Re: Can't get XP to go away

gsulliv4 wrote:
> I have a Dell Dimension 8300 running XP Home. I want to wipe my hard
> drive (C:) and start with a clean slate. Somehow a BIOS password got
> set, I don't know it, and I am not able to set the PC to boot from
> CD. I tried removing the battery for a day and a few other things to
> reset the BIOS. No go.
>
> I also do not have a floppy drive. And my disks do not seem bootable.
> When I enter the boot options during startup, I am not given the
> choice of "Boot from CD" no matter what I have in my drive.
>
> So I tried installing Recovery Console and formatting the drive from
> there. It lets me in, lets me run format, but nothing happens. I
> tried a clean install, and all my XP files went away, but all the
> other garbage on C: is still there.
>
> My latest idea was to install an eval version of XP Pro on my Seagate
> external drive (G:), boot from that, and format C: from there. Well,
> it will apparently not let me install on the external drive. It says
> startup cannot see it, even though it is listed as an option.
>
> I am clueless as to what to do next. Can anyone give me an idea of
> how I might be able to wipe my C: drive and start with a clean
> install of XP?

Tried this?

1.. Restart your computer.

2.. At the first text on the screen, or when the Dell logo appears, press
the <F2> key every three seconds until the message Entering Setup appears.

3.. When the System Setup screen appears, press the <Alt> + <F> keys at
the same time to load the factory defaults.
A beep sounds to indicate the defaults have been loaded.

4.. Check and, if necessary, reset the time, date, and year.

5.. Change the Secondary Drive 0 setting to Auto.

6.. Change USB Legacy Support to Enabled.

7.. Press the <Alt> + <B> keys at the same time to save changes and
reboot.

8.. Proceed with the installation or troubleshooting that you were
attempting.


--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html


.

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