format XP help pls ASAP

[axaxa]

hello.. i just have a question about formatting my
pc.. it's on windows xp.. how do i format windows xp
without windows XP CD? i dont have windows XP CD
and my recovery CD for this pc is corrupted and
damaged so it doesnt work anymore. i only have windows
2000 pro as alternative. since i dont have windows xp, i want
to install windows 2k instead of XP, but my problem is,
how can i format it without XP CD? thanks..

 

[ShoobieRat]

First off, WHY do you want to reformat?

Second, I'd suggest finding that XP disk.

 

[axaxa]

because my pc right now doesnt work. my windows xp is corrupted and damaged. i cannot go to the windows desktop.. it always say "NO OPERATING SYSTEM FOUND"

 

[axaxa]

i dont have windows xp CD. my windows xp OS is in my recovery cd but my recovery cd doesnt work either, since it's also corrupted and damaged.. that's why im just trying to format it and install win2k instead.. but i dont know how to format XP without XP cd..

 

[GameGURU]

um...you cant if it is not on a disk. Then you are out of luck.

 

[xotix]

1) - ask someone to make a boot disk for you. when you get the disk delete the partition, recreate and format it.

2) - if you have the windows 2k cd, boot from it and reinstall it, before the installation begins its going to ask you which partition you would like it to be reinstalled on, just tell it to format the new partition using ntfs.

either options should be alright.

 

[ShoobieRat]

As far as the recovery CD goes, if you damaged it physically, then that's another example of why recovery CDs should be taken care of. They -just might- be valuable.

Second, since XP doesn't boot from within DOS like older versions of Windows, your options are limited. If everything was working on the drive beforehand, and now it's giving you an error, then the HD is corrupt. The best way to solve that (if it's possible at all, depending on the damage) is to make that HD a slave to another drive. Like, use another computer or get a clean HD and installed Windows on that, then connect to the old corrupted HD and let Windows straighten things out (if it can).

Otherwise, yer fudged.

How in the heck did you get to this point? Were you playing around with the boot sectors or Windows registry?

 

[Lone Wolf]

If everything was working on the drive beforehand, and now it's giving you an error, then the HD is corrupt.

No, that is not always the case 100% of the time.

The message error he's getting is: "NO OPERATING SYSTEM FOUND". That suggests to me possibly a) a critical key of the windows registry is hosed b) a system file has become corrupt or c) GUI loading file is corrupt or d) a virus. It all depends on what he was doing before the problems began.

Axaxa, w/out the XP CD, your options are limited. Is the drive or partition formatted as NTFS or FAT32? If it's FAT32, you can atleast boot up to the DOS prompt with a Win98 boot diskette and use the format command.

 

[axaxa]

it's NTFS...the recovery cd is not physically damaged.. just damaged files and corrupted.. oh men.. how did microsoft made XP complicated not like windows 98..

 

[axaxa]

it's NTFS...the recovery cd is not physically damaged.. just damaged files and corrupted.. oh men.. how did microsoft made XP complicated not like windows 98..