Need help reformatting comp

yeah when i go into command prompt then type format c: (this worked the first time) i click y to say yes then i get a message that says format cannot run because volume is in use would u like to dismount. when i select yes, it says cannot lock drive and selecting no obviously stops. how do i stop this from happening? so i can reformat. im using a dell dimension 4600 windows xp home sp2

 

Are you trying to reinstall xp?

 

yeah i wanna wipe the entire drive clean and re-install xp home

 

If you are reformating,the xp install process has an option to delete a partition,do that then,create a new partition with the free space obtained and format using ntfs.Installation will then continue.

 

this will delete everything else though or will i just have windows os on my comp twice?

 

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=313348

 

This will delete everything,including windows.Depends on what you have on the partition.

 

allright thanks alot. ill let yah know in a few minuits or a few hours depending on if it works out the way it should

 

allrighty i reformatted so thanks for the help. unfortunately the same original problem is there again. nv4_disp inifinite loop :| only 1 driver works and its from nvidia.com but for some readon i cant play video games with those drivers ( screen freezes every few seconds for about 10 seconds)

 

Give specific details,which graphics card,motherboard,drivers etc.
You can also post a new thread as it is a different problem.

 

Ok I found your other thread- http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=64136
Maybe you should reset your bios.Also give us details of all the drivers you installed since you reformated.Also try your graphic card on another computer.

 

the card itself should be fine. i was talking with dell people on the phone they said its a driver/device malfunction (doubting that more and more)

71.89_win2kxp_english is the video drivers
A13-00 is the only info i have on the chip set (from the resource cd i got when i baught comp)
45.01 WHQL'd for MRMGA6 is the video drivers im sposed to intsall from the resoure CD (infinite loop)
and A06-00 netword drivers? i dunno almost all the drivers on here will be very old. if u need any other driver parts ill try n get em. theyre not described to well here.

 

When did this problem start?Try using the drivers when the sytem was ok.Reset the bios to default settings.Now that you have reinstalled xp,the chances of a driver problem are slim unless you were not doing something right while installing the drivers.Any new hardwares/softwares you installed could also be a suspect.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3214.html
To try out new drivers.Use this to clean up after uninstalling.

 

problem started when i reformatted. as for added in hardware i put in a dvd burner. but that was 6-7 months before this, and it worked fine and dandy. as for the drivers ive tried the newest intel chip set that dell has on there webpage aswell as the newest drivers from nvidia. atm im trying to figure out the maker of my videocard is theres any drivers from them i can try. all it said on the card was (MiC) which dosnt seem to be any sorta manufacturing company in vid cards. (could be wrong) as for software i have trillian, kazaa lite, utopia angel, and opera 7.11 and they all worked fine an dandy before the reformat. if any of the programs is at fault in anyway i would guess trillian. perhaps ill try without it.

 

Download everest system information tool and look at the report, your video card will be listed. http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html
To find the right driver you need to know what card you have.

 

k my nvidia 128 geforce fx 5200 is manufactored by nvidia aswell and runs the nv4_disp.dll driver. i had just re-installed windows and formatted again with a dell rep on the line and they told me to not install the drivers they gave me from the cd but the newest drivers from nvidia.com and so i did and i get the same problem where the comp freezes. so dont know whats left to do

 

So what did they tell when you told them it still doesnt work?

 

basically they told me to reformat AGAIN (6th time) drivers were sticking from 45.01 WHQL and only install the latest drivers from nvidia which were 72.89. which ofcourse gave me the same freezing problem as before. so right now i have no video drivers but i was told to try waiting for sp2. then install directx 9.0c then install the newest vid drivers from nvidia.com, if that fails i will reformat for 7th time and try 66.81 WHQL which is said to be the most stable? from what i hear. if that works great. if not i call em back tomorrow i guess and continue on the path of fun times.

 

You can use the drive cleaner(downloadable from MAJOR GEEKS),you wont need to reinstall xp everytime you try a different driver.I think the dell advice sucks.
If the drivers worked once then it should work again.

 

well apparently after u install the drivers once your sposed to get the infinite loop error so then you go into safe mode and uninstall the drivers (but they actually dont get uninstalled?) is how i was told this anyways. only problem is i was still getting the inifinte loop error and i guess yer not sposed too. either way i tried a few drivers cleaners and nothings been removing the video drivers outta the device manager thing. so it seems reformatting everytime is only way. ill give it another shot though.

