disk c format error - help!

kinaldo · 24-01-2007 12:21pm #1

I'm trying to wipe my old laptop and give it to a friend but the error below keeps coming up despite all windows being closed and nothing running in the background.

The laptop is in bits, it's a Dell Inspiron 8200 I got about 5 years ago and it doesn't even start up properly anymore - I have to press F1 at the start then when it loads Windows up some Microsoft program tries to install itself and it takes about 10 minutes to settle down. Even the screen is flickering so I really can't wait to get rid of it! Having said that if I could only format it the thing might be of use to someone.

Also, I don't have a Windows XP cd (I don't remember getting one with it), just a Dell Drivers and Utilities cd "For reinstalling Dell Inspiron 8200 System Software". Will that be sufficient if I manage to overcome this annoying format error?

Any help is much appreciated, thanks!

forbairt · 24-01-2007 12:23pm

I'm going to make a guess here ... that you are running windows and trying to format ... where windows is running ... (maybe I misread the post) ?

kinaldo · 24-01-2007 12:31pm

forbairt wrote:

I'm going to make a guess here ... that you are running windows and trying to format ... where windows is running ... (maybe I misread the post) ?

I'm not too sure what you mean. I right click on the c drive and select format, close all windows, proceed, then error comes up. How would I format without running Windows?

Tom Dunne · 24-01-2007 12:40pm

Think about it - by formatting the C: drive, you are essentially loading a program to carry out the formatting. This program is stored on the C: drive, so you are trying to wipe out what you are trying to load.

Same goes for Windows itself - Windows is running the format program, Windows is also stored on the C: drive. So you are trying to wipe what you are trying to run.

kinaldo · 24-01-2007 12:44pm

tom dunne wrote:

Think about it - by formatting the C: drive, you are essentially loading a program to carry out the formatting. This program is stored on the C: drive, so you are trying to wipe out what you are trying to load.

Same goes for Windows itself - Windows is running the format program, Windows is also stored on the C: drive. So you are trying to wipe what you are trying to run.

Yeah makes sense, how do I go about formatting then? Bare in mind I've never done this before and don't know much about computers.

forbairt · 24-01-2007 12:53pm

What are your reasons for formatting ..

You've had sensitive information on it ?

Do you have an operating system to install on it ? If you're wiping XP ? from it what are you going to give to your friend with it ?

Sounds like you could be a little bit in over your head with it ... but could be good to learn anyways ...

Edit: .. ah the machine is forked ...

Hmm... you will need an operating system to install on this ...
Formatting your C: drive ... is going to WIPE your machine of everything .. this includes Windows XP that you are running ...

Easiest option is .. get yourself an XP Install CD ... this will give you the option to format the drive when you start.

Also by giving this laptop to your friend ... you are becoming "dell support technician" for them when things go wrong ..

Hagar · 24-01-2007 12:56pm

Put the utilities CD in and re-boot. It will probably give a list of options including reformat.

forbairt · 24-01-2007 12:58pm

Hagar wrote:

Put the utilities CD in and re-boot. It will probably give a list of options including reformat.

Will the utilities disk contain the operating system ? ... is it contained on another partition ?

kinaldo · 24-01-2007 12:59pm

forbairt wrote:

What are your reasons for formatting ..

You've had sensitive information on it ?

Do you have an operating system to install on it ? If you're wiping XP ? from it what are you going to give to your friend with it ?

Sounds like you could be a little bit in over your head with it ... but could be good to learn anyways ...

I thought this was pretty standard stuff that people do frequently to rid themselves of errors, virusus and malware, or am I thinking of a Windows re-install (is there a difference)??

As I said I don't think they supplied me with a Windows cd but having read this I'm not too worried about that.

astrofool · 24-01-2007 1:01pm

Think of it as a road runner cartoon, where you're on a branch on a tree and you're cutting the branch off the tree (of course in the coyote's case the branch stayed still while the entire tree fell over instead

)

http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2002-07.html

Hagar · 24-01-2007 1:02pm

The is usually a "straight from factory" image on a hidden partition. The utilities disk rewrites this over your current partition giving you a clean install of Windows. Just check afterwards for personal information.

kinaldo · 24-01-2007 1:34pm

Hagar wrote:

Put the utilities CD in and re-boot. It will probably give a list of options including reformat.

