how to run format

Hi and thank you for the information,

I want to run format /s on a single xp home partition.
I have created an ms dos start up floppy from instructions from Microsoft and added command.com to it.  When I enter command.com, then format it says "“bad command or file name”

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=313348

Microsoft gives instructions to completely format the entire hard drive. I need instructions to format only a single partition with  "format /s". This adds system files that are needed for boot.

Thank you very much for your help.

That is the Windows '98 way of doing things. Even ME doesn't accept the /s parameter.

With Windows XP you need the full six Home or Professional Bootdisks or use the XP CD to format the "entire" C: drive.

If the partition you want to format is NTFS then you could try doing a straight format to get it to FAT32 first of all.

Are you trying to install '98 as a dual boot with XP?

or the king of them all>http://www.majorgeeks.com/download2812.html

Hi and thank you very much for your help.

My goal is to do a recovery of an image
(using r drive-image)
of the system partition
(which was put on another partition on the same hd)
back to the original c: partition.

I have tried this and the system is unbootable.
I believe if I first format the original c: partition with format c: /s,  and make it active with fedisk or whatever,
from a ms dos start up floppy then do the recovery it will boot...

Thank you

 no using format c: /s>http://www.pcguide.com/proc/setup/hdd-c.html this command with delete all your files?do you have the drive image? burn it to disk using nero? if you wish to play there is this>http://www.partition-recovery.com/download.htm   and winxp does not use command.com win9x does..

Did you make a system disk whilst using the original install?

Did you try booting the system to the recovery console to effect a repair?

What went wrong with the R-Drive Image restore? (I use Terabyte Unlimited's Image for DOS, which I guess is similar, with a bootable Floppy or bootable CD-ROM)

You would normally use fdisk first to partition a drive, then set the Primary DOS drive (drive C: ) , active "A" , and only then re-boot the system to format the drive.

Using a '98 bootdisk will format the drive to FAT32.

Using the XP CD should allow you to format the C: drive  to NTFS on its own.

Was it formatted to NTFS originally?

Does the computer come with any restore CD(s)?

How many partitions do you have?

I made an image of the system partition using r drive-image to another partition on the same hd.

Using the r drive-image start up disk, I then copied the image back to the original c: partition to do a full system recovery.

When this finished all was gone. I could not boot the system.

I had to use the HP system recovery that came with the pc.  

I do not have a xp install cd from ms, the system came with the pc.

so if you have a recovery disk  copy and burn it as a back up  and make a  winxp boot floppy there is no need for an iso ...if you do this..unless you have not got a burner...are trying to do this >http://www.theeldergeek.com/slipstreamed_xpsp1_cd.htm

You can also format by using the Windows XP CD as a bootdisk and selecting the Windows Install option. It will prompt you to choose a partition or harddisk and grant you the option to format.

Hi again and thank you again,

The purpose of using the saved image is to have an exact copy of your customized system.  
All of the settings that you like, your desktop, and all the other settings that can take hours to set up originally will be saved.

Hp system recovery only offers a default system just like the one bought from the store - with all the advertisements and programs you do not want - and need to delete.

And I do not want to buy another HD. I have 120gig and I will problably never use it all to begin with.

That is why I want to have the saved image on the same HD and recover it back to the original c: partition or simply make the saved image active and boot from that...


Has anyone ever done this or heard of it being done?

Thank you very much for your help.

That is precisely what I do using TeraByte Image for DOS. I prefer to image the C: drive from DOS as it is not active and you get an error free image.

When all is installed and tuned and all personal settings, passwords, and software is installed and the system FULLY updated, I then check everything very thoroughly to ensure that it is virus and Trojan free, make three copies of the registry in that condition and then make TWO images.

One is burned to CDRs and the other is made to drive E: so that it there are any major updates or other changes I can keep a running copy until, about every four months I make another set of CDs.

I find that I can restore the C: drive after formatting from the E: drive using the TeraByte Image for DOS bootdiskette, just that it is safer to have a reliable image on CDRs and OFF the HDD in case of total drive failure.

Sure enough, and only two weeks ago, heavy clicking followed by ... nothing.  The 60Gb Quantum Fireballp (2Mb drive-cache) had failed totally.

So I put in this 80Gb Maxtor Diamondmax with an 8Mb disk-cache, fdisked, formatted the four drives and re-installed the full install of the C: drive with no problem at all.

As yet the old drive proves to be unrecoverable so it'll need to go to a professional with special equipment to run the platters on a rig.

As this is a Packard-Bell OEM computer, or rather was, I now don't have to use their TATTOO or use the hidden sector, so I get the full drive size.

The downside is that I now cannot use the original Smart-Restore Master CDs unless I wipe the drive, kill the boot sector, and TATTOO the drive to the original Packard-Bell specification, then fdisk, partition and format the four drives all over again.

Hi Mac,
Thank you very much for your help with my pc project of having a fully customized xp home system partition image saved and then being able to restore it back to the original c: system paritition and of course boot off of it successfully.

If you would be so kind, I have some other questions about your reply to me on The computer hope forum:

You wrote:
"I find that I can restore the C: drive after formatting from the E: drive using the TeraByte Image for DOS bootdiskette, just that it is safer to have a reliable image on CDRs and OFF the HDD in case of total drive failure."

My question:
Before you restore the saved image of the c: drive back to the original partition do you format it first with format /s? Isn't the original format /s still on the partition?

Can't a restored image just be written back to the original paritition and have it still be formatted with the /s switch and remain active? How does a restore change these settings?

