How to Format?

[caniroc]

I just finished building my first system. AMD XP2000+
It fired up fine and everything was good until I started loading the OS. I was going to reload 98se and halfway thru it said there is a problem with the disk and it stopped and asked to skip the file.
I continued loading and while it did end up loading I find 98 to kind of suck.

I do have a copy of xp that I guess I could put on.
Should I format my HD and start from scratch?
If so how do I go about formatting from the windows 98 desktop?

Thanks

Bob

 

[JW310]

If you want to install XP on your system instead of the 98 that's already there, just boot off the WinXP CD. During the setup process, it'll give you the option to format the drive again.

 

[caniroc]

I can't get it to boot from the cdrom

 

[Randabis]

Originally posted by: caniroc
I can't get it to boot from the cdrom

Have you checked the boot order of your BIOS? You need to change the first device from floppy to CDROM.

 

[daveshel]

Or boot from a win98 boot disk that enables CD-ROM support.

 

[KoolDrew]

Go into your BIOS and set the CD-ROM drive as your first boot device. It is alos much better to do a complete reformat rather then upgrading too.

 

[homercles337]

YOu have to format since win98 is FAT32 and XP is NTFS.

 

[caniroc]

I've tried booting from the 98 boot disk to run the xp disk. Couldn't get it towork. The xp disk is an oem from Dell if that makes a difference.
I am now in the process of formatting again and installing 98 back on. Once this is done can xp loaded over the 98 OS?
Seems like newbie questions but please bare with me.

Bob

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: caniroc
I've tried booting from the 98 boot disk to run the xp disk. Couldn't get it towork. The xp disk is an oem from Dell if that makes a difference.
I am now in the process of formatting again and installing 98 back on. Once this is done can xp loaded over the 98 OS?
Seems like newbie questions but please bare with me.

Bob

Why would you want to put 98 on that machine? Also, I'm not sure that Dell OEM disk will install on a non-Dell machine. You might need to pick up a new OEM copy in order to install it.

 

[RVN]

Originally posted by: homercles337
YOu have to format since win98 is FAT32 and XP is NTFS.

Bad logic. XP can be NTFS or FAT.

The Dell OEM disc won't work on a non-Dell machine.

If you install 98, you'll need a boot disc or start up disc on floppy or CD Rom that includes both the fdisk and format utilities.

 

[caniroc]

The latest update. I put 98 on it but want to get rid of it. I am getting a hold of winXP tomorrow. What is the best way to format? Can it be done using the xp cd?

 

[montag451]

yes

 

[Chaoticknight16]

Just get the boot order straight in the BIOS so that the cd-rom is first. Boot off the win XP cd, and the first screen shows your hard-drive with it's current partitions. Delete them all, then create a new one as big as it will let you (unless you want more then one partition, create as many as you want) you'll get the option to format then, and then choose which one to install XP on.

- A word of caution....if you have a external hard-drive...don't leave it plugged in...i left mine in after using it to back up my information...and destoryed the partition on that...lost all my back up data....