FDISK the hard disk?

[Thief_]

I want to re-install WindowsXP Pro on my notebook but don't have a floppy
disk, so how do I fdisk the hard disk?

Regards

Thief_

 

[Neobyte]

You dont need a disk or to use fdisk. Boot from the XP CD and during
the initial screens you will have the option to partition your disk(s)
however you like.

 

[Default User]

I want to re-install WindowsXP Pro on my notebook but don't have a floppy
disk, so how do I fdisk the hard disk?

Regards

Thief_

The XP installation disk will allow you to format, create partitions or
resize existing partitions.

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

 

[Lil' Dave]

Doesn't your restore CD do that?

 

[Steve N.]

The XP installation disk will allow you to format, create partitions or
resize existing partitions.

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

What? The XP CD has no means of resizing partitions.

Steve

 

[Ken Blake]

In

I want to re-install WindowsXP Pro on my notebook but don't
have a
floppy disk, so how do I fdisk the hard disk?

Even if you had one, that's not how you do it. FDISK is an old
tool and can't even handle NTFS partitions.

Just boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if
necessary to accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean
installation (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when
prompted, then create a new one).
You can find detailed instructions here:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm

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

However why do you want to reformat and reinstall? In my view,
it's usually a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never
be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've
run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows
2000, and Windows XP, each for the period of time before the next
version came out, and each on two machines here. I never
reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than
an occasional minor problem.

It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical
support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to
almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is
"reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them.
It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it
doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that
most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree).

But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You
have to restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all
your programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and
application updates,you have to locate and install all the needed
drivers for your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all
your apps to work the way you're comfortable with.

Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome,
you may have trouble with some of them: can you find all your
application CDs? Can you find all the needed installation codes?
Do you have data backups to restore? Do you even remember all the
customizations and tweaks you may have installed to make
everything work the way you like?

Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve
that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and
far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for
troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only
after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person
have failed.

If you have problems, post them here; it's likely that someone
can help you and a reinstallation won't be required.

 

[BC]

In


Even if you had one, that's not how you do it. FDISK is an old
tool and can't even handle NTFS partitions.

I wouldn't use NTFS these days -- whatever theoretical
superiority it may have to FAT32 is largely besides the
point to being able to easily backup and recover from a
serious Windows problem or infection.

Just boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if
necessary to accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean
installation (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when
prompted, then create a new one).
You can find detailed instructions here:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm

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

However why do you want to reformat and reinstall? In my view,
it's usually a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never
be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've
run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows
2000, and Windows XP, each for the period of time before the next
version came out, and each on two machines here. I never
reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than
an occasional minor problem.

If a PC has been whacked once too often with sophisticated
worms or there have been an awful of programs installed
and removed, especially with XP, a clean reinstall is just
about the only thing that will get you back a speedy, clean
running system.

It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical
support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to
almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is
"reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them.
It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it
doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that
most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree).

But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You
have to restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all
your programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and
application updates,you have to locate and install all the needed
drivers for your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all
your apps to work the way you're comfortable with.

Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome,
you may have trouble with some of them: can you find all your
application CDs? Can you find all the needed installation codes?
Do you have data backups to restore? Do you even remember all the
customizations and tweaks you may have installed to make
everything work the way you like?

Most people are happy with the defaults and just want
things to work without a hassle.

Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve
that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and
far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for
troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only
after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person
have failed.

Your average tech will just clean up the hard drive, maybe
the registry, and then run some antivirus and antispyware
utilities. Anything beyond that by a more serious tech
will likely be cost prohibitive considering the cost of new
PC's these days.

If you have problems, post them here; it's likely that someone
can help you and a reinstallation won't be required.

Nowadays, anyone who contemplates reformatting the hard
drive is doing so because of a huge slew of issues.

 

[Gordon]

I wouldn't use NTFS these days -- whatever theoretical
superiority it may have to FAT32 is largely besides the
point to being able to easily backup and recover from a
serious Windows problem or infection.

How does the file system effect the backing up of data?

 

[Ken Blake]

In

I wouldn't use NTFS these days -- whatever theoretical
superiority it may have to FAT32 is largely besides the
point to being able to easily backup and recover from a
serious Windows problem or infection.

Your choice, of course. I use and recommed NTFS, except in
situations where one needs to dual-boot with a non-NTFS-aware
operating system. Backing up and restoring NTFS partitions is not
at all a problem.

Nowadays, anyone who contemplates reformatting the hard
drive is doing so because of a huge slew of issues.

Not at all true, in my experience. *Many* people contemplate
reformatting and reinstalling for the most trivial of reasons. As
a single example, I've seen people consider reformatting and
reinstalling because the task bar got moved to the left side of
the screen.

 

[Jonas Islander]

However why do you want to reformat and reinstall? In my view,
it's usually a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never
be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've
run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows
2000, and Windows XP, each for the period of time before the next
version came out, and each on two machines here. I never
reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than
an occasional minor problem.

It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical
support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to
almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is
"reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them.
It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it
doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that
most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree).

I agree with what you say here. I would just like to point out that
trying out new applications DID cause a lot of problems on Windows
95/98/ME. The system often became unstable and refused to start up
properly just because one installed/uninstalled a couple of software
packages.

 

[Steve N.]

