How to access MS-DOS in XP?

I find it incredible the number of people who respond and who are full of good will but who do not read the entire question or the whole discussion!!!
--
Thai Proverb: Penguins in the fields,
very cruel winter.

Click on Start/Run, type cmd and at the command prompt type help, it will give you all the commands recognized by XP.

Hi,

I have a problem...
When I type FORMAT C: in MS-DOS, it doesn't work; it says that the drive is in use???
What does that mean?

Thanks for your help!!!!

To format the hard drive, here's how to do it:

On startup, enter the BIOS by pressing DEL (Delete), F2, or TAB several times when prompted at the bottom of the screen. In the menu, select "Advanced BIOS Features": Enter. Then "First Boot Device" or "Boot Sequence": Enter and then "Floppy": Enter. Check "CD-ROM": Enter. Press F10 to save. Install the Windows 2000 or XP CD. The computer restarts. When prompted, press a key several times to access the CD-Rom functions including (This method is possible for other versions but with different commands):

Complete installation or reinstallation of the Windows OS after acceptance.
(In case of complete installation, do not press a key multiple times after the restart)

Repairs with multiple commands. Type help to see the list.
http://www.informatruc.com/console.php

Otherwise, use the 6 Windows XP startup disks (…)
http://www.teamatic.net/telech/utilitaires/diskboot/winxppro.php

Depending on the brands and versions, BIOS menus differ. They are listed at the top of the screen on startup or in the menu: Award, Phoenix, AMI, etc.
http://pcinfopratique.free.fr/Optimisation/Bios.html

Alternatively, use a Windows 95/98 or ME startup disk (…), type fdisk to access the partition menu. Delete it and then create a new one. Restart the computer at each step and then remove the diskette. Finally, for the installation of Windows, press a key several times or F8 on startup to load the CD.

Attention! After installation, it is important to quickly install the drivers for PCI cards (video, audio, etc.) to avoid hardware conflicts.

Your turn to play!

Hello, ^^

My problem is not accessing the DOS, but the fact that my CD drive now only opens like this; to open it normally... under XP I have to do: right-click open!

Can someone tell me how to make it go back to the way it was before?

Thanks ^^' in advance

Hi spark, thanks for the tip, so we can no longer work under MS-DOS without Windows XP and fdisk doesn't work anymore?

Well, it only opens if I right-click and choose 'open' on the drive c://
otherwise it opens a DOS window: install.exe (black window) but I'm still on XP

Do you understand??? t___t

It means that Windows is on C: and that you cannot delete Windows files while Windows is using them.

There you go, if you have a bootable CD, boot from the CD to format. Otherwise, create a boot disk and boot from it.

Booting from a CD or diskette => insert the CD or diskette into the drive and then restart the PC.

If that doesn't work, you need to check in the BIOS to make sure that the boot sequence starts with the diskette or CD rather than the hard drive.

Sure, could you explain to me more clearly how to do this, please...

Thank you for your help!

Hi!

I type format c: and then it says "Enter the volume label for drive c:" and then I don't know what to do!! Please help me, it's an emergency!!! Thank you!!

Yes and no.
If you want to format your system disk, use the system CD that you are going to install.

See you later
dje-dje
--

There are 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and the others

Régis,

Take the time to read the post. Floppy disks have already been suggested in several replies?

There are indeed bootable XP floppy disks, but in this specific case, he does not have a floppy disk drive, and apparently has issues with the CD drive since he requests the procedure on the PC only.

See you later

JP

I need to check in mine, but I thought I saw that!
--
Life is beautiful!

I read the discussion and I formatted C: under XP and it didn't work; can you explain why?

Good evening,

Given the number of responses and questions on this post, I’m losing my Latin (which I don't actually know).

So for the last one added by "blero", if you try to format C: with Windows XP
EXAMPLE: You go to My Computer > select your C: drive > right-click > "Format", it is impossible because XP refuses to erase itself.

Same problem if you try under DOS sessions

If you want to format your C drive, you have to do it by booting from your XP CD.

If this is really what you want to do, remember to note the names of all your peripherals before formatting so you can easily find the drivers.

Gérard

Yes, for me it's F2, then where do I go? <<< In boot and I put the CD first? I've already done my C to reinstall XP??
I want to format my computer!!!

Thanks for your help, I absolutely need to format this computer!

See you later!

Well, as gerard27 says, you don't format a system that's running. Furthermore, the fdisk command is not available under XP; you need to use the recovery console and run the diskpart command to access the partitions. To format XP installed on a partition with NTFS file type, it's the same, use the console and run the command format c: or another drive letter.

the druid without the potion.

Salut, thanks for your reply, but how do I access the BIOS of the computer with XP?

I'm coming back to your problem, one thing I forgot to tell you is that the format command in DOS mode, as you said, doesn't work under XP, you need to use the console for that, either install it on the hard drive which gives you the choice at startup "Windows XP or console" or by booting from the CD then press R to enter the console, a password for the Administrator will be requested to access the console, then you will be able to use the command format c: and with the available options.

the druid without the potion.