need to reformat, dont have disk!

[PedroGirl1]

i have a dell system i bought a couple of years ago that is still in pretty good condition, but i need to reformat my hard drive. when i received my system, i didnt get any windows disk to go with it, dell said i didnt need one. now i cant figure out how to reformat without it. can i reformat w/o the disk? or would i be better off buying the full version of xp and installing that instead? any help would be greatly appreciated! thank you!!

[degsy]

Welcome

If you didn't get any disks (not even a Restore CD) the the best you could do is probably a repair of Windows ME.

If you want to install XP the you would have to buy the CD.

[PedroGirl1]

i dont have a system restore disk either. i dont remember receiving one, but then again, i've moved a few times since then, so it may have been lost somewhere along the way. if i went and bought a full version of xp, could i wipe out my whole entire hard drive and install that so i can just start from scratch? would it be complicated? i've tried doing the system scan and defrag and all that, but it wont even complete those tasks. i figure buying xp is cheaper than hiring a tech to come fix my computer!! besides, i think i'm ready for a change, it might be nice to have a new os.

[yuki]

Maybe this one can help you:
http://bootdisk.com/

[GretaP]

Hi PedroGirl1,

Yes, you can wipe out your entire hard drive and install XP via XP's Setup routine, and it's not a complicated process. Have a look at the instructions that I have posted here for deleting the current partition(s), creating a new partition, formatting and installing XP.

Before purchasing XP, I would highly recommend that you run the Upgrade Advisor, as this will inform you of any immediate or potential incompatibilities.

[thebig429]

Iwent through this too, and a year later i found out i did have the disk.
It will say on it Operating system Reinstallation CD WME (dell )
It wont look like a normal windows disc.