Problem with partitioning -- How to format hard drive and reinstall Windows?

[peter wu]

Hi, all,
    
   I have a dual-boot system (WinXP & Fedora 3), but during  further partitioning of C: drive with PartitionMagic, for some reason, it got really hosed up. Now I  lost access to Linux (but luckily, I can boot to WinXP from GRUB).
  
  - I tried to boot from Linux CD and 'linux rescue' but I don't have /mnt/sysimage, and this method failed.
  - I also tried 'fdisk -l' but it returns nothing, and can't do anything further.
  
  Since I seem to have Windows, I tried to just reinstall Linux with installation CD, but it gave me an error saying "No  Drives Found." The msg said there was no valid device on  which to create new file systems.
  
  So, I decided to format the hard drive and reinstall Windows, but the  reinstallation method provided by Dell (my computer manufacturer)  doesn't work on the machine.
  
  - I tried to boot from the Windows CD. I get the following msg: "Setup  is inspecting your computer's hardware configuraton..." Then the  computer hangs.
  
  The system seems to be really messed up. Is there any way to get out of this mess? I am basically looking for ways to format hard drive.
  
  I'd appreciate your help, in advance.
    
    --peter 
  

		
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