Using FDISK on new computers

  • Thread starter Thread starter Defoliate Sea
  • Start date Start date
D

Defoliate Sea

Hi, alright, i bought this new computer and i had to put
in a new partition. So i started up my computer, with the
windows 98 startup floppy. Created a primary dos
partition, then restarted. After i restarted, I checked
the FDISK again to make sure the procedure had gone well.
It came up with these stats:

Partition Status Type Volume Label Mbytes System Use
C: 1 A Pri Dos 29306 UNKNOWN 100%

I was woundering why that "UNKNOWN" was there. Well, I
continued the installation of windows 98. Since there was
a partition in place, the C drive was pushed up into the
D drive, I tried to format the D drive but this message
popped up:

Format not supported on drive D:
Format termintated.

So I skipped the format process and went on to installing
windows 98. (I'm installing 98 so I can install XP
because you can't install XP on the 98 startup disk) But,
it freezes as soon as it gets past the scandisk check and
says i dont have the minimum requirements for the
installation. Could anyone help me? Please e-mail this is
you can, thanks.
 
Greetings --

Simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be offered
the opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part of
the installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of
boot devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
 
You are doing this the hard way. The XP CD is bootable, has all the tools to
partition, format and then install XP. You may have to set your BIOS to have
the CD drive as the first boot device, then boot from the XP CD and follow
screen prompts.
 
Hi;
Simplify everything and >1st< get rid of those (all) unneeded partition(s)
with fdisk.
Reason
=====
If you "start clean" (no partitions at all), the messages you'll get during
a clean install of XP will be much simpler to comprehend.

Xp self-installs (and manages the partionning/formating) if the BIOS in
yourPC is set to boot from CD-Rom Drive first with HDD 0 as second boot
device.

After the installation you just set back to HD 0.
Mikey
 
It was listed as "unknown", because after you create the partition with
fdisk, you have to reboot and format the partition. Then, reboot again and
the partition will be recognized.

But, as others have pointed out, this is completely unnecessary, as the
Windows XP CD is bootable, and the install program can do this for you (with
your guidance).
 
A friend has a Dell 4400 he bought a year ago. For several
months he has been unable to get Windows Updates or connect
to certain websites. His computer did get infected with two
viruses, but his Norton reported that they had been removed.
We tried resetting all his privacy settings, etc. Several
months of attempts to fix the problem led nowhere.
Decided to run sfc /scannow but it would not run. Tried a
repair install, which said it completed. It hadn't, CPU
usage was very high, sfc, defrag, nothing was work
correctly. Virtual memory was report as low, even though
set to system managed, it showed 0. Eventually decided that
the only fix was a clean install. And that worked, BUT
His 114 GB C: was all he had. So all the data he had not
backed up (most personal data was) was lost.
Windows Update reported 46 Critical Updates (we turn ICF on
as soon as we created the dial-up connect)
But if he had had, (he does now) several partitions, he
could have used Windows Update Catalog for his downloads,
his personal data, etc. and saved it on F:, so when C: has
to be formatted, only the OS and applications need to be
install again. His updates could be re-applied from F:


| Hi;
| Simplify everything and >1st< get rid of those (all)
unneeded partition(s)
| with fdisk.
| Reason
| =====
| If you "start clean" (no partitions at all), the messages
you'll get during
| a clean install of XP will be much simpler to comprehend.
|
| Xp self-installs (and manages the partionning/formating)
if the BIOS in
| yourPC is set to boot from CD-Rom Drive first with HDD 0
as second boot
| device.
|
| After the installation you just set back to HD 0.
| Mikey
|
|
 
Greetings --

Your idea of "simple" is rarely best. Anyone with any real-world
experience supporting PCs will tell you that it is almost always best
to keep one's data files stored on a separate partition or hard drive,
away from the OS. It streamlines the backup process no end, and makes
it much safer and easier to reinstall/repair the OS and applications
without affecting the data.

Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
 
Hi Bruce C;

You quite often dissagree... with me.
Is it personal?


You seem to remember an old advice (bad day at your end) that got proven
totally wrong and also utterly dangerous...
....or were some thread(s) a year or so ago about "error messages and their
obtuse meanings" the initiators?

I was not the only one then in the foray with the 1st cause!

This said, your answers are 99.9%+ very valid, clear, to the point and I'll
recon and grant.

On this here one, I'll stick by my guns.

How is he easily gonna create a new partition, not get mixed up with the
procedure (and loose everything) on his
presently FULLY partionned (C:) hard disk drive that he intends to continue
using with the updated PC?

Give the guy a break!

I say "save most of the stuff to a new folder while still possible and then
go at it again".
Mikey
 
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