need to reformatt c drive

[mizzfire]

ofcousre i have forgotten how to do this.I was hoping to get help here once again.I have had 2 back surgeries and during my getting better stages some let a worm into my hard drive.now dell and aol said i need to reformatt but would not or for some could not!!!!!!!! now i was hoping some of you great people couls refresh my memory on this mattter.

mizzfire

[tb525]

Hi mizzfire, See this tutorial for formatting:

http://www.cybertechhelp.com/html/tu...rial.php/id/38

And this one for installing Windows:

http://www.cybertechhelp.com/html/tu...rial.php/id/39

Maybe there is no need to re-install, what virus are you infected with?

[cody580]

Format Hdd

http://www.mirrors.org/archived_sof...om/original.htm

dnload boot disk here



to format dnload a Windows ME OEM to your desk top it will be a self extracting file format a floppy disk put it in your a drive double click on the self extractor it will copy to the floppy /next on the machine you want to format / with the computer turned off/put the boot disk you just made in your a drive/turn the power on/at theA:/(type in)format cwith a space between format and c

WARNING: Make sure you have backed up your hard drive before formatting it all your data will be lost
To format the C drive type “FORMAT C:” no quotes
To format the D drive type “FORMAT D:”
To format the E drive type “FORMAT E:”
Etc etc
1.You will then be warned about loosing data, and asked if you want to proceed. Hit Y to proceed, hit N to cancel.
2.Once it goes through the format, you will be prompted for a volume label (up to 11 characters). Hit enter for none or after putting your volume label in hit enter.
Format Another (Y/N)?N
If you have another drive to format (type Y)
If you do not Accept N

If you are through key ctrl + alt + delete to shut your machine down hit the on/off button it is alright to do that in dos

NOTE: IF IN THE MIDDLE OF FORMAT YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND, JUST TURN OF COMPUTER, WHEN REBOOTED THE INFORMATION WILL STILL BE THERE, DATA IS NOT LOST UNTIL THE LAST MOMENTS OF A FORMAT

the above is what you need to do but in the intrest of trying to confuse and to prove i can copy & paste as all good tecs should do, below is some more information
>cody
__________________________________________________ ___

FORMAT & Switches

Formats a disk for use with MS-DOS.

The FORMAT command creates a new root directory and file allocation table
for the disk. It can also check for bad areas on the disk, and it can delete
all data on the disk. In order for MS-DOS to be able to use a new disk, you
must first use this command to format the disk.

Syntax

FORMAT drive: [/V[:label]] [/Q] [/u] [/F:size][/B|/S] [/C]

FORMAT drive: [/V[:label]] [/Q] [/u] [/T:tracks /N:sectors] [/B|/S]
[/C]

FORMAT drive: [/V[:label]] [/Q] [/u] [/1] [/4] [/B|/S] [/C]

FORMAT drive: [/Q] [/u] [/1] [/4] [/8] [/B|/S] [/C]

Warning: Do not format a floppy disk at a size higher than it was designed
for. For more information, see <Format--Notes>.

Parameter

drive:
Specifies the drive containing the disk you want to format. You must
specify a drive parameter. If you do not specify any of the following
switches, FORMAT uses the drive type to determine the default format for
the disk.

If the disk was previously formatted and you do not use the /U switch,
the old file allocation table and root directory are saved to allow
unformatting of the disk if necessary. If you realize that you formatted
the wrong disk, use the <UNFORMAT> command as soon as possible.

Switches

/V:label
Specifies the volume label. A volume label identifies the disk and can
be a maximum of 11 characters. If you omit the /V switch or use it
without specifying a volume label, MS-DOS prompts you for the volume
label after the formatting is completed. If you format more than one
disk by using one FORMAT command, all of the disks will be given the
same volume label. The /V switch is not compatible with the /8 switch.
For more information about disk volume labels, see the DIR, LABEL, and
VOL commands.

/Q
Specifies a quick format of a disk. With this switch, FORMAT deletes the
file allocation table (FAT) and the root directory of a previously
formatted disk, but does not scan the disk for bad areas. Use the /Q
switch to format only previously formatted disks that you know are in
good condition.

/U
Specifies an unconditional format of a disk. Unconditional formatting
destroys all existing data on a disk and prevents you from later
"unformatting" the disk. You should use /U if you have received read and
write errors during use of a disk. For information about unformatting a
disk, see the UNFORMAT command.

