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General discussion

Format

Dec 13, 2003 12:01AM PST

When i format my hard drive should i use format c: /s or format c: /u ive heard different from several people. And what does s and u stand for?

Discussion is locked

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Re:Format
Dec 13, 2003 12:08AM PST

The exact effects are a Microsoft trade secret, but you can read this to see if that answers your question -> http://members.aol.com/axcel216/secrets.htm#FORMAT

The /S would be used for Windows 1,2,3, 95, 98 and if you wanted to boot DOS.

There is an usage for such a format in odd and not well documented alternate methods of installing Windows ME, NT, 2000, XP and 2003, but this is best left to those who have the time to spend on this.

Bob

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Doesn't Matter
Dec 13, 2003 1:02AM PST

Those options are meant more for floppy disks, not hard drives.

If you're going to be reinstalling the operating system, you don't even need to run the format command yourself if you're using Windows95 or above. It can all be taken care of by booting from the installation CD.