deleting the OS

67_GTO · 12-February-05, 06:51 PM

today i tried to put a new copy of XP on my bro's PC. it has ME on it at the moment and i cant figure out how to delete the whole partition. it wont boot from floppy or CD-rom and there is no way for me to restart into MS-DOS. i tried setting the boot order but it dopes nothing. now it wont even start up right. it keeps asking for a boot disk, but when i give it one it doesnt work.

All i want to do is clear out the drive so i can install XP. thanks for any help in advance.

gorked · 12-February-05, 06:57 PM

Windows XP doesn't need a boot disk. Setting the boot order to CD-ROM first and restarting with the XP CD in the drive doesn't work? If it does, the setup process should give the option of deleting the partition and formatting.

67_GTO · 12-February-05, 07:06 PM

nope that doesnt work. i cant figure it out. ive done this many times before just not with ME.
maybe i misse something, i dunno. i double checked everything. i guess ill triple check and quadruple check if neccesary

if anyone knows any quick and dirty ways to clear out the HD, im all ears or uhh ... eyes.

piscikeeper · 12-February-05, 07:20 PM

http://www.pcinspector.de/emaxx/uk/welcome.htm .........installing linux also solves those annoying windows issues.......

gorked · 12-February-05, 07:21 PM

Killdisk is a software used by many people to completely destroy data. Try that if all else fails.

67_GTO · 12-February-05, 07:49 PM

killdisk didnt work. the only drive it could recognize was the floppy. i cant even boot to the OS anymore. it just asks over and over for a bootdisk which ive tried to do also.

godfoot · 13-February-05, 12:04 AM

You need a Windows 98 floppy boot disk for this which you can get at bootdisk.com

EstwingMan · 13-February-05, 12:57 AM

godfoot is so right. It's also amazing that such an antiquated piece of software is still one of the best ways to reformat some HD's on some systems. I keep my 98 Boot Disk very close at hand always. Only problem is that many PC's these days don't come with floppy drives. Then it becomes a bit of a challange. I make sure I always have a couple floppy drives on hand in case all else fails.

By the way, I used to have a 69 GTO that I was restoring back in the day. Don't have it anymore (long story). You can still see a pic of it ( somewhere on PimpRig) with me in front of it 23 yrs ago when I was 18.

12-February-05, 06:51 PM		#1 (permalink)
67_GTO Apex Tech Fanatic	deleting the OS today i tried to put a new copy of XP on my bro's PC. it has ME on it at the moment and i cant figure out how to delete the whole partition. it wont boot from floppy or CD-rom and there is no way for me to restart into MS-DOS. i tried setting the boot order but it dopes nothing. now it wont even start up right. it keeps asking for a boot disk, but when i give it one it doesnt work. All i want to do is clear out the drive so i can install XP. thanks for any help in advance.

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12-February-05, 06:57 PM		#2 (permalink)
gorked Apex Tech Demi-God	Windows XP doesn't need a boot disk. Setting the boot order to CD-ROM first and restarting with the XP CD in the drive doesn't work? If it does, the setup process should give the option of deleting the partition and formatting.

12-February-05, 07:06 PM		#3 (permalink)
67_GTO Apex Tech Fanatic	nope that doesnt work. i cant figure it out. ive done this many times before just not with ME. maybe i misse something, i dunno. i double checked everything. i guess ill triple check and quadruple check if neccesary if anyone knows any quick and dirty ways to clear out the HD, im all ears or uhh ... eyes.

12-February-05, 07:20 PM		#4 (permalink)
piscikeeper Apex Tech Fanatic	http://www.pcinspector.de/emaxx/uk/welcome.htm .........installing linux also solves those annoying windows issues.......

12-February-05, 07:21 PM		#5 (permalink)
gorked Apex Tech Demi-God	Killdisk is a software used by many people to completely destroy data. Try that if all else fails.

12-February-05, 07:49 PM		#6 (permalink)
67_GTO Apex Tech Fanatic	killdisk didnt work. the only drive it could recognize was the floppy. i cant even boot to the OS anymore. it just asks over and over for a bootdisk which ive tried to do also.

13-February-05, 12:04 AM		#7 (permalink)
godfoot A George Orwell fan...sorta	You need a Windows 98 floppy boot disk for this which you can get at bootdisk.com

13-February-05, 12:57 AM		#8 (permalink)
EstwingMan Da Hammer Man	godfoot is so right. It's also amazing that such an antiquated piece of software is still one of the best ways to reformat some HD's on some systems. I keep my 98 Boot Disk very close at hand always. Only problem is that many PC's these days don't come with floppy drives. Then it becomes a bit of a challange. I make sure I always have a couple floppy drives on hand in case all else fails. By the way, I used to have a 69 GTO that I was restoring back in the day. Don't have it anymore (long story). You can still see a pic of it ( somewhere on PimpRig) with me in front of it 23 yrs ago when I was 18.