Setup won't load to format hard drive?

I am trying to reformat a hard drive, but when I boot to the installation CD,
it loads Windows normally. Is there another way to get to Windows Setup?

"Dustin" wrote in message
...
I am trying to reformat a hard drive, but when I boot to the installation
CD,
it loads Windows normally. Is there another way to get to Windows Setup?


What do you mean "loads Windows normally"? Do you mean it just boots
straight into Windows? If that's the case then you are NOT booting from the
CD.

No. I have gone into the bios and changed the boot sequence and it asks me
to press any key to boot from CD. Then it boots straight into Windows. I
have never had this problem before.

"Gordon" wrote:

"Dustin" wrote in message
...
I am trying to reformat a hard drive, but when I boot to the installation
CD,
it loads Windows normally. Is there another way to get to Windows Setup?


What do you mean "loads Windows normally"? Do you mean it just boots
straight into Windows? If that's the case then you are NOT booting from the
CD.

Its not reading from the cd, either cd drive has a problem or cd does

"Dustin" wrote in message
...
No. I have gone into the bios and changed the boot sequence and it asks
me
to press any key to boot from CD. Then it boots straight into Windows. I
have never had this problem before.

"Gordon" wrote:

"Dustin" wrote in message
...
I am trying to reformat a hard drive, but when I boot to the
installation
CD,
it loads Windows normally. Is there another way to get to Windows
Setup?


What do you mean "loads Windows normally"? Do you mean it just boots
straight into Windows? If that's the case then you are NOT booting from
the
CD.

On most PCs it is possible to set the boot order at the BIOS level, without
the need for pressing any extra key along the way later. That "press a key
to boot from CD" sounds more like some special bootloader or other software
above the BIOS level (i.e., on the hard drive somewhere). Consider, if the
PC had no hard drive (or a dead one or a balnk one), it should still be
bootable from floppy or CD. Go back to the BIOS and try setting the boot
order. That may be separate from listing bootable devices, or it may be on
the same screen. If necessary, read the motherboard manual, or if a
pre-built PC, check their support website for more info, including possibly
a downloadable manual.

As for formatting a hard drive, if the drive (really the parition) is not
being used by XP, then XP itself would be the easiest way to format it. Use
XPs disk managment tool, or if the drive appears in explorer, just
right-click and choose format.

But, if you want to format the drive where XP is installed (usually C,
then you must do that from outside of XP. Running the XP recovery console
from the XP CD is a possibility. Running the XP recovery console from a
stack of 6 or so floppies (free download from Microsoft) is a also a
possibility. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310994

However, the best bet might be to use the CD that came with the hard drive,
assuming that you installed it yourself. Or, download an ISO image and burn
it to CD from almost any hard drive maker. Such CDs also have disk testing
tools. Just avoid anything that sounds like "low level", since these tests
may be destroy pre-existing data everywhere on the hard drive. I have had
good luck with the Seagate tools: http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/
They also offer a a floppy version, but that does less, and its screen are
more DOS-like.

"Dustin" wrote in message
...
I am trying to reformat a hard drive, but when I boot to the installation
CD,
it loads Windows normally. Is there another way to get to Windows Setup?

Bob Harris wrote:

On most PCs it is possible to set the boot order at the BIOS level,
without the need for pressing any extra key along the way later. That
"press a key to boot from CD" sounds more like some special
bootloader or other software above the BIOS level (i.e., on the hard
drive somewhere).


No, it's a BIOS feature, and a common one, giving the user the chance to
boot from the hard drive even if the CD is first in the boot sequence..

Dustin, if you are set to boot from the CD first (and if you're getting the
"press any key" message, you are) and it's not booting from it, there are
only three possibilities: either something is wrong with the CD drive,
something is wrong with the CD (e.g., it's not a bootable CD), or your
keyboard isn't being recognized.

What kind of keyboard do you have, USB or PS2? Have you tried booting from
other bootable CDs?