 

The following motherboard BIOS settings are suggested for better stability, but are not required settings:

Assign IRQ to VGA Enabled
VGA palettenooping Disabled
PCI Latency Timer 128
Video BIOS Shadowing Disabled
Video RAM Shadowing Disabled
USWC Options Disabled
PnP O/S Installed Enabled
Video BIOS Cacheable Disabled
Video RAM Cacheable Disabled
AGP Graphics Aperture 64MB (or half of your total system memory)

*from the nvidia site

 

heh the only motherboard bio i got from there is the APG graphics aperture im running like a09

 

When does this loop occur?What error message do you get and does the system shutdown?Also what made you do the first format?Have you tried reading any log files?

 

http://nvidia.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/...TEmcF9zZWFyY2hfdGV4dD1sb29w&p_li=&p_topview=1

This is where I got the info.

 

loop error starts on the startup of windows. yes it shuts the computer down, and i formatted because of slowness while playing world of warcraft. i wasnt lagging at all really till a few weeks ago and so i decided to format everything to nice running speeds again. (yes i had more then 7 gegs of hdd space so it wasnt that)

 

Hey Anton

Which Dell System do you have ?
n
If you dont mind could have the SV Tag ?

n which Country are you from ?

Also would like to know are you installing the video drivers first after a reformat or you are installing Chipset first ?

This is a small problem.. can be fixed

 

well i spent around 3-4 hours on the phone with dells tech support where every1 assured me it was a driver problem not the hardware. till the last guy i got said that its most likely the hardware or moreso the accelerator or something on the geforce. i dunno but Starcraft runs fine!!!! yeah i know its 1 million years old. anyways my system is a dell dimension 4600 series. im from canada and derno service tag , they varified me through credit card # on the phone. and i always install the chip drivers first.

 

You would have the SV tag of the comp mostly at the back , it would be a 7 digit alphanumeric code.

I can call you and see if i can help you out...

 

perhaps we can talk on yahoo! messenger my sn is punk_sledge. ill be on in a bit. currently installing my friends geforce 128 vid driver to see if its infact the drivers

 

well borrowed friends geforce fx 5200 and go figure everything works fine. guess my video card itself was the problem all along. well thanks to Kadavill for trying his best to help me out with my problems and also thanks to Hardmarkerin for his help aswell. now since i need a new video card any suggestions on wut i should get for my dell 4600? im thinking radeon since i no longer really like nvidia -.- BUT ide still get it heheh. uhm 256mb card if it workds is wut ide prefer. ^^ thanks again guys

 

Well we get a lot of radeon problems as well.
How long since you got the geforce?
You can start a new thread in the hardware forum and lots of people will give you good advice.
Hardmarkerin what do you think?

 

had the geforce for about 13 months. and i know tehres problems with radeons aswell. just im yet to have a radeon issue, just like i never had a problem with the old voodoo cards its an omen i tell yah

 

Hardmarkerin works at dell.I asked him to help you.
Post a new thread and you will get advice from people who have used various cards.

 

just posted it. i expect to get an opinion from yah

 

Hi

Sorry met with a small accident and could not get on comp,

Well, If you could manage to gimme the sv tag , i can call you and then we can decide

Becoz for me still its a Kernel problem in the Os and not the Video Card,

and is your system still under waranty, if yess y go for a Diff video card, i can call you with a lil defined Trouble Shooting steps i can if needed go and replace the Card if the system is under waranty,


Please Note : I have request, Not to mention this to anybody at Dell since this call has not been officialy escalated to me and iam not supposed to call you on my own .

Though you can email with a request to call you by emailing me at raghuram_achar@dell.com

 

hey, no my warranty had expired about a month ago which is why i needed a new card. and i allready took the card in. in which i was told the accelerator has discharged or something... and rather then fix that card i figured hey, im playin world of warcraft right now. i might aswell get some better graphics. so i have no problems getting a new card. also i did find the service tag however im unaware of what it would be needed for or what it even does besides an identification of the computer (least i think thats what it identifies) anyways if u need it just gimmie a shout on yahoo! messenger since i notice yer on now and then. but i think the problem got resolved for the most part. :\ my ym = punk_sledge

 

Great .. !!!
Enjoi your new card then


Iam sorry though ....in Dell Yahoo is blocked since it opens some ports in a network which is risky