I agree with what you say here. I would just like to point out that
trying out new applications DID cause a lot of problems on Windows
95/98/ME. The system often became unstable and refused to start up
properly just because one installed/uninstalled a couple of software
packages.

IME, usually by the installs replacing .dll files used by the system
with thier own versions.

Steve

 

[BC]

How does the file system effect the backing up of data?

After a big problem where Window won't start in any mode,
it's much easier to gain access to a FAT32 formatted drive
than it is to an NTFS in order to get stuff off. Also it
comes in very handy when dealing with worms that manage to
load themselves low level even in Safe Mode -- nothing
beats a "C:\" for serious troubleshooting.

I did some disk imaging backups recently using boot floppies
and Drive Image Pro 4.0 -- it turned out I had to use another
program to back up the XP NTFS partitions but not the Win2k
ones. Of course the Fat32 partitions were a breeze. I never
put anything critical on NTFS.

-BC

 

[BC]

It takes me on the order of 3+ hours to thoroughly
clean a PC that's been hit hard with sophisticated
spyware and worms. I'm also distressingly running
into undetectable bugs more frequently -- that is
things that are loading automatically, that will either
reappear on the next reboot after deletion or not
delete at all even in Safe Mode, and are obviously
not part of the system or a legitimate app, yet will
not be detectable by an updated Norton.

The people I help are usually fairly savvy enough
to try all of the usual remedies and Google for
answers. (I'm astonished at how so many lawyers
know how to use Hijack This.) Trust me - a screwed-
up task bar would not exactly get them to reach for
a Restoration CD.

-BC

 

[Ron Martell]

I wouldn't use NTFS these days -- whatever theoretical
superiority it may have to FAT32 is largely besides the
point to being able to easily backup and recover from a
serious Windows problem or infection.

The superiority of NTFS over FAT32 is far more than just theoretical.

And while it is true that tools to recover files from a damaged or
corrupted FAT32 drive are more widely available than they are for an
NTFS drive in similar condition, it is also true that such problems
are very much less likely to occur on an NTFS drive.

So the choice needs to be made:

NTFS with a slight risk of corruption or failure that may be difficult
to recover from

or

FAT32 with a vastly higher risk of corruption or failure that is
somewhat easier to recover from.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I want to re-install WindowsXP Pro on my notebook but don't have a floppy
disk, so how do I fdisk the hard disk?

Regards

Thief_

FDisk is an old MS-DOS utility that is neither available or needed
in WinXP. All legitimate WinXP installation CDs are bootable and have
the capability of deleting, creating, and formatting partitions.

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

 

[Bruce Chambers]

What? The XP CD has no means of resizing partitions.

Steve

Well...., other than the blunt force method of deleting them and
recreating them in the desired size(s), that is. ;-}


--

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

 

[Bruce Chambers]

How does the file system effect the backing up of data?

It doesn't.


--

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

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I wouldn't use NTFS these days -- whatever theoretical
superiority it may have to FAT32 is largely besides the
point to being able to easily backup and recover from a
serious Windows problem or infection.

NTFS's superiority over FAT32 isn't in the least bit theoretical.

Frankly, I wouldn't even consider using FAT32 when NTFS is an
option. FAT32 has no security capabilities, no compression
capabilities, no fault tolerance, and a lot of wasted hard drive space
on volumes larger than 8 Gb in size.

FAT & NTFS File Systems in Windows XP
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfs.htm


Limitations of the FAT32 File System in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=kb;en-us;Q314463

Choosing Between File Systems
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...prodtechnol/winntas/tips/techrep/filesyst.asp

NTFS file system
http://www.digit-life.com/articles/ntfs/

If a PC has been whacked once too often with sophisticated
worms or there have been an awful of programs installed
and removed, especially with XP, a clean reinstall is just
about the only thing that will get you back a speedy, clean
running system.

Formatting the hard drive to solve a virus or spyware problem is
rather like using an axe to trim one's fingernails. Sure, it'll
probably get the job done, but it's rather messy...., and almost
always unnecessary.




--

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

 

[BC]

NTFS with a slight risk of corruption or failure that may be difficult

to recover from

FAT32 with a vastly higher risk of corruption or failure that is
somewhat easier to recover from.

No. Let's get real, shall we?

It's much more like:

NTFS with a slightly lower risk of corruption or failure
that is vastly more difficult to recover from.
or
FAT32 with a slightly higher risk of corruption or
failure that is vastly easier to recover from.

-BC

 

[BC]

I've seen plenty of articles about the alleged
superiority of NTFS, but in everyday life you rarely
if ever see it. What you're much more likely to run
into is a corrupt or malfunctioning Windows aggravated
by a file system that can be a colossal pain in the
ass to recover data from.

The most common file corruption I see comes from hard
drive issues that will just blue screen your Windows.
Under those circumstrances NTFS is a big liability,
especially if the drive is beginning to fail. And then
there is the worm issue, which also gets aggravated big
time with NTFS -- not being able to get to a true C:\
makes some worm removal tasks much, much more difficult.

And a few times recently I ran into some odd issues that
seem to be related to an NTFS bug -- I try to remove IE
temp/content folders and I get blocked from certain
folders even in Safe Mode. I eventually can get rid of
them by first renaming and then moving them, but WTF.

I've done too many emergency recoveries and tricky worm
removals to ever trust NTFS on any of my personal systems.

Sorry.

-BC