Dee said:I would like to know how I would go about formatting my HD that is
running XP Pro. The system is too old to run XP and I am looking to
down grade to 98. How would I go about doing this?
Dee said:I would like to know how I would go about formatting my HD that is
running XP Pro. The system is too old to run XP and I am looking to
down grade to 98. How would I go about doing this?
I would like to know how I would go about formatting my HD that is
running XP Pro. The system is too old to run XP and I am looking to
down grade to 98. How would I go about doing this?
The Outsider said:Follow the instructions at this url. If you used NTFS on XP and want
to go back to Win98 you have to destroy the existing NTFS partitions
and not just delete them with FDISK. XP also creates a small hidden
partion and Delpart.exe will destroy that too.
http://www.russelltexas.com/delpart.htm
Dee:
Assuming your XP Pro system has been NTFS formatted - as it probably has
been - you can use the FDISK command on a Windows 98/Me Startup floppy disk
or a DOS boot disk to first delete the NTFS partition, then using the same
FDISK command, create a FAT32 partition or partitions (the FAT32 file system
must be used by Windows 98), then use the FORMAT command to format that
partition or partitions.
[/QUOTE]I would like to know how I would go about formatting my HD that is
running XP Pro. The system is too old to run XP and I am looking to
down grade to 98. How would I go about doing this?
Assuming your XP Pro system has been NTFS formatted - as it probably hasThe Outsider said:Follow the instructions at this url. If you used NTFS on XP and want
to go back to Win98 you have to destroy the existing NTFS partitions
and not just delete them with FDISK. XP also creates a small hidden
partion and Delpart.exe will destroy that too.
http://www.russelltexas.com/delpart.htm
The Outsider said:You didn't ell him that you have to tell FDISK to delete the *non-dos*
partition. If you just delete the partition normally it won't work
properly. I gave him the correct advice. It is much simpler to just
use Delpart instead of FDISK.
Dee:
"The Outsider" is correct in that when you invoke the FDISK command, one of
the menu items you will ultimately come to is "Delete Non-DOS Partition" and
that's the item that you will choose to delete your NTFS partition. I
reiterate that there is *no* need to use the delpart.exe utility in your
situation; it is *not* simpler to use than the FDISK command.
Again, if you need help in using the FDISK (and FORMAT) commands available
on a DOS boot floppy disk (Win9x/Me Startup floppy disk), do a Google search
as I previously recommended.
Anna
The Outsider said:FDSK doesn't always work in killing an NTFS partition. Please do tell
us what Delpart.exe is really for seeing as you seem to think you know
otherwise.
http://www.russelltexas.com/delpart.htm
Going nuts because you can't fdisk a Windows 2000, NT, or XP drive?
Don't feel stupid....it just won't work until you kill the NTFS
partition with another utility.
Here's a partitioning tool useful when you need to clear NTFS
partitions from NT or W2K drives and reinstall Windows
95/98/Millennium. Place it on your boot floppy and run it to delete
the NT partitions which defy Fdisk.exe. Then reboot and use fdisk to
create your Windows partitions. Delpart comes from the old NT 3.1 CD
or Resource Kit and is a very useful file when you need it.
For anyone coming upon this interminable thread for the first time the issue
is the OP's (Dee) posting that her WinXP system is apparently unstable and
she wants to delete her (presumably formatted) NTFS HD and presumably format
that drive FAT32 so that she can install Win98.
As we've previously explained, Dee can easily use the FDISK command on a DOS
boot floppy disk (Win9x/Me Startup floppy disk) to delete the NTFS partition
and subsequently create a FAT32 partition on her HD.
Let me repeat for (I think) the third time! There is *no* need to use the
delpart.exe utility in this situation to delete the NTFS partition. FDISK
will easily & simply accomplish this objective. The delpart.exe utility is
useful when one has previously created one or more logical NTFS partitions
in an extended partition on the HD. In that situation the FDISK command will
not "see" those partitions so using the delpart utility would be useful in
deleting those non-DOS partitions. That is *not* the situation here. Dee's
HD presumably contains a single primary NTFS partition. Her HD does *not*
contain logical drives.
Anna
P.S.
Dee - If you're still around, I trust you haven't been confused by the turn
this thread has taken. To accomplish what you want to do is a relatively
simple task and I trust you haven't been put off by the responses to your
original query. But I have an uneasy feeling that you might well have
been...