I would like to Format my SATA drive outside of Windows so i can do a fresh and clean install of Windows, i have some programs on a bootable CD that can Format an IDE drive but they dont seem to like a SATA drive, i.e. they dont recognise it.

I was hoping that i could reformat the drive while installing Windows (Vista) itself but the kind of Vista Disc i have doesnt seem to allow that , goodness knows why ?.

any ideas anyone ?. using a different Vista disc a long while back i could Install Vista to Dual boot with XP, but the Vista Disc i have now, the dual boot option doesnt exsist, it simply puts my XP files in a folder called WINDOWS OLD !!!!

i hope i made myself clear ?. and hopefully someone can give me an idea what to do, thanks.

tim

thanks for looking lads, I got it fixed in the end, i found i could format the drive using the Vista install Disc, just before it starts installing, there is a little link to click on (not easy to see) that allows you to Format and possibly partition as well, maybe allowing dual boot as well !, but i didnt look at anything else on that page, i just wanted format and i was out of there, LOL.

tim

Hmm... missed this one, sorry bud