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When i try and format my hard drive after using the Bootdisk, it will say Invalid drive specifcation when i type
format C: or format C:/s
I dont know whyy its doing this as all i want to do is wipe the slate clean and re-install windows xp.
I also have problems when i try and format the drive in the windows xp setup, after it get to 100% it will say "unable to verify drive C:, you may not have enough memory"
Please please help me, its driving me mad!
REGARDS
Ron
What boot disk are you using?
IN THE MATTERS OF STYLE,
swim with the current;
in matters of principle,
STAND LIKE A ROCK
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howdy: the Computer is unable to find a hard drive or a floppy that setup tells it to expect.
the hard drive may have a corrupted partition table and that,s why you are getting the invalid drive secification
Peace & bon Courage..
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If you are trying to wipe the drive using DOS then one would expect you to also have a regular installation disc to reinstall with.
So why not use the xp installation disc to format for you.
Or go to the HDD manufacturer and download their utillity disc as it would be a much better way of wiping the drive and then preparing it to be formated and then format for you.
It will also supply you with the answer to maybe having a bad hdd also.
IN THE MATTERS OF STYLE,
swim with the current;
in matters of principle,
STAND LIKE A ROCK
Visit Computer Vitals For A Pleasant Surprise
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Any chance your Xp is installed in an NTFS partition? If so then your 98 bootdisk and fdisk cannot recognize it.
I used to have a signature but it disappeared and I just couldn't be bothered writing another so please feel free to ingore this.
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Check this out about Corrupted HDD partition table:
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/Default.asp?url=/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prkd_tro_ldau.aspPs:there is also Utilities Called:
Partition Table Doctor 3.0
Cheers..
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Hi - I dont think the HDD has bad sectors however ive tried to format it into ntfs in the windows setup and it just wont work - gives me an error message.
My bios recognises the drive...
ill keep on trying but if you have any ideas then you'l be on my christmas card list for sure!
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Google for DELPART.exe
Load it onto a bootfloppy and use it to delete all partitions on the drive. Then boot up with your XP CD and use it to partition and format.I used to have a signature but it disappeared and I just couldn't be bothered writing another so please feel free to ingore this.
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If you have a bootable CD (or can make one using Nero and a boot.image) then yes you can put delpart.exe onto it.
I used to have a signature but it disappeared and I just couldn't be bothered writing another so please feel free to ingore this.
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okay, tried that and still no joy.. it just deletes the partition and says its empty.
i also changed my cmos to reset, but no joy!arghhh
any more suggestions?
thanks
#aaron
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Use the drive manufacturers' low-level format utility.
Please let us know if you found someone's advice to be helpful.
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Hi aarongroves103, hello everyone,
The error, "setup was unable to verify drive c:" is caused by one of the following;
The motherboard of your computer may not be compatible with Windows XP.
The BIOS of your computer may not be compatible with Windows XP.
The hard disk you are installing to may be damaged.
The Windows XP Setup CD may be damaged.
Since WinXp was previously installed you either have a damaged hard drive or a damaged CD.
For more info see this link
.As mentioned by lurkswithin earlier, you need to determine the manufacture of the drive and download their utility disk.
Delpart will delete the partitions but will not create a new one. After running Delpart you would need to use Fdisk to create a new primary partition and set it as active.
Fdisk.exe on a Win98 bootdisk is limited to 64GB. There is a later version you can download for disk larger than 64GB but I suggest you first determine the status of the drive using the manufactures utility.
Post back with the manufacture of the drive if you need help locating the utility.
Best Regards,
Mesich
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Hello everyone,
smartypants,
I'm curious as to what "load of rubbish", you are referring too.
Best Regards,
Mesich
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this suggestion is IMO
Or go to the HDD manufacturer and download their utillity disc as it would be a much better way of wiping the drive and then preparing it to be formated and then format for you.
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Hello everyone,
smartypants,
There was a couple of others that also suggested using the HDD manufactures utility, including myself.
I made the suggestion because WinXp was unable to format the drive and returned and error indicating prossible hard drive damage.
Win98 format.exe was also unable to format the drive. Although this could be because it was previously partitioned as an NTFS file system, using DELPART will remove any NTFS partition. One could then use Win98 FDISK to create a new Primary partition using the FAT32 file system and then Win98 format.exe.
I highly doubt the above would work as the drive could not be formated using a newer version of the Windows format utility provided with WinXp.
The drive utilities provided by the manufacture are much more powerful than that of Windows. They also do not have the limitations that come with the Win98 or WinXp utilities.
Best Regards,
Mesich
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Hi - okay, i bought a new drive to test this out and so far no joy. Get exactly the same messages. Ive used the manufactures utility software and still no joy...
Could it be anything to do with the ram or the Cmos?
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Hello everyone,
Hi aarongroves103,
Was you able to partition and format the drive using the manufactures utility?
Who is the manufacture of the drive and what is the model number?
How is the drive connected to the computer? Is it on a cable by itself or does it share a cable with another device?
Who is the manufacture of the computer and the model number? I ask because I would like to look up the setup within the BIOS.
Best Regards,
Mesich
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