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup


Consider, if the PC had no hard drive (or a dead
one or a balnk one), it should still be bootable from floppy or CD. Go
back to the BIOS and try setting the boot order. That may be
separate from listing bootable devices, or it may be on the same
screen. If necessary, read the motherboard manual, or if a pre-built
PC, check their support website for more info, including possibly a
downloadable manual.
As for formatting a hard drive, if the drive (really the parition) is
not being used by XP, then XP itself would be the easiest way to
format it. Use XPs disk managment tool, or if the drive appears in
explorer, just right-click and choose format.

But, if you want to format the drive where XP is installed (usually
C, then you must do that from outside of XP. Running the XP
recovery console from the XP CD is a possibility. Running the XP
recovery console from a stack of 6 or so floppies (free download from
Microsoft) is a also a possibility. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310994
However, the best bet might be to use the CD that came with the hard
drive, assuming that you installed it yourself. Or, download an ISO
image and burn it to CD from almost any hard drive maker. Such CDs
also have disk testing tools. Just avoid anything that sounds like
"low level", since these tests may be destroy pre-existing data
everywhere on the hard drive. I have had good luck with the Seagate
tools: http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/ They also offer a a
floppy version, but that does less, and its screen are more DOS-like.

"Dustin" wrote in message
...
I am trying to reformat a hard drive, but when I boot to the
installation CD,
it loads Windows normally. Is there another way to get to Windows
Setup?

Hi Ken

I've only seen that "Press a key to boot from CD" message on Windows 2000
and XP bootable CDs. (Not sure about Windows 98.... it's been too long
since I used one!) Are you sure it's not a MS-specific feature on their
bootable OS CDs?

PG

"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in message
...
Bob Harris wrote:

On most PCs it is possible to set the boot order at the BIOS level,
without the need for pressing any extra key along the way later. That
"press a key to boot from CD" sounds more like some special
bootloader or other software above the BIOS level (i.e., on the hard
drive somewhere).


No, it's a BIOS feature, and a common one, giving the user the chance to
boot from the hard drive even if the CD is first in the boot sequence..

Dustin, if you are set to boot from the CD first (and if you're getting
the
"press any key" message, you are) and it's not booting from it, there are
only three possibilities: either something is wrong with the CD drive,
something is wrong with the CD (e.g., it's not a bootable CD), or your
keyboard isn't being recognized.

What kind of keyboard do you have, USB or PS2? Have you tried booting from
other bootable CDs?

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup


Consider, if the PC had no hard drive (or a dead
one or a balnk one), it should still be bootable from floppy or CD. Go
back to the BIOS and try setting the boot order. That may be
separate from listing bootable devices, or it may be on the same
screen. If necessary, read the motherboard manual, or if a pre-built
PC, check their support website for more info, including possibly a
downloadable manual.
As for formatting a hard drive, if the drive (really the parition) is
not being used by XP, then XP itself would be the easiest way to
format it. Use XPs disk managment tool, or if the drive appears in
explorer, just right-click and choose format.

But, if you want to format the drive where XP is installed (usually
C, then you must do that from outside of XP. Running the XP
recovery console from the XP CD is a possibility. Running the XP
recovery console from a stack of 6 or so floppies (free download from
Microsoft) is a also a possibility.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310994
However, the best bet might be to use the CD that came with the hard
drive, assuming that you installed it yourself. Or, download an ISO
image and burn it to CD from almost any hard drive maker. Such CDs
also have disk testing tools. Just avoid anything that sounds like
"low level", since these tests may be destroy pre-existing data
everywhere on the hard drive. I have had good luck with the Seagate
tools: http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/ They also offer a a
floppy version, but that does less, and its screen are more DOS-like.

"Dustin" wrote in message
...
I am trying to reformat a hard drive, but when I boot to the
installation CD,
it loads Windows normally. Is there another way to get to Windows
Setup?

