Topic: Grey Ninja, Please Help

[HiTmaN]

Heh alright Grey I need your awsome assistance again It seems that WindowsME just doesnt want to leave my computer at all. I tried doing the promt, I just get a bad file name or error msg. So what can I do to rid my computer of this horrible OS? I need to remove it to install Windows98SE for some reason it wont let me install it with ME on here, it wont even erase it then install it.

[PIAC]

format your PC, best way to kill it also its nice todo a sping clean up, make sure you have a boot disk for win98 though.

[Grey Ninja]

He's trying, but he can't do it because he doesn't have a boot disk, and he can't reformat his hard drive if the files that he is using to do so are on his hard drive.

Simple answer to your problem Hitman is to buy a damned floppy disk.    They can be had for about $1 CAD, and there's just no excuse for not having one.  You might only use floppies once in a blue moon, but their worth makes up for keeping them around.  There's just no substitute in a case like this.

Once you have one, make a Windows Boot Disk, and then copy "format.com" from C:\Windows\Command to your floppy.  Then you should be able to reformat to your heart's content.  

[Caliban]

 Hey Grey Ninja does that trick also work for windows xp home edition? I've tried before to format my harddrive but it just wouldnt let me. Might it be because the shop from where i bought this PC left on my harddrive a unallocated partition of 1004 megabytes?

[Grey Ninja]

1004 megabytes?  I have no idea why they would leave a GB of data untouched...  that just seems strange to me.  But it really shouldn't affect your being able to reformat.

Unfortunately, the trick I posted above DOES NOT work with Windows XP, as Windows XP has no way of creating a startup disk.  The Windows NT startup disk is just a little too big to fit on a floppy.

However, your Windows XP disc should be bootable.  Just throw that in the good old CD-ROM, and install a new copy of Windows XP.  When setup first starts, it will ask you what drive and partition you would like to install to, and then it will ask you if you want to reformat.

The reason you cannot reformat your C Drive from within Windows, is that you can't erase a file that's in use.  Since Windows is using files on that drive, you cannot reformat it.  In DOS, no files are in use on the hard drive, and thus you will be able to reformat.  You must simply have the format executable on a floppy or CD to run it.

[HiTmaN]

Alright grey I got a floppy and made a Windows98SE Bootdisk, now what?  

[Raijin Z]

 Umm, many CMOS versions let you format from... where else but CMOS? Anyway, with a boot disk, pop it in the diskette drive, boot, and run format from a:\>.

[HiTmaN]

I tried that, I got a message that said I couldnt run that file from this OS

[Raijin Z]

O_o?!

Worked when I did it. Well, take your hard drive out of the system and beat it into a million pieces with a sledge hammer. Buy a new hard drive, install it, and install the OS of your choice.

[HiTmaN]

Trust me, I've wanted to take my computer apart with plyers, smash it to bits with a hammer, run it over with my dads truck, and set it on fire. Its so frustrating that nothing works, Microsoft or Gateway wont help, blah. I cant buy a new HD I'm outta cash, just bought school clothes and a Dreamcast.

[Grey Ninja]

Quote
Originally posted by: HiTmaN
I tried that, I got a message that said I couldnt run that file from this OS

That's because you are using a Windows 98SE bootdisk, and trying to run a Windows ME file.    Make a damned ME boot disk.    They are better than the 98 bootdisks anyways (surprisingly enough)