John Barnett [MVP]
December 5th 03, 01:17 AM
As you want to clear XP off completely and reinstall ME i
suppose the easiest way is to reformat your hard drive.
Remembering, of course, that you will loose everything -
win xp and any programs and data files you have. Your
drice will be completely wiped clean.
Now comes the crucial question. What file system is your
current XP installation formatted in - Fat32 or Ntfs?
Fat32 is easiest. You have already used windows ME so you
should have previously created a Windows ME startup
floppy disk. You are usually asked to create this during
initial install. If you do not have one then download one
from www.bootdisk.com
The next step is to insert the startup floppy into your
floppy drive and reboot your machine. The machine will
boot to a menu. Highlight the option to boot with CD
drivers and press Enter. Your pc will now boot to the Dos
prompt (The 'A" Prompt) At the 'A' prompt type the
following:
format c:
Now press Enter. A warning message will appear telling
you that you will destroy all data on your drive. You
must accept this warning to continue. Once you have
agreed to this warning your drive will be reformatted.
After reformatting reinstall Windows ME as normal.
If, on the other hand, your hard drive is formatted in
the Ntfs file system you will first need to convert the
file system to Fat32 before proceeding. Once again you
will loose all data on your drive.
1/ Insert the XP CD into your CD-ROM and reboot your
machine
2/ The XP installation will begin
3/ Wait until you get to the Welcome to Setup screen and
then press F10
4/ This will open the Recovery Console. You will need to
log on as Administrator
5/ After logging on type Map and press Enter
6/ Select the drive you want to reformat
7/ Type format x: /fs:fat32 ( replace the x with the
drive letter you want to format) and press Enter
8/ Now press Y to confirm the choice you have made and
the drive will begin to format
9/ After formatting has finished type Exit and the Press
Enter to restart your PC. Before you do press enter take
out the XP CD and insert your ME CD
I assume that your pc is setup to boot directly from the
CD. If it isn't you will need to enter the BIOS and make
the alterations there. Consult your PC/Motherboard manual
for details of how to enter the Bios etc.
Hope this helps
John Barnett [MVP]
Associate Expert
>-----Original Message-----
>ok, well, my thirty day grace period is over. although
>at '16 days left' it decided to skip to '4 days left',
so
>that hasn't helped.
>
>i want to reinstall my ME, because the XP i have my aunt
>used on her computer. she doesn't understand the
multiple
>activation thing.
>
>it took me a while to locate my ME.
>
>now i am locked out of my computer, and all i want to do
>is reinstall ME and be done with XP. is there anyway i
can
>do this??
>
>it's just fustrating not being able to get around the
>lockdown just enough to get rid of XP entirely.
>.
>
suppose the easiest way is to reformat your hard drive.
Remembering, of course, that you will loose everything -
win xp and any programs and data files you have. Your
drice will be completely wiped clean.
Now comes the crucial question. What file system is your
current XP installation formatted in - Fat32 or Ntfs?
Fat32 is easiest. You have already used windows ME so you
should have previously created a Windows ME startup
floppy disk. You are usually asked to create this during
initial install. If you do not have one then download one
from www.bootdisk.com
The next step is to insert the startup floppy into your
floppy drive and reboot your machine. The machine will
boot to a menu. Highlight the option to boot with CD
drivers and press Enter. Your pc will now boot to the Dos
prompt (The 'A" Prompt) At the 'A' prompt type the
following:
format c:
Now press Enter. A warning message will appear telling
you that you will destroy all data on your drive. You
must accept this warning to continue. Once you have
agreed to this warning your drive will be reformatted.
After reformatting reinstall Windows ME as normal.
If, on the other hand, your hard drive is formatted in
the Ntfs file system you will first need to convert the
file system to Fat32 before proceeding. Once again you
will loose all data on your drive.
1/ Insert the XP CD into your CD-ROM and reboot your
machine
2/ The XP installation will begin
3/ Wait until you get to the Welcome to Setup screen and
then press F10
4/ This will open the Recovery Console. You will need to
log on as Administrator
5/ After logging on type Map and press Enter
6/ Select the drive you want to reformat
7/ Type format x: /fs:fat32 ( replace the x with the
drive letter you want to format) and press Enter
8/ Now press Y to confirm the choice you have made and
the drive will begin to format
9/ After formatting has finished type Exit and the Press
Enter to restart your PC. Before you do press enter take
out the XP CD and insert your ME CD
I assume that your pc is setup to boot directly from the
CD. If it isn't you will need to enter the BIOS and make
the alterations there. Consult your PC/Motherboard manual
for details of how to enter the Bios etc.
Hope this helps
John Barnett [MVP]
Associate Expert
>-----Original Message-----
>ok, well, my thirty day grace period is over. although
>at '16 days left' it decided to skip to '4 days left',
so
>that hasn't helped.
>
>i want to reinstall my ME, because the XP i have my aunt
>used on her computer. she doesn't understand the
multiple
>activation thing.
>
>it took me a while to locate my ME.
>
>now i am locked out of my computer, and all i want to do
>is reinstall ME and be done with XP. is there anyway i
can
>do this??
>
>it's just fustrating not being able to get around the
>lockdown just enough to get rid of XP entirely.
>.
>