Paul Greeff wrote:

I've only seen that "Press a key to boot from CD" message on Windows
2000 and XP bootable CDs. (Not sure about Windows 98.... it's been
too long since I used one!) Are you sure it's not a MS-specific
feature on their bootable OS CDs?


Yes, I'm sure. It can't be. Booting is a function of the BIOS. Also, nothing
can be read from the CD until the computer has booted.. The only way
*anything* on the CD could be an MS-specific feature would be after it had
already booted from it.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup




"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in message
...
Bob Harris wrote:

On most PCs it is possible to set the boot order at the BIOS level,
without the need for pressing any extra key along the way later.
That "press a key to boot from CD" sounds more like some special
bootloader or other software above the BIOS level (i.e., on the hard
drive somewhere).


No, it's a BIOS feature, and a common one, giving the user the
chance to boot from the hard drive even if the CD is first in the
boot sequence..

Dustin, if you are set to boot from the CD first (and if you're
getting the "press any key" message, you are) and it's not booting
from it, there are only three possibilities: either something is
wrong with the CD drive, something is wrong with the CD (e.g., it's
not a bootable CD), or your keyboard isn't being recognized.

What kind of keyboard do you have, USB or PS2? Have you tried
booting from other bootable CDs?

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup


Consider, if the PC had no hard drive (or a dead
one or a balnk one), it should still be bootable from floppy or CD.
Go back to the BIOS and try setting the boot order. That may be
separate from listing bootable devices, or it may be on the same
screen. If necessary, read the motherboard manual, or if a
pre-built PC, check their support website for more info, including
possibly a downloadable manual.
As for formatting a hard drive, if the drive (really the parition)
is not being used by XP, then XP itself would be the easiest way to
format it. Use XPs disk managment tool, or if the drive appears in
explorer, just right-click and choose format.

But, if you want to format the drive where XP is installed (usually
C, then you must do that from outside of XP. Running the XP
recovery console from the XP CD is a possibility. Running the XP
recovery console from a stack of 6 or so floppies (free download
from Microsoft) is a also a possibility.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310994
However, the best bet might be to use the CD that came with the hard
drive, assuming that you installed it yourself. Or, download an ISO
image and burn it to CD from almost any hard drive maker. Such CDs
also have disk testing tools. Just avoid anything that sounds like
"low level", since these tests may be destroy pre-existing data
everywhere on the hard drive. I have had good luck with the Seagate
tools: http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/ They also offer a a
floppy version, but that does less, and its screen are more
DOS-like.

"Dustin" wrote in message
...
I am trying to reformat a hard drive, but when I boot to the
installation CD,
it loads Windows normally. Is there another way to get to Windows
Setup?

Hi Ken

Willing to try something? Make a Windows 98 boot disk, then make a bootable
CD using that boot disk as the source of boot information. I have a CD like
that, made in that way, and it doesn't prompt for a key to be pressed in
order to boot from CD.

By comparison, a Windows XP CD seems to be set to wait a few seconds for the
user to press a key. If no key is pressed, it redirects to the MBR on the
hard drive. It's easy to prove - with your BIOS set to boot CD / HDD /
Floppy, start it with your XP CD in the drive. Then restart without the CD
in the drive.

That's been my experience. I can't put "MVP" at the end of my signature, so
if you maintain your position on this, I'll bow out gracefully.

Paul

"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in message
...
Paul Greeff wrote:

I've only seen that "Press a key to boot from CD" message on Windows
2000 and XP bootable CDs. (Not sure about Windows 98.... it's been
too long since I used one!) Are you sure it's not a MS-specific
feature on their bootable OS CDs?


Yes, I'm sure. It can't be. Booting is a function of the BIOS. Also,
nothing
can be read from the CD until the computer has booted.. The only way
*anything* on the CD could be an MS-specific feature would be after it had
already booted from it.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup




"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in message
...
Bob Harris wrote:

On most PCs it is possible to set the boot order at the BIOS level,
without the need for pressing any extra key along the way later.
That "press a key to boot from CD" sounds more like some special
bootloader or other software above the BIOS level (i.e., on the hard
drive somewhere).


