Re: Can not format

"PC398" <jim@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:ptoaf.6593$LF3.724345@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Hi, yes I have been into BIOS and set to boot first from CD Rom, when I
>> do that, I get a black screen telling me to click any key to boot, I do
>> that, but it just opens up into Windows normally. I do not get any error
>> messages. The only error messages are as I said, when I try to install
>> the
>> CD, so that I would be able to go to a partion map and delete, create and
>> format, thats when I get about later version on system


If booting from the CD brings you into Windows itself then you do not have
an install CD. The install CD runs the setup.exe program, not Windows. You
have an image of the drive on the CD and what you are booting. You'll need
to find your install CD for Windows. If you do have the Windows install CD
in the drive, it is bootable. Apparently the *order* of the boot devices in
your BIOS is not correct. During the boot, you will probably see a message
saying to hit a key if you want to boot from the CD-ROM drive. If you don't
then booting from the CD is skipped and you end up booting Windows from your
hard drive. You will need to watch your bootup messages to see when you hit
a key to boot instead from the CD-ROM drive. If you get to the Windows menu
screen, you have already started Windows and are too late to boot from the
CD-ROM drive.

The install CD (when it runs setup.exe) will give you the option of
deleting, creating, and formatting the partitions. You could also use any
bootable floppy that loads some version of DOS and includes a compatible
version of FORMAT. See www.bootdisk.com for images of MS-DOS bootable
floppies that you can download to create a bootable MS-DOS floppy to run
FORMAT.


.

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