UNIX format and install windows help....

[stanger]

hello, my brother bought a used scsi drive that had unix installed on it. my question is can he just fdisk and format the drive and install windows98 or is there another way/ or program that you are supposed to do it?

thanks stanger

 

[BOFH]

I prefer to fdisk and format away to get rid of Windows, but that's me. I do suppose it can work both ways though. I do find M$'s version of fdisk rather limited though.

 

[Supergax]

It should work fine. I had used the builtin fdisk with the installation of Windows 2000 Server to get rid of FreeBSD (I know, I know, I like FreeBSD 1000x better than Windows, but I had to study for MCSE tests). So I would assume the MS fdisk will work fine for you.

 

[MereMortal]

If the hard drive was connected to a different type of controller than he has now, he may need to low-level format the drive. After that he can fdisk and format as usual.

 

[stanger]

thanks for the answers guys.... he did mention a low level format. how do you do a low level format? i have done the fdisk/format using windows boot disk but not sure on the low level

stanger

 

[Gandu]

Note:

don't forget to do "fdisk /mbr" to get rid of *NIX boot loader or else it will be pain in the arse. Remember *NIX filesystem isn't FAT (dependend on what OS it is, Linux, Soalaris etc.) so fdisk can't access the partition. You will have to use *NIX fdisk to change the partition to FAT type to be able to format it using format and able to access it using fdisk.

Those are just my 2 cents.

 

[MereMortal]

I don't know if it is universal or not, but Adaptec controllers have an option in the SCSI bios to do a low-level format. I would suggest getting in there during boot up and having a look. I guess you can also check the manual for your controller.