files have been copied, a message appears and notifies
you that the computer will be restarted.
Press the <Enter> key to restart the computer or a
timer will count down and restart the computer
automatically.
When the computer restarts, the following message
appears: Press any key to boot from the CD.
NOTEo not press any keys when this message
appears and allow the operating system to load.
The Windows XP Setup window appears. Many devices will
be detected during this process. This will take
several minutes, please wait. Once this process is
completed, the Regional and Language Options window
appears.
Click Next.
The Personalize Your Software window appears.
In the Name: field, type your name. Optionally, you
may type your organization's name into the
Organization: field.
Click Next.
If you are installing Windows XP Home Edition: The
What's your computer's name window appears.
If you are installing Windows XP Professional: The
Computer Name and Administrator Password window
appears.
If you are installing Windows XP Home Edition, click
Next to accept the default selection.
If you are installing Windows XP Professional, type a
name for this computer in the Computer Name: field (or
you may accept the default). Type a password in the
Administrator Password: field and then type the same
password in the Confirm Password: field. Click Next to
continue.
NOTE:If you have a modem installed in your
computer, you may be prompted to type the area
code for your location.
The Date and Time Settings window appears.
Click to select the appropriate time zone for your
location from the Time Zone field and then click Next.
Depending upon your network configuration, you may be
prompted for additional information regarding your
network card (such as the domain name and workgroup
name). If you are unsure of these settings, contact
your Network Administrator or accept the default
selections.
After all hardware has been detected and the files
have been copied to the hard drive, the system will
restart. When the computer restarts, the following
message appears: Press any key to boot from the CD.
NOTEo not press any keys when this message
appears and allow the operating system to load.
Once the Desktop appears, eject the Windows XP from
the CD or DVD drive.
You may be prompted for user information.
Type the name of any additional users that will be
using the computer and then click Next to continue.
Driver and Software Installation
Windows XP provides native driver support for many
hardware devices that may be installed on your computer.
These devices may not require updates or driver
installations; however, for optimal performance Dell
recommends you install the most current drivers
available for your system.
To help you install your drivers and related software
for your Dell computer, view or print step-by-step
instructions from the Dell Software Reinstall Guide at:
Additional Information
All Dell systems factory-installed with Windows XP ship
with the Dell-branded Windows XP operating system
reinstallation CDs. This CD is not an image restore CD;
it is either a Windows XP Professional or Windows XP
Home Edition CD. Click one of the images at the bottom
of this article for a detailed picture of the
Dell-branded Windows XP media.
Figure 1 Figure 2
For help with specifics on your Dell system, or
additional troubleshooting support, search the Dell
Support Web site at:
After you have prepared your system for the installation
process, you are ready to proceed with the installation.
Perform the following steps:
Insert the CD labeled Operating System Reinstallation
CD Microsoft Windows XP into the CD or DVD drive.
Restart the computer.
The following message appears: Press any key to boot
from the CD.
Press the <Spacebar> to boot to the Windows XP CD.
The Windows XP Setup screen appears.
Press the <Enter> key to setup Windows.
The Windows XP Licensing Agreement screen appears.
Press the <F8> key to accept the license agreement.
The partitioning screen appears.
If the hard drive is already partitioned (this is most
common), press the <Enter> key to continue.
If the hard drive partitions are not listed or
detected, you will need to create a partition on the
hard drive. Press the <C> key and then follow the
on-screen prompts to create a partition. If you are
unsure which settings to select, you may want to use
the default selections that are displayed.
If your hard drive already contains a copy of a
Windows operating system, a Caution screen appears.
Press the <C> key to continue.
The format options screen appears.
You have several options to select from to format your
hard drive:
Format the partition using the NTFS file system
(Quick)
Format the partition using the FAT file system (Quick)
Format the partition using the NTFS file system
Format the partition using the FAT file system
Leave the current file system in place (no changes)
Dell recommends that you select the first option,
Format the partition using the NTFS file system
(Quick).
NOTICE
erforming the following steps will lead to the loss of all data on the hard drive.
Please ensure that all necessary backups have
been created prior to proceeding.
Press the <Down Arrow> key to select the option that
you want and then press the <Enter> key.
The Caution screen appears if you select to format the
hard drive.
Press the <F> key to format the hard drive.
The setup program will now copy files to your system.
This will take several minutes, please wait. After the
files have been copied, a message appears and notifies
you that the computer will be restarted.
Press the <Enter> key to restart the computer or a
timer will count down and restart the computer
automatically.
When the computer restarts, the following message
appears: Press any key to boot from the CD.
NOTE
o not press any keys when this message appears and allow the operating system to load.
The Windows XP Setup window appears. Many devices will
be detected during this process. This will take
several minutes, please wait. Once this process is
completed, the Regional and Language Options window
appears.
Click Next.
The Personalize Your Software window appears.
In the Name: field, type your name. Optionally, you
may type your organization's name into the
Organization: field.
Click Next.
If you are installing Windows XP Home Edition: The
What's your computer's name window appears.
If you are installing Windows XP Professional: The
Computer Name and Administrator Password window
appears.
If you are installing Windows XP Home Edition, click
Next to accept the default selection.
If you are installing Windows XP Professional, type a
name for this computer in the Computer Name: field (or
you may accept the default). Type a password in the
Administrator Password: field and then type the same
password in the Confirm Password: field. Click Next to
continue.
NOTE:If you have a modem installed in your
computer, you may be prompted to type the area
code for your location.
The Date and Time Settings window appears.
Click to select the appropriate time zone for your
location from the Time Zone field and then click Next.
Depending upon your network configuration, you may be
prompted for additional information regarding your
network card (such as the domain name and workgroup
name). If you are unsure of these settings, contact
your Network Administrator or accept the default
selections.
After all hardware has been detected and the files
have been copied to the hard drive, the system will
restart. When the computer restarts, the following
message appears: Press any key to boot from the CD.
NOTE
o not press any keys when this message appears and allow the operating system to load.
Once the Desktop appears, eject the Windows XP from
the CD or DVD drive.
You may be prompted for user information.
Type the name of any additional users that will be
using the computer and then click Next to continue.
Driver and Software Installation
Windows XP provides native driver support for many
hardware devices that may be installed on your computer.
These devices may not require updates or driver
installations; however, for optimal performance Dell
recommends you install the most current drivers
available for your system.
To help you install your drivers and related software
for your Dell computer, view or print step-by-step
instructions from the Dell Software Reinstall Guide at:
Additional Information
All Dell systems factory-installed with Windows XP ship
with the Dell-branded Windows XP operating system
reinstallation CDs. This CD is not an image restore CD;
it is either a Windows XP Professional or Windows XP
Home Edition CD. Click one of the images at the bottom
of this article for a detailed picture of the
Dell-branded Windows XP media.
Figure 1 Figure 2
For help with specifics on your Dell system, or
additional troubleshooting support, search the Dell
Support Web site at:
- Status
Similar threads