Thank you very much for your reply. Please email me with your answer.
Have a great day.

Hi Mac, is this the url for the Terrabyte Image for Dos you mentioned?

http://www.btsoftware.com/products/imaged.htm

Hi Mac, is this the url for the Terrabyte Image for Dos you mentioned?

http://www.btsoftware.com/products/imaged.htm

I was using their homepage, but the URL you have is a good one for people to see the pricing, which I find to be very reasonable.

So thank you for that one. I can now price things in GBP and Euros too!

Home Page http://www.terabyteunlimited.com

Pricing http://www.btsoftware.com/products/imaged.htm

Hi Mac,
 Thank you very much for your help with my pc project of having a fully customized XP Home system partition image saved and then being able to restore it back to the original c: system paritition and of course boot off of it successfully.

If you would be so kind, I have some other questions about your reply to me on the Computer Hope forum:

You wrote:
"I find that I can restore the C: drive after formatting,  from the E: drive using the TeraByte Image for DOS bootdiskette, just that it is safer to have a reliable image on CDRs and OFF the HDD in case of total drive failure."

My question:
Before you restore the saved image of the C: drive back to the original partition do you format it first with format /s? Isn't the original format /s still on the partition?

Can't a restored image just be written back to the original paritition and have it still be formatted with the /s switch and remain active? How does a restore change these settings?

Thank you very much for your reply. Please email me with your answer.
Have a great day.

Better to say:

"I find that I can restore the C: drive from the E: drive (or from the CDRs) using the TeraByte Image for DOS bootdiskette, after formatting the C: drive (from DOS using the Windows Start-Up bootdiskette, or by putting format onto the Terabyte bootdiskette) (or in your case from the XP CD), just that it is safer to have a reliable image on CDRs and OFF the HDD in case of total drive failure."

Format /s is used for Windows '98, ME won't accept the /s switch and I don't see it being used with XP as you either boot directly to the CD or use the 6 floppy disk set.

I would stick to booting to the XP CD and re-format the C: drive. When this is completed re-boot to the Terabyte bootdisk and restore the image from the E: drive (in my case) or from the CDRs.

You cannot format a C: drive from the same hard drive, so it HAS to be formatted either from the A: drive (using a floppy) or from a CD-ROM drive (using the XP CD)

On the same hard drive you CAN format drives D: , E: & F: plus any drives on a second hard drive (slave drive) G: H: , I: & J: from the C: drive.

Better to say:

after formatting the C: drive (from DOS using the Windows Start-Up bootdiskette, or by putting format onto the Terabyte bootdiskette) (or in your case from the XP CD),

Format /s is used for Windows '98, ME won't accept the /s switch and I don't see it being used with XP as you either boot directly to the CD or use the 6 floppy disk set.

I would stick to booting to the XP CD and re-format the C: drive.

You cannot format a C: drive from the same hard drive, so it HAS to be formatted either from the A: drive (using a floppy) or from a CD-ROM drive (using the XP CD)


Mac,

What exactly is the Windows start up bootdiskette?
I created one from instructions from microsoft for xp home and I cannot get format to run.

I do not have an xp install cd because the system came preloaded when I bought it.

What exactly is the format you put on the Terrabyte boot diskette? Is it format.com that you get from xp home i386 folder?

And you just format c: and that's it? It will just format the c: partition and leave the others alone correct? And you do not use the /s switch?

http://old.bink.nu/xpbootcd/

Better to say:

after formatting the C: drive (from DOS using the Windows Start-Up bootdiskette, or by putting format onto the Terabyte bootdiskette) (or in your case from the XP CD),

Format /s is used for Windows '98, ME won't accept the /s switch and I don't see it being used with XP as you either boot directly to the CD or use the 6 floppy disk set.

I would stick to booting to the XP CD and re-format the C: drive.

You cannot format a C: drive from the same hard drive, so it HAS to be formatted either from the A: drive (using a floppy) or from a CD-ROM drive (using the XP CD)

 
Mac,

What exactly is the Windows start up bootdiskette?
I created one from instructions from microsoft for xp home and I cannot get format to run.

>>>> You need these SIX boot/setup diskettes for XP Home. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e8fe6868-6e4f-471c-b455-bd5afee126d8&displaylang=en

I do not have an xp install cd because the system came preloaded when I bought it.

>>>> W-hat is the make and model of your computer? Does it have a recovery, restore or smart-restore from a hidden partition, like Packard-Bell for example?

What exactly is the format you put on the Terrabyte boot diskette? Is it format.com that you get from xp home i386 folder?

>>>> I just use format.com

And you just format c: and that's it? It will just format the c: partition and leave the others alone correct? And you do not use the /s switch?

If you command is format c: then it won't touch the other drive partitions on the same physical drive.

My system won't let me use the format /s switch.

Read these instructions carefully from, "If you are using ... "

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=313348#appliesto

And get your six bootdisk set from here

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e8fe6868-6e4f-471c-b455-bd5afee126d8&displaylang=en

When the C: drive has been formatted you should then be able to revert to your imaging program and restore drive C:

Hi,

When I use the six xp diskettes, it ask's for the xp install cd which I do not have. I cannot use the 6 xp diskette's. The xp system I have came on the HP Pavillion pc I bought.

When I copy format.com to the diskette I made from:

start - my computer - a: drive - format - "create an ms dos startup disk"

and enter format it says "bad command or file name" or "incorrect ms dos version"

When I go into the command line on xp and enter format it brings it up successfully.

Help!