Ok I tried that but Windows XP loads up. When I ran the cd it didn't prompt me to do anything and I've know idea what to do with it.

aidan_walsh · 24-01-2007 1:40pm

Did you get a Dell CD, probably blue if its XP original, or XPSP1, or green if XPSP2 called a Restore CD? If so, use that one. It will reinstall Windows, and formatting the drive is one of the things Windows does during the install.

Edit: Sorry, just saw in your OP that you don't. However, if you call Dell technical support you should be able to request one. You will need to have your service tag to hand.

forbairt · 24-01-2007 1:46pm

Also ... make sure you have your little XP sticker with the serial number on it .. handy (I assume you'll need this for a reinstall)

kinaldo · 24-01-2007 1:49pm

aidan_walsh wrote:

Did you get a Dell CD, probably blue if its XP original, or XPSP1, or green if XPSP2 called a Restore CD? If so, use that one. It will reinstall Windows, and formatting the drive is one of the things Windows does during the install.

The cd is blue alright. The exact wording on it is

Drivers and Utilities
ALREADY INSTALLED ON YOUR COMPUTER
System Software
For Reinstalling Dell Inspiron 8200 System Software

Contents
.Support Software
.Device Drivers
.Diagnostics and Utilities
.Online Documentation

The screenshot in my above post is what comes up when I load the cd.

Hagar · 24-01-2007 1:51pm

You will need to check the "Boot From" sequence in the Bios. Reboot and press F2 to enter the startup menu. Set the first bootable device to CD-Rom and the second to HDD. Press F10 to save and exit. If you don't do this it will keep booting from Windows on the hard disk drive. Reboot. You may need to navigate to diagnostics on the Utility disc and restore from there. I'm not sure of the menu on that particular disk.

aidan_walsh · 24-01-2007 1:58pm

kinaldo wrote:

The cd is blue alright. The exact wording on it is

The screenshot in my above post is what comes up when I load the cd.

Thats not a Windows restoration CD. The disk would be clearly marked as Windows.

kinaldo · 24-01-2007 2:26pm

Hagar wrote:

You will need to check the "Boot From" sequence in the Bios. Reboot and press F2 to enter the startup menu. Set the first bootable device to CD-Rom and the second to HDD. Press F10 to save and exit. If you don't do this it will keep booting from Windows on the hard disk drive. Reboot. You may need to navigate to diagnostics on the Utility disc and restore from there. I'm not sure of the menu on that particular disk.

Ok this is gonna sound strange but I'm slightly lost in the startup menu having pressed F2. As I mentioned in the op, the screen is prone to flickering, and with certain texts and backgrounds this can become intense. Whilst I can make out a few words on the black screen it mostly comprises of flickering Rs. Is there someway someone can give me the exact co-ordinates for changing the settings?

Tom Dunne · 24-01-2007 2:43pm

kinaldo - that's a driver and recovery CD, it's no good to you. It has drivers for printers and sound cards, you will not be able to boot from it.

What you are looking for is a Windows recovery CD.

kinaldo · 24-01-2007 3:30pm

Just talked to Dell Support which was pretty good btw, anyway they can't send me a new XP cd because they did in fact already give me one - probably not much use to me anyway as I'm leaving the country on Tuesday. They said my only option was to buy another one but I asked if it's possible to use someone else's XP cd and they said it's not recommended and actually illegal but should work okay since I'm a registered Windows user already.

aidan_walsh · 24-01-2007 3:33pm

For your serial number to work it would have to be the same style Dell OEM cd. A regular Windows cd won't work.

SlyRax · 24-01-2007 3:36pm

kinaldo wrote:

Just talked to Dell Support which was pretty good btw, anyway they can't send me a new XP cd because they did in fact already give me one - probably not much use to me anyway as I'm leaving the country on Tuesday. They said my only option was to buy another one but I asked if it's possible to use someone else's XP cd and they said it's not recommended and actually illegal but should work okay since I'm a registered Windows user already.

You can definitely use another xp cd (has to be a dell one not a HP one etc) I've done it twic this week on 2 seperate PCs. Or you could of course download one on torrent or somewhere else I wouldn't count that as piracy as you already have it and aren't installing any new software or using a new key.

disk c format error - help!

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