HD reformat

[sourboy]

I want to reformat my comps harddrive.

The comp has a DVD drive and a CD-RW drive.

If I reformat, will the comp recognize either drive as CD compatible, allowing me to install windows off a CD?

I assume my steps are as follows:'

C:\format c:

D:\setup (assuming D: is the working CD-Rom)

 

[Phantom Lord]

You have to enable the CD ROM (or DVD) as boot device in the BIOS. The computer will then boot from CD and run the setup.

 

[sourboy]

how do I access the BIOS after reformatting?

 

[Jeratain]

Download a boot disk from www.bootdisk.com and create it.

The bootdisk (if you download and create the right one) will allow you to boot your computer with the floppy so that you can properly format your hard drive. Also, if the following step does not work, it will also boot CD drivers onto your virtual disk so you can access your CD ROM or DVD ROM if your BIOS can't detect it (depending on how new or old your mobo is).

When you reboot your computer, you should see something that reads "Press del to enter BIOS or CMOS setup" it may also say something other than delete, so keep your eye out for that. When you see that, press the button and go to the BIOS and go to basic setup. Don't touch any other settings other than the first boot device (aka boot order). Choose CDROM as your primary boot device, then save to your BIOS and exit. Put the bootable CD into your drive and then start your computer and it will ask you if you want to run the disk. The rest is pretty easy.

 

[Speedo]

Reboot and press delete during the startup system checks.

 

[Pongui]

Your motherboard can try booting from several different drives, in the sequence you set. The first one containing system files wins. Odds are it's now set to try the primary hard drive before any other drives. You'll see this when you bypass bootup by going into BIOS. If your CD and floppy drives are in the boot attempt list, you needn't change anything.

Once you've got a bootable drive C: up again, make sure BIOS checks that drive first. Otherwise, it'll waste time checking slow, empty drives, and the discs in them.