Should I install an os on my storage HDD?

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I just bought an 80 gig 7200 maxtor to add some space in addition to my 40 gig 7200 WD. I have 98se installed on the 40 gig now, and am planning on

still using the 40 for my games and utilities and stuff, and keeping the 80 just for storage. Do I just need to format the new 80 drive, or is it a better idea

to install 98se on both drives? I have setup a new drive on my own before, I just don't know about setting up a second drive. Any advise about

advantages or disadvantages of having an os on both drives would be great. Thanks

 

[NzAnE2K]

1) you do not need to install win98 on both drives unless you are going to install a different os on the other drive
2) If you are just going to use the 80 gig for stoarge, you would not need to format it.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

really? I thought for sure I would at least have to format it. So, straight out of the oem box it will work with any os?

 

[DukeChestnut]

i don't think 98 can even live on an 80gb unless u partitioned it. fat32 can't allocate a big drive like that... can it?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Hmmm, didn't think about max size under 98se. My 40 worked fine and I have it as one big drive (no partitions). Anybody know what max size is for 98se?

 

[Nothinman]

really? I thought for sure I would at least have to format it. So, straight out of the oem box it will work with any os?

Out of the box you will have to partition and format it.

i don't think 98 can even live on an 80gb unless u partitioned it. fat32 can't allocate a big drive like that... can it?

FAT32 supports several terabyte parttions IIRC, it's somewhere in MS' labyrinth site, although FAT32 is pretty fragile with any size partition.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Ok, before anyone yells at me about not reading FAQs, I looked and found that FAT 32 supports drives upto 128 gb at least, so 80 should be just fine 🙂. So, all I have to do is stick it in an empty IDE space and run windows like normal off my original drive and then convert my new HDD to FAT 32? sounds pretty easy to me. 😀


Thanks Nothinman, just saw what you had posted while I was off reading

 

[NzAnE2K]

You have to partition it when its first out of the box? i bought my western digital 18.1 gigs and it worked straight from the box without formatting and partitioning.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I don't think I want to risk putting my stuff on a drive straight out of the box, especially an oem box hehe. Retail might come with some type of formating on it, but I don't really know what I'm talking about. I'll probably just FAT32 it and go from there.

 

[Om]

You will need to format the drive or windows can't use it.

And Fdisk has a 64Gb limit so you can use a linux partitioner or go to MS site and download a patch for fdisk. Even with the patch it it will show you are formating the HDD size minus 64GB, so for a 80GB drive it will show you have a 10 or 15GB drive, but after it's finished (with the patch) you'll have your 74 GBs formated (80GB minus the overhead and formating) without the patch it I believe you will simply have a 10 or 15GB drive after formatting.

 

[manly]

<< You have to partition it when its first out of the box? i bought my western digital 18.1 gigs and it worked straight from the box without formatting and partitioning. >>



You must have purchase a nice open-box model from Fry's. 😉

 

[amdskip]

I would always format before using😉

 

[Nothinman]

You have to partition it when its first out of the box? i bought my western digital 18.1 gigs and it worked straight from the box without formatting and partitioning.

Even if that was true I wouldn't just put my data on it, I've seen way too many IDE drives die a few days after installation to do that.

 

[DukeChestnut]

to get around the "fdisk can't format over 64gb". u can just format a small HD like wotever u got laying around. ghost the image then drop the image on the 80gb HD. that should take care of the size issue.