how to reinstall windows ?

[eracer2006]

hi i want to delete xp home which is running with a dual boot partiton with linux. linux works fine but theres no sound and bit torrent wont work.

windows however uses all its cpu resources on explorer.exe and explorer.exe crashes within 5 mins of booting up = reboot.

i have xp pro and a valid key or it from my uni, all above board and legal.

however when i try to format the windows partiton using the installer on the xp pro disk, the computer turns itself off.

infact if i try to do anything with the windows partition the computer will turn its self off, instantly.

short of buying a new hdd, what can i do ?

cheers.

p.s theres no command line like dos so i cant del *.* and format c:, theres recover console but i have no clue how to use that.

 

[d.chatten]

If all you want to do is delete and format the C: drive then boot into the recovery console and when you are asked which Windows you want to login to select the the number that corisponds to your Windows install, press enter and then enter your Windows admin password if you have one setup and press enter, if you don't have an admin password just press enter when you you are asked for it.

Now type diskpart and press enter, select your C: drive from the list that appears and delete the partition, then recreate the partition and exit diskpart.

At this point just type format c: /fs:ntfs /q and press enter, this command line is to perform a quick format of C: drive with the NTFS file system, if you want the HDD to be ckecked for errors during the format or you don't want to do a quick format then type format c: /fs:ntfs

Hope this helps!

 

[eracer2006]

Thankyou however is it this simple as half of c drive = ubuntu ?

 

[eXor]

i have xp pro and a valid key or it from my uni, all above board and legal.
however when i try to format the windows partiton using the installer on the xp pro disk, the computer turns itself off.

infact if i try to do anything with the windows partition the computer will turn its self off, instantly.

Wow. Didn't know software had a self preservation instinct.

Thankyou however is it this simple as half of c drive = ubuntu ?

If you are dual booting then, no. C drive is C drive and if Windows could see Ubuntu then Ubuntu would be D drive. Two partitions. So diskpart should only take out C.

Why not format from Ubuntu? The partitions will show up as hda1 and hda2 or something similar and have a description of the filesystem next to each entry e.g. NTFS and EXT3. Just be sure of which OS is on which partition before you pull the trigger!