reformatting my hard drive please help

[reaction]

ok...im probably gonna get flamed like crazy but i have no clue how to format my hard drive, could someone point me in the right direction plz, and this sounds even stupider, but does all your data/files get erased when ur reformat? the reason im doing this is an attempt to get my 9500 pro to work, ive tried all other options (uninstalling ALL traces of my nvidia drivers, disabling fast writes, etc.), any help would be appreciated.

 

[thehunter1320]

u can do 1 of 2 things

reformat it thru DOS
reformat it through the windows installer (best option)

(b4 i go further, yes it erases eveything)

pop in ur windows disk, restart your computer, and just follow the instructions, come back if u need more help

 

[reaction]

don't i need to create boot disks?

 

[Sgt.Igneri]

Yes you do need a boot disc. You can also back up the files you dont want gone.

 

[reaction]

ok this is what im gonna do:

backup all my files (which im doing right now)
create 4? boot disks for windows xp according to

http://pcsupport.about.com/library/weekly/aa082602a.htm

insert my windows xp cd
restart and then just follow instructions?

 

[reaction]

ehhh i just realized i have the upgrade edition of windows xp home edition, so should i reformat to windows me, then upgrade to xp?

 

[Sgt.Igneri]

Yes.

 

[Asus]

No. I have a upgrade version of 98 and it asks you to put in a lower version of windows (95) to verify you actually are upgrading. Installing Win Me would cause way too many problems anyway.
If you have WinXP cd...you can boot to the CD without boot floppy disks.
Those intructions he mentioned are there when you boot from CD.

 

[reaction]

alright, im already confused and i know you're probably saying to yourself "wtf is this guy retarded", but ok im gonna ask anyway:

1. reinstalling using my windows ME cd is the SAME as reformatting?
2. if thats not the case, am i supposed to format my hard drive, then install windows ME?
3. even though i have the windows ME installation cd, i still have to create a boot disk?

"If you have Win98, ME or XP, create a Startup disk. These disks will load CD-ROM drivers at the boot. If you are using Windows 95, you will need to create a bootable disk and add the CD-ROM drivers for your CD-ROM.
Note: If your computer system came with a "Restore Disk" from the manufacturer, use it instead. The information on that disk should have everything you will need to repartition, format and reload software to its original condition."

thats from http://pcsupport.about.com/library/weekly/aa082602a.htm

sorry again if my questions seem retorical or dumb, im really new to this stuff.

 

[Tork]

well this is how I use to do it before the bootable CD's came out.

Get a bootdisk from www.bootdisk.com

load it up type fdisk and delete partition and create , reboot with bootdisk and type Format C: /s

 

[reaction]

so if i have the windows xp home edition upgrade cd, i can just boot from that?

 

[WiredShock]

restart your comp and hold down ctrl, or it might be f8 on your comp. It actually matters when you press ctrl you can press it too early etc.. Then you come to an options screen choose command promt only.

Then type ' format c:'
without the ' and thats it.

 

[reaction]

OMG i did it lol, thank you all for your patience and help, AND my 9500 Pro works without any errors!!!!!!!