Reformatting a partitioned hard drive

Hi

I have a hard drive that is partitioned into three sections. One section has English Windows 98, another has Japanese Windows98, and the other is just for storing stuff. This system is a hassle, and has become unstable. I've burned everything onto CD for back up (except the Windows files). Now I want to remove the partitions, reformat the whole thing and upgrade to Windows XP.

But - I've never done this before.... Could someone help me out with some advice?

Much appreciated,
Al

many different ways to do it, but for the easiest way i know, boot up in the operating system that is on the c drive, go to my computer, right click the i assume d and e drives and format them, or which ever letter is assigned for the drives. drop the xp cd close the setup screen and reboot, boot from cd, once setup loads, you can delete partitions and create them however you like format the c drive from there also, i recommend formatting in ntfs, but is up to you.

Sweet - thank you.