No, it's a BIOS feature, and a common one, giving the user the
chance to boot from the hard drive even if the CD is first in the
boot sequence..

Dustin, if you are set to boot from the CD first (and if you're
getting the "press any key" message, you are) and it's not booting
from it, there are only three possibilities: either something is
wrong with the CD drive, something is wrong with the CD (e.g., it's
not a bootable CD), or your keyboard isn't being recognized.

What kind of keyboard do you have, USB or PS2? Have you tried
booting from other bootable CDs?

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup


Consider, if the PC had no hard drive (or a dead
one or a balnk one), it should still be bootable from floppy or CD.
Go back to the BIOS and try setting the boot order. That may be
separate from listing bootable devices, or it may be on the same
screen. If necessary, read the motherboard manual, or if a
pre-built PC, check their support website for more info, including
possibly a downloadable manual.
As for formatting a hard drive, if the drive (really the parition)
is not being used by XP, then XP itself would be the easiest way to
format it. Use XPs disk managment tool, or if the drive appears in
explorer, just right-click and choose format.

But, if you want to format the drive where XP is installed (usually
C, then you must do that from outside of XP. Running the XP
recovery console from the XP CD is a possibility. Running the XP
recovery console from a stack of 6 or so floppies (free download
from Microsoft) is a also a possibility.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310994
However, the best bet might be to use the CD that came with the hard
drive, assuming that you installed it yourself. Or, download an ISO
image and burn it to CD from almost any hard drive maker. Such CDs
also have disk testing tools. Just avoid anything that sounds like
"low level", since these tests may be destroy pre-existing data
everywhere on the hard drive. I have had good luck with the Seagate
tools: http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/ They also offer a a
floppy version, but that does less, and its screen are more
DOS-like.

"Dustin" wrote in message
...
I am trying to reformat a hard drive, but when I boot to the
installation CD,
it loads Windows normally. Is there another way to get to Windows
Setup?

Hi Dustin

Sorry if I'm asking an obvious question... you don't say anything about
PRESSING a key when prompted - have you pressed a key when that message
appears?

Paul

"Dustin" wrote in message
...
No. I have gone into the bios and changed the boot sequence and it asks
me
to press any key to boot from CD. Then it boots straight into Windows. I
have never had this problem before.

"Gordon" wrote:

"Dustin" wrote in message
...
I am trying to reformat a hard drive, but when I boot to the
installation
CD,
it loads Windows normally. Is there another way to get to Windows
Setup?


What do you mean "loads Windows normally"? Do you mean it just boots
straight into Windows? If that's the case then you are NOT booting from
the
CD.

Paul Greeff wrote:

Hi Ken

Willing to try something? Make a Windows 98 boot disk, then make a
bootable CD using that boot disk as the source of boot information.
I have a CD like that, made in that way, and it doesn't prompt for a
key to be pressed in order to boot from CD.

By comparison, a Windows XP CD seems to be set to wait a few seconds
for the user to press a key. If no key is pressed, it redirects to
the MBR on the hard drive. It's easy to prove - with your BIOS set
to boot CD / HDD / Floppy, start it with your XP CD in the drive.
Then restart without the CD in the drive.


Sure, I'd like to try that, and I will, when I get the chance. I don't even
need to make a bootable CD; I probably have several non-Microsoft bootable
CDs around.


That's been my experience. I can't put "MVP" at the end of my
signature, so if you maintain your position on this, I'll bow out
gracefully.


Nothing at the end of anyone's signatures guarantees that he's always right.
As a matter of fact, almost the only thing I'll guarantee is that all of us,
including those of us with the MVP at the end of our signatures, are
sometimes wrong. Perfection isn't possible, and *everyone* makes mistakes.
Somebody's advice is useful if he's mostly right, and you can be mostly
right even if you don't have letters at the end of your name.

