How to Format Windows 2000 Professional

Windows 2000 Professional operating system users can format any new drive on their computer using the Recovery Console feature, which can be accessed by using the Windows 2000 Professional installation CD. After you finish formatting Windows 2000 Professional, you can restart your computer and use its hard drive. Make sure that you have administrator access on your computer to be able to format the hard drive.

Things You'll Need

• Windows 2000 Professional installation CD

Instructions

1. Insert the Windows 2000 Professional installation CD into the CD-ROM drive of your computer. Restart your computer.

2. Press any key on your keyboard to open the Windows 2000 setup screen when the computer is restarting.

3. Press the "R" key on the keyboard in the Welcome to Setup page. Press the "C" key to enter the Recovery Console.

4. Choose the type of Windows 2000 installation that you want and press the "Enter" key on your keyboard.

5. Enter your administrator password and press the "Enter" key on your keyboard. Enter "format C" into the command prompt to format the C drive. You can enter any other letter to format a different drive.

6. Allow time for the formatting process to complete and remove the installation CD. Enter "exit" into the command prompt and press the "Enter" key to restart your computer.

References

• Microsoft Support: How To Use the Recovery Console to Format a Hard Disk in Windows 2000
• University of Maryland: Formatting Your Hard Drive and Reinstalling Windows