FDisk

  • Thread starter Thread starter Johny5
  • Start date Start date
J

Johny5

I need to do the below, is FDISK On the windows xp
because the problem im having left me in the middle of
the install so i have nothing on my hard drive. If its
not where can I get it?






Fdisk /mbr

Remove the partition and rebuild the master boot record
instead of just
reformatting. The MBR may have become corrupted or
infected by a virus
 
No it's not. However, the XP CD is bootable and will allow you to create,
delete and format from within setup. The information below assumes you have
a retail version of XP and not a custom OEM CD such as a recovery CD
supplied by your system manufacturer:
Assuming your system is set to boot from the CD-ROM drive, boot with the XP
CD in the drive. If it isn't or you are not sure, you need to enter the
system's BIOS. When you boot the system, the first screen usually has
instructions that if you wish to enter setup press a specific key, when you
see that, do so. Then you will have to navigate to the boot sequence, if
the CD-ROM drive is not first line, set it first in the boot sequence. Save
your settings and exit with the XP CD in the drive. The system will reboot.

A few screens into the boot process, if you see the message on the boot
screen to "Press any key in order to boot from the CD," do so.

After loading drivers and files, you should be taken to a screen with
the following:

To Setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.
To Repair a Windows XP Installation using Recovery Console press R.
To Quit setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

In your case, press ENTER.

Agree to the License agreement by pressing F8.

You will then be taken to a screen with two options.

To repair the selected Windows XP installation press R.
To continue installing a fresh copy of Windows XP without repairing,
press ESC.

This will bring you to a partition map where you
can delete, create and format partitions.
Select the drive you wish to format, delete the partition, then create a new
partition, format as desired and continue with XP installation.
 
The whole problem is that I can load windows xp cd and
format and partition but I tried 4 different CD's and
they always error saying a file could not be copied. So
someone told me to Fdisk the MBR maybe it has a virus on
it.


J5
 
If the file system on the current setup is NTFS, then FDISK is useless, all
it can do is delete what it will call the non-dos partition. There would be
nothing from which to run the command if the current file system on the hard
drive is NTFS and it wouldn't be recognized. As far as I know, when you use
the XP CD as suggested, it blows out the MBR and recreates it so I don't
think that is the issue.

Assuming you are using an actual XP CD and not a copy of a CD which could
give you the error you describe, you could copy the I386 folder from the CD
to the C drive and run setup from their by clicking winnt.exe in the I386
folder. You also need to run smartdrv.exe, first, if you have a Windows 98
boot disk, it should be on that disk, then run winnt.exe to run setup.
 
Johnny said:
The whole problem is that I can load windows xp cd and
format and partition but I tried 4 different CD's and
they always error saying a file could not be copied. So
someone told me to Fdisk the MBR maybe it has a virus on
it.
Click to expand...

Remove everything but the Video, mouse and keyboard. Restart setup. If setup
completes, do not activate. Install hardware devices one at a time, then
activate.

--

Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm
 
On Mon, 5 Apr 2004 13:32:04 -0700, "Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP
No it's not. However, the XP CD is bootable and will allow you to create,
delete and format from within setup.
Click to expand...

Limitation: It fails when trying to format FAT32 volumes over 32G.

This is not a limitation of FAT32, and XP can use FAT32 volumes up to
but not beyond 137G, as long as a more compitent partition manager is
used to create and format the large FAT32 volumes.

FDisk is not that partition manager, as it has limitations around 60G
(the unfixed Win95 or Win98 versions) ant over 99G (all FDisks).

Rather use BootitNG from www.bootitng.com there.


-------------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -
Click to expand...
Running Windows-based av to kill active malware is like striking
a match to see if what you are standing in is water or petrol.
 
Of course that presupposes someone wants or needs a partition over 32GB!:-)
Of course, with the advent Media Center PCs and the ability to use a PC as
you would a PVR, it certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility.

Given the price of BootIt and certainly Partition Magic, if that were my
only reason for acquiring the application, at least under normal
circumstances, I'd either stick with 32GB or find some other means of
getting around the limitation.
 
While some video applications may need partitions over 32 gigs (I have
an 80 gig partition for video editing only), in general large video
files MUST be NTFS anyway.

Microsoft has limited the ability of their software to CREATE FAT32
partitions over 32 gigs, but if such a partition is created with non-MS
software (Partition Magic, for just example), the will support using it.

However, FAT32 partitions over even 16 gig start to have real, and
sometimes serious issues in terms of efficiency and performance. I
strongly recommend not creating such partitions.
 
On Tue, 06 Apr 2004 20:31:13 -0400, Barry Watzman
While some video applications may need partitions over 32 gigs (I have
an 80 gig partition for video editing only), in general large video
files MUST be NTFS anyway.
Click to expand...

Yep - the 4G per file limit
Microsoft has limited the ability of their software to CREATE FAT32
partitions over 32 gigs, but if such a partition is created with non-MS
software (Partition Magic, for just example), the will support using it.
Click to expand...

You make it sound as if this were an elegent design limitation. It
isn't. An elegent design would refuse to start formatting a FAT32
volume > 32G, stating upfront that it is "too big".

Instead, what happens is that the formatter begins the format process
and continues right up to at least the 32G mark before failing with a
"volume too big" error. It looks like a deliberate attempt to make
FAT32 look flakier than it is.
However, FAT32 partitions over even 16 gig start to have real, and
sometimes serious issues in terms of efficiency and performance. I
strongly recommend not creating such partitions.
Click to expand...

I would not use such partitions as C: (in fact, I use 7.99G FAT32 C:
so as to enjoy page-friendly 4k clusters) but routinely use large
FAT32 volumes (up to 120G) for data, rather than frequently used apps.
All my videos, music, pictures and games run from there, and are fine.

I just wish MS would deliver a decent maintenance platform for NTFS,
so that using NTFS in consumer land didn't mean increasing the impact
of active malware infections, HD failures and file system corruption.


-------------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -
Click to expand...
Running Windows-based av to kill active malware is like striking
a match to see if what you are standing in is water or petrol.
 
cquirke (MVP Win9x) said:
On Mon, 5 Apr 2004 13:32:04 -0700, "Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP


Limitation: It fails when trying to format FAT32 volumes over 32G.
Click to expand...

It doesn't actually fail, it just refuses to create FAT32 partitions
that large. Since XP can use NTFS, and NTFS is a much better choice
for huge partitions, XP will only create partitions larger than 32GB
with the NTFS file system.

If you have a disk containing a FAT32 partition larger than 32GB
(created someplace else, of course), XP will use it with no problems.
It just won't create such a thing itself.
 
Limitation: It fails when trying to format FAT32 volumes over 32G.
Click to expand...
[/QUOTE]
It doesn't actually fail, it just refuses to create FAT32 partitions
that large.
Click to expand...

That has NOT been my mileage - did they fix this in SP1a?

When I tested this, the formatter did NOT refuse to start formatting a
"large" FAT32 volume (thus wiping out whatever was there, of course).
Instead, it ground on for ages of wasted time and *then* failed with a
"too big" error message.

That is what I call "failure", not "refusal".


-------------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -
Click to expand...
Running Windows-based av to kill active malware is like striking
a match to see if what you are standing in is water or petrol.
 
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