So even though I still think I'm right, I'll try this and report back on
what I find. If I'm wrong I'll be happy to apologize and thank you for
teaching me something. It may be a couple of days before I get to it though.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup



Paul

"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in message
...
Paul Greeff wrote:

I've only seen that "Press a key to boot from CD" message on Windows
2000 and XP bootable CDs. (Not sure about Windows 98.... it's been
too long since I used one!) Are you sure it's not a MS-specific
feature on their bootable OS CDs?


Yes, I'm sure. It can't be. Booting is a function of the BIOS. Also,
nothing can be read from the CD until the computer has booted.. The
only way *anything* on the CD could be an MS-specific feature would
be after it had already booted from it.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup




"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in message
...
Bob Harris wrote:

On most PCs it is possible to set the boot order at the BIOS
level, without the need for pressing any extra key along the way
later. That "press a key to boot from CD" sounds more like some
special bootloader or other software above the BIOS level (i.e.,
on the hard drive somewhere).


No, it's a BIOS feature, and a common one, giving the user the
chance to boot from the hard drive even if the CD is first in the
boot sequence..

Dustin, if you are set to boot from the CD first (and if you're
getting the "press any key" message, you are) and it's not booting
from it, there are only three possibilities: either something is
wrong with the CD drive, something is wrong with the CD (e.g., it's
not a bootable CD), or your keyboard isn't being recognized.

What kind of keyboard do you have, USB or PS2? Have you tried
booting from other bootable CDs?

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup


Consider, if the PC had no hard drive (or a dead
one or a balnk one), it should still be bootable from floppy or
CD. Go back to the BIOS and try setting the boot order. That may
be separate from listing bootable devices, or it may be on the
same screen. If necessary, read the motherboard manual, or if a
pre-built PC, check their support website for more info, including
possibly a downloadable manual.
As for formatting a hard drive, if the drive (really the parition)
is not being used by XP, then XP itself would be the easiest way
to format it. Use XPs disk managment tool, or if the drive
appears in explorer, just right-click and choose format.

But, if you want to format the drive where XP is installed
(usually C, then you must do that from outside of XP. Running
the XP recovery console from the XP CD is a possibility. Running
the XP recovery console from a stack of 6 or so floppies (free
download from Microsoft) is a also a possibility.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310994
However, the best bet might be to use the CD that came with the
hard drive, assuming that you installed it yourself. Or,
download an ISO image and burn it to CD from almost any hard
drive maker. Such CDs also have disk testing tools. Just avoid
anything that sounds like "low level", since these tests may be
destroy pre-existing data everywhere on the hard drive. I have
had good luck with the Seagate tools:
http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/ They also offer a a
floppy version, but that does less, and its screen are more
DOS-like.

"Dustin" wrote in message
...
I am trying to reformat a hard drive, but when I boot to the
installation CD,
it loads Windows normally. Is there another way to get to
Windows Setup?

Hello Ken

Thank you, and well said. I'm equally happy to learn and am enjoying this
newsgroup participation.

Paul

"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in message
...
Paul Greeff wrote:

Hi Ken

Willing to try something? Make a Windows 98 boot disk, then make a
bootable CD using that boot disk as the source of boot information.
I have a CD like that, made in that way, and it doesn't prompt for a
key to be pressed in order to boot from CD.

By comparison, a Windows XP CD seems to be set to wait a few seconds
for the user to press a key. If no key is pressed, it redirects to
the MBR on the hard drive. It's easy to prove - with your BIOS set
to boot CD / HDD / Floppy, start it with your XP CD in the drive.
Then restart without the CD in the drive.


Sure, I'd like to try that, and I will, when I get the chance. I don't
even
need to make a bootable CD; I probably have several non-Microsoft bootable
CDs around.


That's been my experience. I can't put "MVP" at the end of my
signature, so if you maintain your position on this, I'll bow out
gracefully.


