my computer is shot....u got to help me

i got a virus about a month ago and i was lazy and didnt format emidatly and now my computer is really messed up. i want to format but i cant cause when i start my computer it goes to the menu that asks me if i want to start into:

safe mode
safe mode with command prompt
safe mode with networking

reset window back to a previous time when it was working

start windows normally

and i tried them all but all it does is restart and go back to the same menu. and i put in the formating cd but that wont work either. i cant get to the bios or anything.

 

Whats your Opperating system?
Your boot priority many not include the CD rom drive and you may need to use a floppy disk. Since you can't get to your bios, you may have to use a floppy.

Another odd way around this is to put a RedHat linux version disc in the CD rom drive. You can download Redhat for free. The format utility in Redhat is the best I have ever used, and can clean up most Windows problems. YOu don't have to Convert to Redhat. But after the install is done. then you can format using Windows way and install Windows if you like that better.

My vote is for the leafs. Good to see a Toronot fan.
_X_X_X_X_X_[small]I am not a number
I am a Free Man[/small]

 

i have windows xp home but im upgrading to pro. i did download these 8 floopys a while ago from microsoft but im not sure thats what ur talking about. and should i just get the trial of redhat to format if i cant figure out how to do it the windows way.

wow i didnt think anyone here even knew what the leafs were....ur the first person to comment

 

Try going into your Cmos and disable booting for all other disks (including your hard disk and you must have a full verison of XP)except for a single cdrom which will be the only disk you setup to boot. Put the disk with your operating system into the cd rom and reboot. Your hard disk won't be recognized so your cd rom will boot instead and you will have skipped the safe mode options. You'll be given options, choose boot from cd rom, just follow the prompts until you're asked if you'd like to format your disk (it will recognize it and you can format and reinstall XP). The rest you should be able to figure out. I've reinstalled XP pro a dozen times and each time the hard disk will boot and the oerating system in the CD ROM won't be recognized but this method has worked everytime.

 

Forgot to remind you that eventually you will have return to your CMOS (main board setup)and restore booting to your hard disk and remove the CD.

 

Sorry, DOS FDISK cannot do that as it cannot handle NTFS partitions - do it from the XP CD...

 

drchips i cant do the xp cd cause the comptuer is to messed up to go to anymenu besides the one i mentioned at the begining ...and i cant get into the bios to change it to boot from the cd, or into windows to do any thing in there. so i have to do it somehow from a floopy.

 

Hiya,
[bold]Nephilim:[/bold]
Hmmm.. Every time I have tried it, it refused to remove the NTFS partitions - are you sure it was NTFS?
Maybe you found (stumbled upon!!) a method whereby it works

[bold]longjonsi:[/bold]
Forget trying to start it from the floppy, as you need Windows running AND access to the XP CD to create the special floppies required to boot NTFS.

I am not sure what you mean when you say you can't get to the bios..

Is the bios password protected?
Or do you not know how to get into the bios?
Or ....????

If you need help getting into the bios, we will need make/model of computer (store-bought), OR
make/model of motherboard, OR
make of bios (will flash up on screen during boot process - black screen/white text, normally at the bottom of the screen).

Once we can get you into the bios, it is simple from there..

Have Fun...

 

The method that I mentioned has never failed. If you set only your CD ROm to boot it will come up long before you get to safe mode choices, try it and you will see.

 

Longjonsi you have access to your bios almost immediately after you turn your PC on. Read the text and at the bottom of your screen it should say something like enter (hit) Delete, or F2 to enter setup.

 

I had trouble a while back getting DOS 6.22's fdisk to delete an NTFS partition, but the boot disk for Windows 98 worked fine. I just had to the select the option to delete the Non DOS partition. I also had to use the command fdisk /mbr to erase the nt boot loader after removing the partition as well.

When I do a fresh install and can't boot from cd I usually use that method - boot with a Windows 98 floppy and load the cd drivers then install from there. For XP you just have to cd to the i386 directory on the cd and type winnt to start the install process.

 

i cant get into the bios...i tried it just wont work...it starts the menu that i said before and i push del all teh way through it all and it just restarts and goes back to the same menu....where can i get one of these floopys to boot from it

 

If you cant get into your bios at all you could try taking your case side off and reseting it to defaults manually, there should be a jumper in there to do this (power disconnected of course) if there isnt a jumper then removing the battery for a minute or so has the same effect, once set to defaults most mainboards boot from floppy to cdrom then ide-0, so your computer should boot from the cd.

 

longjonsi, Let me guess you have a Compaq computer? They are great, last forever and good componets. But and big butt, to access the Cmos it requires a small program off the Hard drive using the F10 key. THus if you add new hard drive or format the original Hard drive, you now have lost the access to the Cmos.
I found this out with my old Presario. That is way I recomend the Red hat method I mentioned.
1. Download Redhat 9 from here:
ftp://ftp.nrc.ca/pub/systems/linux/redhat/ftp.redhat.com/linux/9/en/iso/i386/

You only need the files Shrike-i386-disk1, 2, 3 You don't need any of the other disc images. These are large files and you can just right click and save the link to you computer that works. Then burn using you favorite burning program. These are disk iso images.
2. Insert the fist CD-rom after burning into your computer.
3. Install Redhat following the instructions.

Now you don't need to keep Rat Hat but allow for full install.

Once installed. Then put in the WinXP install disc and windows has a passion for installing over the Linux ext3 file system.
THis the best way to fix your problem with little hassle. And you may even like Redhat, includes free full office suite, full photo editor, and all the programing and games you could want.

 

[bold]Prisoner:[/bold]
HOW is he going to boot the Redhat CD if his system will not boot from CD?????

 

Go to http://www.bootdisk.com/ for boot disks for various OS's. Then you should be able to boot from floppy and wipe out the NTFS partition and repartition/reformat.

 

I think that it is still checking the CD, just that it is not directly forceing the boot. Linux will force into the install program. This does work.

As long as the CD light still clicks on when he starts, Linux will force an install.

 

If he has a compaq then he is dealing with an IBM clone proprietary system and many of the suggestions here may not work. It is possible to delete a NTFS partition with FDISK with a Win 98 boot disk. The problem as I've read it is just getting the CD-Rom to boot the XP CD Rom. The problem is that the C:\ drive will be detected and the operating system in the CD Rom will be ignored. By going into the BIOS and making the CD ROM the one and only disk that will boot will cause the CD with the operating in that CD ROM to be recognized. If I didn't do this with my system after a serious operating system failure I would get exactly the same results that longjonsi got. This is a method that will work or has worked for me 100% of the time regardles what the system is with the possible exception of a Compaq system which uses a restore disk and not one with the complete operating system on it. Look longjonsi if you know how to do any of the things that I've mentioned then and you are not experiencing hardware failure then your problems are over.