Member Avatar for smartdetect

Hey can any one tell me how can i format the drive containing the win xp ,
bcasue u cannot go in pure DOS mode , and in the safe mode cmd promt it says
'some files r used, cannnot format.... 'what 2 do ??

-sandeep

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Several replies rightly point out that Windows cannot format its own running system partition — see contributions from , and — and correctly notes older Win98-style boot disks don’t handle NTFS. The short checklist below expands those suggestions with practical, safe steps and troubleshooting notes so the task can be completed cleanly and with minimal risk.

  1. Back up all personal data to removable media. Export mail stores, browser bookmarks, the Desktop and My Documents folders. Record the Windows product key (COA sticker on many OEM PCs) and save driver installers.
  2. Physically disconnect any secondary drives if possible to avoid formatting the wrong disk.
  3. Boot the machine from external media (Windows XP setup, a Windows PE / recovery CD, or a bootable partition tool that understands NTFS). Make sure BIOS/boot-menu is set to the chosen device.
  4. During setup use the advanced/custom install options to delete the old Windows partition, create a new one and format it as NTFS. Choose a Full format if the disk is suspected faulty; Quick format is faster but leaves file remnants recoverable.
  5. If the installer does not see the drive because of a SATA/RAID controller, switch the controller to IDE/Compatibility mode in BIOS or load the correct mass‑storage driver via F6 during XP setup (floppy).
  6. After install, restore drivers and data, then apply updates.

Troubleshooting notes: the “files are in use / cannot format” message simply means the partition is mounted by the running OS — formatting requires booting from other media. If the goal is resizing without wiping, use a modern bootable partition manager that supports NTFS (commercial or free). For secure disposal, overwrite the whole disk with a dedicated disk‑wiping tool rather than relying on a simple format. This expands on the points made by , and while addressing common pitfalls not covered in the original replies.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for dlh6213

This should help:

Member Avatar for antioed

Hey can any one tell me how can i format the drive containing the win xp ,
bcasue u cannot go in pure DOS mode , and in the safe mode cmd promt it says
'some files r used, cannnot format.... 'what 2 do ??

-sandeep

You would need a bootdisk to do this...you can boot from your XP CD and then during setup you will get the options for formatting.

Are you trying to keep the current install of XP? If so then you won't be able to do anything with the partition using fdisk without losing data. You can resize the partition and then create a new partition with the free space but you would need some program capable of resizing partitions like Partition Magic.

If you are simply trying to setup a fresh install of Windows XP then boot from the Windows XP CD and during setup you will get the option to delete the existing partition(s). Once you have deleted the existing partition the next step is to format...you should be able to make the partition whatever size you want...if you want to have a data drive or something then during setup just format however much space you want for the OS and finish the install and then once you get into Windows you'll be able to format the rest of the free space and it will show up as another drive that you can use to store your data in case you want to reinstall OS again you won't lose all your data since it will be on a different partition on the same drive. You'll probably want to choose NTFS as the filesystem...good luck.

Member Avatar for abbasmj

Use Partition Magic to delete or reformat the partition

Member Avatar for Kinseeker69

Hey can any one tell me how can i format the drive containing the win xp ,
bcasue u cannot go in pure DOS mode , and in the safe mode cmd promt it says
'some files r used, cannnot format.... 'what 2 do ??

-sandeep

You can either use the XP CD to format the drive or use a WIN98 boot disk

Member Avatar for felgall

You can only use a Win98 boot disk if your partition is FAT32 because Win98 doesn't recognise NTFS.

Member Avatar for buddyb

You can either use the XP CD to format the drive or use a WIN98 boot disk

That didn't work for me because of the NTFS I presume :) .
BuddyB

Member Avatar for firoz

I have windows xp home and my pc is very slow and it always giving not responding error

Member Avatar for goldeagle2005

I have windows xp home and my pc is very slow and it always giving not responding error

We need more info to help you out. Also, start a new thread for your queries.

Member Avatar for DMR

Due to the fact that the member who originally started this thread has not responded in almost 2 years, this thread is considered abandoned and has been closed.

In accordance with our posting rules, other members having similar questions or problems need to start their own threads and post their questions there.
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