Help on Windows XP partition

[James]

Hi, folks,

I have a Dell 4100 laptop with Windows XP (home edition)
installed by Dell. Recently, I have been encountering some
problems with the system and prepare to reinstall the
system. Before that, I also want to do partition and
format so that make sure there's no unknown lurks. I
failed in the following alternatives:
1) I tried to boot the system with my Windows XP CD, and
chose to install from fresh. In the step when there's a
page showing the partition information, I was denied
access to partion and was told "installation files saved
on the current partition under protection" (OK, I
understand I could not do it very well). However, I found
a strange info: the hard disk had a size of 19GB, in the
partition info, only the free space is shown! Does that
mean each time I try to reinstall XP, I will lose disk
space just for no reason? At the time, I believe I need to
get some DOS tools like Fdisk and format to do it.

2) I downloaded a copy of MSDOS6.22 (is there a newer
version?) and booted the system with it. By using the
fdisk, I found that it shows 19GB, however, only 8GB was
ready for partition! When I try to delete the current
partition of 19GB, it was denied for no reason. So, I
guess it may be due to the incapability of the DOS. Could
anyone suggest a source for partition?

3) I do not see any other CDs from Dell for technical
support, and there's nothing helpful for this issue after
browsing both DELL and MICROSOFT knowledge base. feel very
disappointed. I appreciate your help. Thanks a lot.

 

[Nicholas]

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

1. Open your BIOS and set your CD Drive as the first bootable device.
2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition(s), then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. After installing Windows XP, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.

7. It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except for you mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.
After XP is installed, visit the support website of the manufacturer
of each hardware device to obtain the latest drivers or software
designed to work with Windows XP.



--
Nicholas

------------------------------------------------------------------------


| Hi, folks,
|
| I have a Dell 4100 laptop with Windows XP (home edition)
| installed by Dell. Recently, I have been encountering some
| problems with the system and prepare to reinstall the
| system. Before that, I also want to do partition and
| format so that make sure there's no unknown lurks. I
| failed in the following alternatives:
| 1) I tried to boot the system with my Windows XP CD, and
| chose to install from fresh. In the step when there's a
| page showing the partition information, I was denied
| access to partion and was told "installation files saved
| on the current partition under protection" (OK, I
| understand I could not do it very well). However, I found
| a strange info: the hard disk had a size of 19GB, in the
| partition info, only the free space is shown! Does that
| mean each time I try to reinstall XP, I will lose disk
| space just for no reason? At the time, I believe I need to
| get some DOS tools like Fdisk and format to do it.
|
| 2) I downloaded a copy of MSDOS6.22 (is there a newer
| version?) and booted the system with it. By using the
| fdisk, I found that it shows 19GB, however, only 8GB was
| ready for partition! When I try to delete the current
| partition of 19GB, it was denied for no reason. So, I
| guess it may be due to the incapability of the DOS. Could
| anyone suggest a source for partition?
|
| 3) I do not see any other CDs from Dell for technical
| support, and there's nothing helpful for this issue after
| browsing both DELL and MICROSOFT knowledge base. feel very
| disappointed. I appreciate your help. Thanks a lot.