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Thread ID: 18354 2002-04-23 11:21:00 Formatting NTFS Guest (0) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
45260 2002-04-23 11:21:00 I need to format my hard drive which has XP on it with NTFS file system. How do I do it. I had a virus that caused a lot of problems and need to put xp back on. Can I just reinstall or do I have to format Guest (0)
45261 2002-04-23 11:57:00 just do a reinstall from the cd (i assume it's bootable) and during setup there is an option to erase the partition. bye bye virus :) Guest (0)
45262 2002-04-23 11:58:00 If your drive is not formatted, when you boot the XP CD, you are given a choice to convert to NTFS on formatting.

If your drive is already formatted FAT32, you are given the choice of converting to NTFS. If fact, even if you have a running XP system on FAT32, you can convert to NTFS, with the convert utility (Syntax: convert c: /fs:ntfs)

It is preferable though to allow XP to format / convert to NTFS: If you don't ensure the FAT32 is aligned on 4K boundries, you can end up with 0.5K clusters under NTFS. (Can rectify this with Partition Magic 7.0, but messy)

If you re-install without de-installing XP, you will 'repair' the existing system.
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45263 2002-04-23 22:17:00 Kevin,

Boot from the XP CD - it'll ask you if you want to install or repair, choose install. Then you should at some stage be asked if you want to format your disk, and then it'll format before it installs.

HTH

Mike.
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