Nothing at the end of anyone's signatures guarantees that he's always
right.
As a matter of fact, almost the only thing I'll guarantee is that all of
us,
including those of us with the MVP at the end of our signatures, are
sometimes wrong. Perfection isn't possible, and *everyone* makes mistakes.
Somebody's advice is useful if he's mostly right, and you can be mostly
right even if you don't have letters at the end of your name.

So even though I still think I'm right, I'll try this and report back on
what I find. If I'm wrong I'll be happy to apologize and thank you for
teaching me something. It may be a couple of days before I get to it
though.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup



Paul

"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in message
...
Paul Greeff wrote:

I've only seen that "Press a key to boot from CD" message on Windows
2000 and XP bootable CDs. (Not sure about Windows 98.... it's been
too long since I used one!) Are you sure it's not a MS-specific
feature on their bootable OS CDs?


Yes, I'm sure. It can't be. Booting is a function of the BIOS. Also,
nothing can be read from the CD until the computer has booted.. The
only way *anything* on the CD could be an MS-specific feature would
be after it had already booted from it.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup




"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in message
...
Bob Harris wrote:

On most PCs it is possible to set the boot order at the BIOS
level, without the need for pressing any extra key along the way
later. That "press a key to boot from CD" sounds more like some
special bootloader or other software above the BIOS level (i.e.,
on the hard drive somewhere).


No, it's a BIOS feature, and a common one, giving the user the
chance to boot from the hard drive even if the CD is first in the
boot sequence..

Dustin, if you are set to boot from the CD first (and if you're
getting the "press any key" message, you are) and it's not booting
from it, there are only three possibilities: either something is
wrong with the CD drive, something is wrong with the CD (e.g., it's
not a bootable CD), or your keyboard isn't being recognized.

What kind of keyboard do you have, USB or PS2? Have you tried
booting from other bootable CDs?

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup


Consider, if the PC had no hard drive (or a dead
one or a balnk one), it should still be bootable from floppy or
CD. Go back to the BIOS and try setting the boot order. That may
be separate from listing bootable devices, or it may be on the
same screen. If necessary, read the motherboard manual, or if a
pre-built PC, check their support website for more info, including
possibly a downloadable manual.
As for formatting a hard drive, if the drive (really the parition)
is not being used by XP, then XP itself would be the easiest way
to format it. Use XPs disk managment tool, or if the drive
appears in explorer, just right-click and choose format.

But, if you want to format the drive where XP is installed
(usually C, then you must do that from outside of XP. Running
the XP recovery console from the XP CD is a possibility. Running
the XP recovery console from a stack of 6 or so floppies (free
download from Microsoft) is a also a possibility.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310994
However, the best bet might be to use the CD that came with the
hard drive, assuming that you installed it yourself. Or,
download an ISO image and burn it to CD from almost any hard
drive maker. Such CDs also have disk testing tools. Just avoid
anything that sounds like "low level", since these tests may be
destroy pre-existing data everywhere on the hard drive. I have
had good luck with the Seagate tools:
http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/ They also offer a a
floppy version, but that does less, and its screen are more
DOS-like.

"Dustin" wrote in message
...
I am trying to reformat a hard drive, but when I boot to the
installation CD,
it loads Windows normally. Is there another way to get to
Windows Setup?

Paul Greeff wrote:

Hello Ken

Thank you, and well said. I'm equally happy to learn and am enjoying
this newsgroup participation.


You're welcome and thanks for reminding me. I still haven't tried it. The
reason is that I want to do it when I first boot in the morning, and I keep
forgetting. I'm in my usual fog before I have my coffee, and powering on
first thing is an automatic thing for me.


--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup



"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in message
...
Paul Greeff wrote:

Hi Ken

Willing to try something? Make a Windows 98 boot disk, then make a
bootable CD using that boot disk as the source of boot information.
I have a CD like that, made in that way, and it doesn't prompt for a
key to be pressed in order to boot from CD.

