Format MBR with XP?

How?

geeze I sound like Yoda.

When I format with the xp disk will it format everything if I don't use the quick format? (methinks there is a nasty bug in there)

[nukes]

It will rewrite the MBR anyway. Whether or not you use the quick format.
If you just want to take out the MBR, do fdisk /mbr to eliminate that without having to reformat.

Bad news. Started out with one hard drive dissappearing so I ruled out the cable.. Then the 2nd one dissappeared after windows set up found the first and tried to format it. Now they are both gone. Guess I'll start with a new cable. Don't know why it should just all of a sudden fail though.

[S.D.Willie]

ive seen a few systems that lose their drives and cdroms due to bad disk controllers on the mobo.

That's what just occured to me.
And after I put on the new hard drive the troubles started. Bummer.
Perhaps it's time to try a different brand of board.

[ChrisK2972]

how do you have the HDD's setup? Slave, master, ect? If you have'nt tried it, you might try cable select for each drive. Some HDD's don't like master, slave, ect. Also, this might be a dumb question, but, did you use some kind of ESD control? I have learned the hard way about static. I mean, a few volts that you cannot feel is all it takes to fry most components. I am convinced that many of my premature failures over the years were due to my lack of using a simply little arm band. Hope this didn't happen to you.

Thanks ChrisK2972, but I didn't do anything to it, they just croaked. I swaped out the slave and master drive and tried to load windows on the slave but then that one pooped out too.
I'm afraid it's the controller.

[Buzioid]

What motherboard are you using?

K7S5A

[RustyGT]

K7S5A?
Is that an ECS mobo?
If so, then we could form a club.
Of busted ECS mobo owners.

Wizz has a dud one.
Mine dropped dead recently.
Join the queue.
Sheesh!!!

Chrs R.

Btw. The best boards I've bought this year have been GigaBytes. Socket A's [of course]

Ayhamdee!