jgallen Posted February 16, 2002 Share Posted February 16, 2002 I've got XP now...and I want to format and reinstall xp. what is the best way to do this?...with 98, I could just boot to command prompt...format from a bootdisk and it was easy. I've never formated from xp, but I know you can't boot to command prompt..cause it just loads XP in safe mode and pops up a little window (pretty weak). anybody know the easiest way to format and reinstall? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mariusu Posted February 16, 2002 Share Posted February 16, 2002 just boot from a windows 98 boot disk. then run fdisk and delete the win xp partition on your hd. create a new partition and exit fdisk and reboot. then just boot from cd, and when you install windows xp, choose to format the partition you created with ntfs or fat32. hope this helps you. for questions message back:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgallen Posted February 16, 2002 Author Share Posted February 16, 2002 why do I have to delete the partition? I like how my drives are paritioned and they are NTFS....can I just boot from a win98 disk and format my c: and then boot from the windows cd? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgallen Posted February 16, 2002 Author Share Posted February 16, 2002 also... if I boot from the xp cd, is there an option to format from there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeS2k Posted February 16, 2002 Share Posted February 16, 2002 If i remember rightly I just inserted the XP boot disk, chose repair installation, and it threw me into a command prompt. Then i just typed in format c: No need to do any crap with partitions (if it works.) Failing that insert a 98 boot disk, and when it asks you to install 98, choose no, and it puts you into a command promt, and do it that way. I'm pretty vague on this now, the way i always did it before XP infact was a floppy with drvspace.bin, autoexec.bat, command.com and format.com etc on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mariusu Posted February 16, 2002 Share Posted February 16, 2002 just delete the ntfs partition win xp is on. and then make a new one that will replace the old win xp old partition. AND: once you will boot from a win 98 boot floppy, you DON't have access to an ntfs partition (read or write) so you have to do it the hard way. if you would like to have your xp on a fat32 partition go on and format this (use format.com...you should copy this to your bootfloppy first). later you can convert the file system in xp using convert.exe. but that's not the point. if you delete the partition, you will have it back since you are creating another one which replaces that. i did it that way myself and it worked. instructions: boot from win 98 bootdisk/floppy->run fdisk->delete the non-dos partition (ntfs...mine was c:)->create a new one instead of the deleted one(primary partition and activate it)->reboot from the win xp cd->choose install->choose the partition->select format the partition with the ntfs file system->continue installation.....here you are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mariusu Posted February 16, 2002 Share Posted February 16, 2002 Originally posted by MikeS2k If i remember rightly I just inserted the XP boot disk, chose repair installation, and it threw me into a command prompt. Then i just typed in format c: well, i wonder if this really works, if yes that would be really great...as you said no more work on partitions and so on. BUT as far as i know the recovery console allows only special commands...well, if format is one of them... did you tried this for yourself or only heard about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neowin_hipster Posted February 16, 2002 Share Posted February 16, 2002 Well I put in the boot cd, and chose format ntfs. That is it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kieran Posted February 17, 2002 Share Posted February 17, 2002 exactly Goalie_CA! Its really not hard - boot with the XP disk and choose install. The next screen asks you which partition to install to. On this screen you can easily add and delete partitions. Gone are the days when u have to mess with fdisk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwakui Posted February 17, 2002 Share Posted February 17, 2002 For anyone else who has the same question - Use the bootdisks from Microsoft if you can't boot from the CD (this is what I have to do). Also, during the installation, you are in fact given the opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leedogg Posted February 18, 2002 Share Posted February 18, 2002 If performance is a priority and u have extra hd space, the ideal cluster size is 16k so do the following: Format: Format your hd with 16k clusters (XP defaults to 512 bytes) you lose some hd space dedicate a 10 gb+ hd to your os and format like this format c: /s/z:16 format c: /a:16 for ntfs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinLerner Posted February 19, 2002 Share Posted February 19, 2002 Unless MS changed this from NT4 and 2000, the default block size is still 4k. Yes, you can change the block size on partitions, but the info given by the last message must be completed from DOS and the format command, not from the XP boot CD or boot floppies. Just boot from the XP CD, follow the onscreen menus. As a previous person wrote, you will be given the opportunity to install to an existing partition, delete an existing partion, or format a partion (if just deleted or unformatted). You can always make boot floppies from the XP/2000/and NT4.0 CD's. Boot floppies are necessary if you don't have a bootable CD-ROM drive (older CD drive). Of course this doesn't really detail the network option with PXE, RIS etc. Since the previous comment addressed block size, maybe the question is how should you format? (I assume NTFS, because it is faster and more reliable than FAT32, which you should use only if you want to dual boot.) The previous writer said to format with 16k block size. Unless you intend to waste a lot of space, leave the block size at 4k. In 2000/XP you can format a partition with block sizes from 512 bytes to 64KB. 64K would be great for a partion dedicated to MP3's, AVI's, DV etc -- all files that are relatively large. Assuming you use a 64K block size only for media files (either video or pictures) this block size would reduce read and write latencies caused by fragmentation using smaller block sizes. For speed, if you have a second harddrive on a second IDE channel (or even better second drive on a SCSI bus) use a separate partion (on the second drive) for your pagefile.sys. You could format from 8k to anything higher with good performance. Performance will vary depending on how much caching is necessary and what is cached. The same is true of the Temporary Internet Files (used by IE) for caching of web page data or the caching directory used by the web browser you prefer. If you make the default block size too large, you will waste a lot of hd space, but decrease fragmentation and perhaps increase cache access read/write speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mariusu Posted February 19, 2002 Share Posted February 19, 2002 Originally posted by JustinLerner Unless MS changed this from NT4 and 2000, the default block size is still 4k. Yes, you can change the block size on partitions, but the info given by the last message must be completed from DOS and the format command, not from the XP boot CD or boot floppies. Just boot from the XP CD, follow the onscreen menus. As a previous person wrote, you will be given the opportunity to install to an existing partition, delete an existing partion, or format a partion (if just deleted or unformatted). You can always make boot floppies from the XP/2000/and NT4.0 CD's. Boot floppies are necessary if you don't have a bootable CD-ROM drive (older CD drive). Of course this doesn't really detail the network option with PXE, RIS etc. Since the previous comment addressed block size, maybe the question is how should you format? (I assume NTFS, because it is faster and more reliable than FAT32, which you should use only if you want to dual boot.) The previous writer said to format with 16k block size. Unless you intend to waste a lot of space, leave the block size at 4k. In 2000/XP you can format a partition with block sizes from 512 bytes to 64KB. 64K would be great for a partion dedicated to MP3's, AVI's, DV etc -- all files that are relatively large. Assuming you use a 64K block size only for media files (either video or pictures) this block size would reduce read and write latencies caused by fragmentation using smaller block sizes. For speed, if you have a second harddrive on a second IDE channel (or even better second drive on a SCSI bus) use a separate partion (on the second drive) for your pagefile.sys. You could format from 8k to anything higher with good performance. Performance will vary depending on how much caching is necessary and what is cached. The same is true of the Temporary Internet Files (used by IE) for caching of web page data or the caching directory used by the web browser you prefer. If you make the default block size too large, you will waste a lot of hd space, but decrease fragmentation and perhaps increase cache access read/write speed. you're right man:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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