Ok guys, I pop in the winxp cd and it loads up. I then restart the computer and all is going well until I choose to delete the partition (my HD). Well it says that it cannot perform this operation because there are files needed to complete setup. So I then choose to install a new windows over this partition and it says that it will overwrite AND delete the old partition. Well it overwrote, but did not delete... So here I am with a fresh windows install and only have 14 gigs left on my 40 gig hd... I then go to command prompt and type format c:. This does not work either and NOTHING should stop that from working. To top it off my CPU usage is always at 100% no matter what I am running. This is a fairly good computer only being about a year and a half old, Athlon 2500+, 512 DDR RAM, etc etc. Can anyone help me in any way!! If not, I`m going to have to pay $60 at a computer shop for them to do it. Thanks guys. Sorry this was so long.

Huh? Allllllrighty then! Good luck with, ahh, yeah, good luck! LOL :D

Probably the 40 gig drive is partitioned into two drive letters, go to computer management under control panel/admin tools, go to disk management, see if that 40 gig drive is partitioned into two drive letters or if C: is only using 40% of the drive space, etc.

Most likely you need to delete d: or any extra space assigned, then reboot off the winXP cd and select to DELETE PARTITION when it lists the partitions to install on, once all partitions are deleted it will let you create a new NTFS partition that uses all the disk space.

Once that is installed, your next problem is the default version of windows XP has a bug that lets an internet worm take over your computer and run it to 100% cpu within 5 minutes of being on the internet!!! So what you need to do, is immediately turn on that firewall before you plug it into the internet, XP has it built in, under the properties of the network card if using high speed internet or properties of the dialup connection. With the firewall on, it hopefully can help you get that SP1 installed, then reboot, then use Windowsupdate.com to get the latest CRITICAL UPDATES because even an SP1 system is vulnerable to this latest DCOM vulnerability and you need to get those patches on.

I could email you back the link to download the exact patch you need to get installed immediately if you still run into trouble, its 1.5 megs and won't fit on a diskette so you would have to burn it to a blank cd and use it before putting your system on the net, but I am pretty sure the firewall will prevent the worm from infecting your system while you get it up to date.

One other last thing, if windows says its a 16-18 gig drive, then most likely the jumpers are not set right on the back of the drive, some ibm/western digital drives let you force them down in size, like I had a 20 gig drive that would let me set the jumpers to 13 gigs (says it right above the jumpers along the back side)

Another option is go to www.bootdisk.com, (http://www.bootdisk.com,) download the Win98 boot disk, install it and boot the Win98 boot disk. Execute FDISK from the DOS prompt and delete all partitions. Boot the XP cd and create a NEW FAT32 partition and install XP.

The above assumes you don't need or care about the data on the hard drive.

Does the BIOS correctly identify the 40 gig drive when booting up?

Another good option is to get over to the website of your hard drive manufacturer, download their diagnostic utility and flatten your drive completely (low level format). These applications typically run from a floppy and boot from dos. This should remove everything that is currently on your hard drive and reset it to factory specs. You will then need to repartition and format the drive before installing XP again.

Thanks guys, I got that format c: thing to work, but then says The type of file system is NTFS.

Warning, all data on non-removable disk drive-c will be lost.

Proceed with format yes or no. I then hit y.

Format cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Format may run if this volume is dismounted first. Would you like to force a dismount on this volume yes or no. I then hit y.

Cannot lock the drive, volume is still in use.

I then tried this in safe mode with Command Prompt and still WILL NOT FORMAT!!!

BTW, I got my CPU usage to regular 0-4%.

Yes, BIOS correctly identifies HD on boot up. I only have 14 gigs left of my 40 gig because nothing was deleted from HD when I reinstalled XP.

Dude, you can't format C: when windows is running. You need a boot disk.

Ahhh, thanks alot cfunk. Where do I get this boot disk?

I posted the link above.

www.bootdisk.com (http://www.bootdisk.com)

Good luck and make sure you use FDISK on the boot disk to remove the partitions. When the boot disk boots to an A: prompt just type FDISK and hit ENTER.

You don't care about the data on the drive, do you?

Nope, don`t care about the data, I just want a fresh HD.

Ok, then go grab a 98SE boot disk from the website and have at it.

I am going to be online for a while if you want some direct help email me @

chris@funkconsulting.com

Thank you for this post series. My son's laptop was driving me nuts trying to figure out what was going with it. Brian Lewis's note fixed me right up. owe ya graemlins/beers.gif

Steve

Wow, thank you so much CFunK. He even went out on the limb and called me to help me through it all. Very nice guy. Without him I would be $60 poorer. Thanks dude, installation went PERFECT! If I need any help regarding computers again, you will be the first guy I talk to. graemlins/beers.gif

Glad I could help and it worked out for ya.

Stay warm and fire up the snow blower. :D