xs1 Posted September 1, 2005 CID Share Posted September 1, 2005 Ok guys, need some assistance. I must be getting rusty now-a-days, but i forgot how to format... lmao. When i put in the windows disk i have ( have 2 seperate versions ) 1 says the OS instaled is newer then the one im trying to install. So it wont do it. The second one wants to instal windows, but i cant find the %*#$ key for it, and no the other key wont work. When i try to put in the working disk and reboot, it wont boot. normally id just stick in the disk, and delete the partition and reinstall windows fully....but the mufuka wont boot... just goes to the desktop and boots... saying its older then my current installed OS. The reason im formatting is because of having only half my programs work, only half have sound, not to mention IE doesnt work anymore either... just opens into 2 seperate IE windows which use 99% processor usage and dissappear. Its just about time i formatted anyhow. So my question is how could i go about doing this...since my damn disk wont boot and the second one missing the key. Please no comments about how to look for a warez key, i just wanna know how to format the C: drive. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmer Posted September 1, 2005 CID Share Posted September 1, 2005 What os are you trying to install? If you lost your key you are pretty much out of luck.. You can call MS and see if they can get you another one.. but I doubt it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptors892004 Posted September 1, 2005 CID Share Posted September 1, 2005 When you pop in the boot diskette before system boot, type help and you can read the help file.. It has a section about the format tool which is on the floppy.. You could format a partition with it or even delete the file system on the whole hard drive and the partitions and then the next time you install windows, the setup will reformat your hdd for you (create C:) and create the file system (ntfs for XP) .. I don't remember the commands, so that's why I'm using the help file.. EDIT: I don't think Microsoft could help you if you lost your key and purchased the windows os from a retailer (if that's what you did..) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmer Posted September 1, 2005 CID Share Posted September 1, 2005 Yeah I know what you mean about MS.. they will replace Office keys.. I have had to do that before.. mine came up as stolen.. so I had to call into ms.. Big pain.. but that is alright.. we got it working.. Yah FDisk is an option..or you could create a dual boot with Partition magic and then install the new os on the new partition.. then delete the old one.. Fdisk is kinda risky if you dont know what you are doing.. I would not recommend this to someone who doesnt know what they are doing.. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q255867 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptors892004 Posted September 1, 2005 CID Share Posted September 1, 2005 I didn't know what FDISK was, except that it would delete my whole hdd (including file system).. Then I did a full conversion of my hdd with the OS installer and it took me close to an hour to convert a 80GB hdd to ntfs.. .. But it works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netmasta Posted September 2, 2005 CID Share Posted September 2, 2005 FDISK is a simple DOS program that is used to format a drive. You can also restore the MBR (Master Boot Record) with FDISK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elite.Pete Posted September 2, 2005 CID Share Posted September 2, 2005 i suggest using the ultimate boot cd. you can find the iso via google and burn it to cd. it has some good formatting utilities very easy to use and efficient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptors892004 Posted September 2, 2005 CID Share Posted September 2, 2005 I have a BartPE compilation.. It makes a boot cd too, but you can include various other programs such as spyware, antivirus (virus scan) and file management programs on it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elite.Pete Posted September 2, 2005 CID Share Posted September 2, 2005 BartPE is quite good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptors892004 Posted September 2, 2005 CID Share Posted September 2, 2005 BartPE is quite good. True, but its quite different from the ultimate boot cd, cuz BartPE creates a 'bootable windows' (GUI) environment, instead of the dos one that ubcd has.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elite.Pete Posted September 2, 2005 CID Share Posted September 2, 2005 UBCD has saved me from many bad linux installs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptors892004 Posted September 2, 2005 CID Share Posted September 2, 2005 I just downloaded the Basic version of ubcd (a.k.a. Windows ubcd) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts