Format C cannot run - volume is in use

Hi, I have encountered a problem with Format C, any help would be greatly appreciated.

This is what happened:
I entered "format c:"
the response was "format cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Format may run if this volume is dismounted first.ALL OPEN HANDLES TO THIS VOLUME WOULD THEN BE INVALID.would you like to force a dismount on this volume? (y/n)"
I entered "y"
the response was "cannot lock the drive . the volume is still in use"

I don't know what to do next , can anyone help?

 

Are you booting off of another drive/floppy disk/cd-rom?

If you're trying to run format c: from within windows, and windows is on the c drive..... it's not going to work.

Hi, thanks for your reply.
I working in the command prompt in windows XP.

I working in the command prompt in windows XP.

You need to boot from a floppy or CD.

But before you do that,   are you sure you want to/need to format the C: drive?       

I working in the command prompt in windows XP.

You need to boot from a floppy or CD.

But before you do that,   are you sure you want to/need to format the C: drive?       

agreed.  Do you really want to delete everything on your c: drive?

Yes I do.

Why do i need to boot from another disk, I've done this before (some time ago I'm afraid) a format c followed by an install from the product recovery CD worked a treat. But its all different this time (same computer & software)

How do I do it - should I go into the BIOS & tell it to boot from another drive (how do I identify the CD/DVD drive) What disc should I use.

Cheers

Yes I do.

Why do i need to boot from another disk, I've done this before (some time ago I'm afraid) a format c followed by an install from the product recovery CD worked a treat. But its all different this time (same computer & software)

How do I do it - should I go into the BIOS & tell it to boot from another drive (how do I identify the CD/DVD drive) What disc should I use.

Cheers

If you've done it before, it was by booting from either a floppy disk or a cd-rom (like your recovery cd).

You're going to have to do it the same way, because you cannot use the format function (which is on your c: drive) to wipe everything on the drive.

www.bootdisk.com is a good resource for free boot disks.

...
Why do i need to boot from another disk,

It is the way the software is designed.     I suppose the theory is that it might be a little more safe, if the os won't eat itself.

I've done this before (some time ago I'm afraid) a format c

When booted from the C: drive?
hmm...  It has been a while for me too,   that may have been back as far as DOS 5.0.    Even there, I'm not sure.

followed by an install from the product recovery CD worked a treat. But its all different this time (same computer & software)

Are you sure it is not possible that you were booted from that CD back then?     

How do I do it - should I go into the BIOS & tell it to boot from another drive

Yes.
More accurately,  you'll be telling it the order in which to attempt to boot.
Check out:
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000217.htm
and let us know if you need more than that.

(how do I identify the CD/DVD drive) What disc should I use.

I'm not familiar with the different nuances between a recovery CD and a full WinXP install CD.    Somebody else will answer that for you.     
I suspect that either will boot and allow you to format the hard drive.

But either way, you're going to need something, to be able to reinstall Windows after you format.

Have you got everything you need to reinstall?
Check out:
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000647.htm