Re: Formating the C drive

From: Carey Frisch [MVP] (mrxp2004_at_nospamyahoo.com)
Date: 03/11/04 

Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2004 19:25:14 -0600

One cannot reformat a drive or partition that is "in use".
That's like standing out on a tree limb and then sawing it off.
Use the following procedure to reformat your drive:

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

NOTE: It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
              devices, except the monitor, mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.

NOTE: If you have an internal Zip Drive installed, physically disconnect the
              EIDE and power cable to it before proceeding, otherwise your main
              hard drive may not be assigned the customary C: drive letter.
              After installing Windows XP, you may then reconnect it.

1. Open your BIOS and set your "CD Drive as the first bootable device".

       ===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
       ===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete all the existing
       Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
       partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
        http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

        [Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. ==> Immediately after installing Windows XP, turn on XP's Firewall.
       ==> http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

7. After Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
        and download the available "Critical Updates".

8. After installing the critical updates, be sure and visit the support website
       of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
       available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
       and audio drivers.

9. If you happen to run into any installation difficulties, use the following resources:

       How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation
       http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310064

       Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
       http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

       [Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot] 

-- 
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Be Smart!  Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Marc" <landriault4796@rogers.com> wrote in message:
 news:P9P3c.209554$ah.91599@twister01.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com...
|I am attempting to format my daughter's PC by doing the following after all
| programs are no longer running and disabling the PC from my home network:
| 
| format c:
| 
| 
| 
| But the following appears and I cannot find any information to get around
| this issue:
| 
| Format cannot run because the volume is in use by another process.
| Format may run if this volume is dismounted first.
| ALL OPEN HANDLES TO THIS VOLUME WOULD THEN BE DISABLE
| Would you like to force a dismount on this volume (y/n) y
| Cannot lock the drive. The volume is still in use.
| 
| 
| thanks,
| Mark.
| 
|

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