By comparison, a Windows XP CD seems to be set to wait a few seconds
for the user to press a key. If no key is pressed, it redirects to
the MBR on the hard drive. It's easy to prove - with your BIOS set
to boot CD / HDD / Floppy, start it with your XP CD in the drive.
Then restart without the CD in the drive.


Sure, I'd like to try that, and I will, when I get the chance. I
don't even need to make a bootable CD; I probably have several
non-Microsoft bootable CDs around.


That's been my experience. I can't put "MVP" at the end of my
signature, so if you maintain your position on this, I'll bow out
gracefully.


Nothing at the end of anyone's signatures guarantees that he's
always right. As a matter of fact, almost the only thing I'll
guarantee is that all of us, including those of us with the MVP at
the end of our signatures, are sometimes wrong. Perfection isn't
possible, and *everyone* makes mistakes. Somebody's advice is useful
if he's mostly right, and you can be mostly right even if you don't
have letters at the end of your name.

So even though I still think I'm right, I'll try this and report
back on what I find. If I'm wrong I'll be happy to apologize and
thank you for teaching me something. It may be a couple of days
before I get to it though.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup



Paul

"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in message
...
Paul Greeff wrote:

I've only seen that "Press a key to boot from CD" message on
Windows 2000 and XP bootable CDs. (Not sure about Windows 98....
it's been too long since I used one!) Are you sure it's not a
MS-specific feature on their bootable OS CDs?


Yes, I'm sure. It can't be. Booting is a function of the BIOS.
Also, nothing can be read from the CD until the computer has
booted.. The only way *anything* on the CD could be an MS-specific
feature would be after it had already booted from it.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup




"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in
message ...
Bob Harris wrote:

On most PCs it is possible to set the boot order at the BIOS
level, without the need for pressing any extra key along the way
later. That "press a key to boot from CD" sounds more like some
special bootloader or other software above the BIOS level (i.e.,
on the hard drive somewhere).


No, it's a BIOS feature, and a common one, giving the user the
chance to boot from the hard drive even if the CD is first in the
boot sequence..

Dustin, if you are set to boot from the CD first (and if you're
getting the "press any key" message, you are) and it's not
booting from it, there are only three possibilities: either
something is wrong with the CD drive, something is wrong with
the CD (e.g., it's not a bootable CD), or your keyboard isn't
being recognized.

What kind of keyboard do you have, USB or PS2? Have you tried
booting from other bootable CDs?

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup


Consider, if the PC had no hard drive (or a dead
one or a balnk one), it should still be bootable from floppy or
CD. Go back to the BIOS and try setting the boot order. That
may be separate from listing bootable devices, or it may be on
the same screen. If necessary, read the motherboard manual, or
if a pre-built PC, check their support website for more info,
including possibly a downloadable manual.
As for formatting a hard drive, if the drive (really the
parition) is not being used by XP, then XP itself would be the
easiest way to format it. Use XPs disk managment tool, or if
the drive appears in explorer, just right-click and choose
format.

But, if you want to format the drive where XP is installed
(usually C, then you must do that from outside of XP. Running
the XP recovery console from the XP CD is a possibility.
Running the XP recovery console from a stack of 6 or so
floppies (free download from Microsoft) is a also a possibility.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310994
However, the best bet might be to use the CD that came with the
hard drive, assuming that you installed it yourself. Or,
download an ISO image and burn it to CD from almost any hard
drive maker. Such CDs also have disk testing tools. Just avoid
anything that sounds like "low level", since these tests may be
destroy pre-existing data everywhere on the hard drive. I have
had good luck with the Seagate tools:
http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/ They also offer a a
floppy version, but that does less, and its screen are more
DOS-like.

"Dustin" wrote in message
...
I am trying to reformat a hard drive, but when I boot to the
installation CD,
it loads Windows normally. Is there another way to get to
Windows Setup?