Help Please, going to format and want to partition ???

[leeland]

I am planning on formating my drive, and I have talked with some friends about partitioning off part of the drive just for the OS, and leaving the rest for other files...( MP3's, apps, and games....things of that sort). Is this a smart way to go about it, I was under the assumption that I would be able to save my important files incase I ever needed to reload or format and reload windows. If it is a good way to go about it, what is the correct way to do so. I have norton ghost and partition magic, but I really don't have a good feel for the programs and there entire use. any info would be greatly appreciated....


on a lighter note one of the reasons I am decieding to format is I am unable to use the CD-R drive for coping anymore, I recently moved and hooked the computer back up and ever since the CD-R (8X20 SCSI drive) will read any disk and says that it has created the disk successfully, but when I try to explore the disk it locks the computer up. I have updated the SCSI card with the latest driver and to my knowledge the CD-R is without conflict with anyother device. I am running windows ME, I have loaded that over the top of windows 98 in effort to try to correct this problem. I did get an error saying that there was a corrupt CAB file, I ran the latest anti virus and did not file one.

thanks for any reply

 

[Shalmanese]

Formatting of begginers

Chapter 1 - Backing everything up
okay back everything up, take a deep breath, Go back and make sure you backed everythink up, make sure you have windows + the latest drivers + winzip on a CD/floppy and a working bootdisk, Go back 1 last time and make sure that absolutly everything is backed up (a good(and fun) way of doing this is to delete everything you do not absolutly need and backup all the rest).

Chapter 2 - destroying your computer
start in dos with the boot disk and run fdisk, enable large drive support, delete all logical partitions (option 4) and create a primary partition of around 2 gigs (or 1.7 gigs and .3 gigs -explain later), create 1 or more drives for mp3's/games etc (personally, I like all the rest of my stuff on 1 drive), assign C as the primary partition, and exit fdisk, restart, format all drives, make sure your floppy drive did not just die during a format as has happened to me (NOTE: always make sure you have a fully functioning computer with internet access close at hand)

Chapter 3 - suddenly remembering you forgot to back something up
nuff said

Chapter 4 - Installing windows + misc
put your windows (98SE) CD in and run setup, follow all prompts, reboot, delete all crap from desktop, delete all crap from program files, delete all crap from start menu, install winzip, install all drivers then all programs in order of importance (Office first etc) making sure you restart EVERY time when prompted, unbackup your stuff back onto your new hard drive, if you created a 0.3 gig partition, put your swapfile on there or just put it with windows, <optional> do a drive image.

Chapter 5 - optional stuff
These are to be done at the appropriate moment:
1. realise you forgot to back something up
2. realise that your windows/backup CD is scratched to buggery
3. realise you forgot the network card driver
4. curse at your periphrials for not working well with one another
5. realise after half an hour of &quot;this device is not present or the drivers are not installed&quot; that you forgot to plug the card in
6. die of terminal boredom from watching your computer restart so many times

Oh, and good luck... You'll need it