We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide

Format C: drive and start again?

WHA
WHA Posts: 1,359 Forumite
Previously, when using Windows 98, I've been able to reformat the C: drive and reload windows and other programs whenever I've wanted to clear down a PC and use it for something else.

I've been trying for ages to do the same with a PC running under Windows XP.

I get "format cannot run because the volume is in use by another process" then "would you like to force a dismount on this volume <Y/N>. When I type Y, I get "cannot lock the drive. The volume is still in use,"

To my knowledge I've done nothing special to the C drive, I've not knowingly partitioned it.

Any ideas please?

Comments

  • millwalll
    millwalll Posts: 912 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    the only way i know to forat a c drive it useing boot disk and doing it that way
    Hi, we’ve had to remove your signature. If you’re not sure why please read the forum rules or email the forum team if you’re still unsure - MSE ForumTeam
  • Chippy_Minton
    Chippy_Minton Posts: 3,339 Forumite
    You can't format the C: drive within Windows. You have to set your BIOS to boot from the CD drive, then boot from the XP installation CD and format it as part of reinstalling Windows or run Recovery Console - fdisk, format. Note you'll lose all data on it.
  • HARDM2000
    HARDM2000 Posts: 112 Forumite
    Quick and easy solution for this is killdisk download the free app run it and it will format the drive, can be run from within windows or from boot from cd rom. Download from killdisk.com.
    Thanks

    Ben
  • Make sure you back up anything you want to keep first
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 353.8K Banking & Borrowing
  • 254.3K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 455.2K Spending & Discounts
  • 246.9K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 603.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 178.2K Life & Family
  • 260.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.