HELP! i have messed up the partitions on my computer and was half way through installing xp when my computer kept restartin. cause of this i cannot install any operating system or change my partitions. I have tried installin windows 98 because i know it automatically fixes partitions but i need a boot disk. any help please

Win 98 boot disks should be available at www.bootdisk.com

I can't think of a situation where you would not be able to wipe existing XP partitions, corrupted or not, and re-install your operating system because of what you describe. Something else is probably wrong. "...was half way through installing xp when my computer kept restartin..." If this is a desktop, failing power supplies are common and can cause that symptom, and others. Check your PS. See response 4 in this: http://www.computing.net/hardware/w... Windows Setup is quite sensitive to even tiny errors reading your ram. See response 2 in this - try cleaning the contacts on the ram modules. http://www.computing.net/hardware/w... If this is a laptop, you must remove both its main battery and AC adapter before you do that. Check your hard drive. See the latter part of response 1 in this: http://www.computing.net/windows95/... A Win 98 boot disk or Startup disk can't see or create NTFS partitions, but it's Fdisk can delete them (delete all partitions).

Just to clarify a few things... I have tried installin windows 98 because i know it automatically fixes partitions... To my knowledge Win 98SE doesn't automatically fix partitions as neither does XP. Partition problems usually require skilled user interactions. i_Xp/VistaUser

"...A Win 98 boot disk or Startup disk can't see or create NTFS partitions, but it's Fdisk can delete them (delete all partitions)..." Just a wee note to clarify re' the dos/'9x/ME/Fdisk util... Fdisk will not remove an ntfs partition is if it's in the Extended area of a drive; only if it's the Primary partition... An irritation that first became apparent with NT... Delpart.exe was M$ solution this limitation. (It became apparent as drive capacity increased...) DR-dos version of Fdisk is allegedly able to remove both varieties; as is allegedly Gdisk...?

tonyfaccini...... get yourself a WinME Boot Disc (or Win98), boot up into command prompt with it. At the A:\ prompt type in the command DEBUG you use this command at your own risk. I have used it a few times before and it works nicely :) ......it wiped EVERYTHING off the HDD, partitions and all. From that point you can then begin from scratch and load WinXp and create new partitions as necessary after you type debug command, you have a "-" (without quote marks) as your prompt. Then you type in several lines of code to be typed in EXACTLY as is on the bottom of the page of this link >>>>> http://www.fdisk.com/fdisk/HardDriv... you type in only the blue coloured lines in the lines of code, where you see spaces, you must type a space use at your own risk good luck with it :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQuJnnQuPWM&mode=user&search= Rob, Central Coast NSW Australia

http://www.killdisk.com Wipe the drive completely and start afresh using the Tools provided during the XP install...