Guest jotan Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 Situation: Laptop with non-working CD drive running XP trying to format C drive and reinstall XP from Dos prompt and i type: "format C: /fs:ntfs" then: "Format cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Format may run if this volume is dismounted first. ALL OPENED HANDLES TO THIS VOLUME WOULD THEN BE INVALID. would you like to force a dismount on this volume? Y/N" when I type Y, I get the message "Cannot lock the drive. The volume is still in use." help anyone please?
Guest Alias Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 Re: Trying to format C: drive, NEED HELP PLEASE! jotan wrote: > Situation: > Laptop with non-working CD drive running XP > trying to format C drive and reinstall XP > > > from Dos prompt and i type: > > "format C: /fs:ntfs" > > then: > > "Format cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Format > may run if this volume is dismounted first. ALL OPENED HANDLES TO THIS VOLUME > WOULD THEN BE INVALID. would you like to force a dismount on this volume? > Y/N" > > when I type Y, I get the message > > "Cannot lock the drive. The volume is still in use." > > help anyone please? Buy a CD drive. They're cheap. You can't format XP within XP. That would be like sawing off the limb of the tree you're sitting on. Alias
Guest Alec S. Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 Re: Trying to format C: drive, NEED HELP PLEASE! jotan wrote (in news:978B799B-6912-4CA1-941F-CAD668D65EEE@microsoft.com): > Laptop with non-working CD drive running XP > trying to format C drive and reinstall XP > > from Dos prompt and i type: > > "format C: /fs:ntfs" That’s not a DOS prompt, it’s a command prompt. You can’t format the drive that Windows is on while running Windows. That’s like trying to perform surgery on your own hands (or brain). You need to make a boot disk. Put in a floppy disk and format it using the Create MS-DOS Startup Disk option. If you don’t have a floppy drive, you need to create a bootable CD or other drive. You need to boot from something other than Windows to format Windows’ drive. -- Alec S. news/alec->synetech/cjb/net
Guest Bill Sharpe Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 Re: Trying to format C: drive, NEED HELP PLEASE! jotan wrote: > Situation: > Laptop with non-working CD drive running XP > trying to format C drive and reinstall XP > > > from Dos prompt and i type: > > "format C: /fs:ntfs" > > then: > > "Format cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Format > may run if this volume is dismounted first. ALL OPENED HANDLES TO THIS VOLUME > WOULD THEN BE INVALID. would you like to force a dismount on this volume? > Y/N" > > when I type Y, I get the message > > "Cannot lock the drive. The volume is still in use." > > help anyone please? How are you planning to reinstall XP if the CD drive isn't working? As others have pointed out you need an external drive of some kind in order to format drive C. How old is the laptop? Perhaps it's time to replace it. Bill
Guest Muzafar Ganie Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 Re: Trying to format C: drive, NEED HELP PLEASE! Hi, If u want to install the windows as format clean install you can follow the link to format as well as install the windows xp using the windows xp disk http://www.windowsxpprofessional.windowsreinstall.com/sp2installxpcdoldhdd/indexfullpage.htm Muzafar
Guest Bill Sharpe Posted September 3, 2008 Posted September 3, 2008 Re: Trying to format C: drive, NEED HELP PLEASE! Muzafar Ganie wrote: > Hi, > > If u want to install the windows as format clean install > you can follow the link to format as well as install the windows xp using > the windows xp disk > > > http://www.windowsxpprofessional.windowsreinstall.com/sp2installxpcdoldhdd/indexfullpage.htm > > Muzafar > Didn't you read the original message? Poster has a non-working CD drive. Bill
Guest HeyBub Posted September 3, 2008 Posted September 3, 2008 Re: Trying to format C: drive, NEED HELP PLEASE! jotan wrote: > Situation: > Laptop with non-working CD drive running XP > trying to format C drive and reinstall XP > > > from Dos prompt and i type: > > "format C: /fs:ntfs" > > then: > > "Format cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. > Format may run if this volume is dismounted first. ALL OPENED HANDLES > TO THIS VOLUME WOULD THEN BE INVALID. would you like to force a > dismount on this volume? Y/N" > > when I type Y, I get the message > > "Cannot lock the drive. The volume is still in use." > > help anyone please? There are several rules by which one can achieve the goal of "Logical Thought Processes." One of these rules is "Then what?" Suppose you managed to format your C: drive. Then what? Another rule is "Why?" Why do you want to format your C: drive? XP installation does not depend on a formatted drive. The rule set above, formulated in the early 11th century, has been amended to account for modern technology. One of the new rules is: "When in doubt, ask a 12-year old male."
Guest RobertVA Posted September 3, 2008 Posted September 3, 2008 Re: Trying to format C: drive, NEED HELP PLEASE! Bill Sharpe wrote: > jotan wrote: >> Situation: >> Laptop with non-working CD drive running XP >> trying to format C drive and reinstall XP >> >> >> from Dos prompt and i type: >> >> "format C: /fs:ntfs" >> >> then: >> >> "Format cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. >> Format may run if this volume is dismounted first. ALL OPENED HANDLES >> TO THIS VOLUME WOULD THEN BE INVALID. would you like to force a >> dismount on this volume? Y/N" >> when I type Y, I get the message >> "Cannot lock the drive. The volume is still in use." >> >> help anyone please? > > How are you planning to reinstall XP if the CD drive isn't working? > > As others have pointed out you need an external drive of some kind in > order to format drive C. > > How old is the laptop? Perhaps it's time to replace it. > > Bill As far as reinstalling the OS, maybe the manufacturer included a hidden recovery partition on the hard drive. The goal might be cleaning data files off the HD prior to selling it or giving it to someone without exposing things like saved passwords and tax preparation software's data files. Unfortunately formating doesn't really erase such data, as it only resets the directory structure. Privacy concerns could normally be addressed by a drive cleansing utility, which you might find at a retailer similar to the major office supply chains, but their use would require a CD reader. I'm not sure if any such utilities could be downloaded through the internet and run from a bootable flash drive.
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