/F:size
Specifies the size of the floppy disk to format. When possible, use this
switch instead of the /T and /N switches. Use one of the following
values for size:

160 (or 160K or 160KB)
160K, single-sided, double-density, 5.25-inch disk

180 (or 180K or 180KB)
180K, single-sided, double-density, 5.25-inch disk

320 (or 320K or 320KB)
320K, double-sided, double-density, 5.25-inch disk

360 (or 360K or 360KB)
360K, double-sided, double-density, 5.25-inch disk

720 (or 720K or 720KB)
720K, double-sided, double-density, 3.5-inch disk

1200 (or 1200K or 1200KB or 1.2 or 1.2M or 1.2MB)
1.2-MB, double-sided, quadruple-density, 5.25-inch disk

1440 (or 1440K or 1440KB or 1.44 or 1.44M or 1.44MB)
1.44-MB, double-sided, quadruple-density, 3.5-inch disk

2880 (or 2880K or 2880KB or 2.88 or 2.88M or 2.88MB)
2.88-MB, double-sided, extra-high-density, 3.5-inch disk

/B
Reserves space for the system files IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS (as hidden
files) on a newly formatted disk. In previous versions of MS-DOS, it was
necessary to reserve this space before using the SYS command to copy the
system files to the disk. This switch is maintained in MS-DOS version
6.0 for compatibility reasons only.

/S
Copies the operating system files IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS, and COMMAND.COM
from your system's startup drive to a newly formatted disk that you can
use as a system disk. If FORMAT cannot find the operating system files,
it prompts you to insert a system disk.

/T:tracks
Specifies the number of tracks on the disk. When possible, use the /F
switch instead of this switch. If you use the /T switch, you must also
use the /N switch. These two switches provide an alternative method of
specifying the size of the disk being formatted. You cannot use the /F
switch with the /T switch.

/N:sectors
Specifies the number of sectors per track. When possible, use the /F
switch instead of this switch. If you use the /N switch, you must * also
use the /T switch. These two switches provide an alternative method of
specifying the size of the disk being formatted. You cannot use the /F
switch with the /N switch.

/1
Formats a single side of a floppy disk.

/4
Formats a 5.25-inch, 360K, double-sided, double-density floppy disk on a
1.2-MB disk drive. Some 360K drives cannot reliably read disks formatted
with this switch. When used with the /1 switch, this switch formats a
5.25-inch, 180K, single-sided floppy disk.

/8
Formats a 5.25-inch disk with 8 sectors per track. This switch formats a
floppy disk to be compatible with MS-DOS versions earlier than 2.0.

/C
Retests bad clusters. By default, if a drive contains clusters that have
been marked as "bad", FORMAT does not retest the clusters; it simply
leaves them marked "bad". Use the /C switch if you want FORMAT to retest
all bad clusters on the drive. (In previous versions of MS-DOS, FORMAT
always retested any bad clusters.)


Formatting a hard disk

When you use the FORMAT command to format a hard disk, MS-DOS displays a
message similar to the following before attempting to format the hard disk:

WARNING, ALL DATA ON NON-REMOVABLE DISK
DRIVE x: WILL BE LOST!
Proceed with Format (Y/N)?_

To format the hard disk, press Y; if you do not want to format the disk,
press N.

FORMAT messages

When formatting is complete, MS-DOS displays messages showing the total disk
space, any space marked as defective, the total space used by the operating
system (if you used the /S or /B switch), and the space available for your
files.

Safe formatting

If you do not specify the /U switch or a switch that reformats the disk to a
different size, FORMAT performs a "safe" format. It clears the file
allocation table and root directory of the disk but does not delete any
data. You can then use the UNFORMAT command to recover the disk if you did
not intend to format the disk. FORMAT also checks each sector on the disk to
ensure that the sector can properly store data. If it locates a sector that
cannot store data, FORMAT marks that sector to prevent MS-DOS from using
it.

If you specify the /U switch or any switch that changes the size of the
disk, FORMAT performs an unconditional format by deleting all data on the
disk.

Quick formatting

You can speed up the formatting process by using the /Q switch. Use this
switch only if you have not received read or write errors on your disk. You
can speed up the process even more by using both the /Q and /U switches. If
you use the /U switch, FORMAT does not save the information necessary to
later unformat the disk.

Formatting a new disk

When you use FORMAT to format a disk that has never been formatted, you can
specify the switches /U /C to reduce formatting time.

If you are using DriveSpace and don't often use compressed floppies, you
might also want to disable the AutoMount feature to further reduce
formatting time. To do this, use the <DRVSPACE /AUTOMOUNT> command, or turn
off the Automount option in the Options dialog (start DriveSpace, and then
choose Options from the Tools menu).

Using format with a SUBST drive or a network drive

You should not use the FORMAT command on a drive prepared by using the SUBST
command. You cannot format disks over a network or an Interlnk drive.

FORMAT exit codes

The following list shows each exit code and a brief description of its
meaning:

0 The format operation was successful.

3 The user pressed CTRL+C or CTRL+BREAK to stop the process.

4 A fatal error occurred (any error other than 0, 3, or 5).

5 The user pressed N in response to the prompt "Proceed with Format
(Y/N)?" to stop the process.