New HD and with new WIN XP installation ?

[DJ]

Hi, Could someone tell me if there is a way to install Win XP without the
program wanting to reformat the harddrive? I have a Western Digital 120 GB
that comes with an installation CD and this program does all the
partitioning and formatting.. Should I just allow WIN XP to format and
partition instead I've gone in one big circle here today.

Thanks,
Donna J

 

[Dr. Phil]

start clean....partition that 120...create a small partition for XP...say
10GB......anothe say 20 for applications....rest for data....put effort into
it up front and avois a world of hassle later...OK...

 

[DJ]

Hey Dr. Phil,
You're just who I need to hear from after a day like today. Really
appreciate the reply. Let me tell you my problem. Ok, I started with HP
Pavilion 40 GBs. No problem with my system recognizing the 40 GBs. So I
installed my Western Digital 120 GB and the installation program for WD
allowed me to partition and everything was great. At this point I still had
both HDs installed. So I was going to make the WD Master and made the
appropriate changes. Then I went to install my new WIN XP program and it
wanted to partition the WD harddrive again. So I allowed this and now I can
only get to 31 GBs on my new drive. Can you explain to me why it would
recognize the HP (Seagate) HD at 40 GBs and it's telling my that it can't
handle more than 32 now. ??
Any help truly appreciated.
Thanks again,
Donna J.

 

[roger]

Hi DJ,

Hi, Could someone tell me if there is a way to install Win XP without the
program wanting to reformat the harddrive? I have a Western Digital 120 GB
that comes with an installation CD and this program does all the
partitioning and formatting.. Should I just allow WIN XP to format and
partition instead I've gone in one big circle here today.

Just use the CD provided by the manufacturer to partition and format
your hd, you could try formatting three or more partitions for data,
programs, os, etc.

When you install XP, the CD should recognize the existent partitions
and ask you where you want to install. You might choose C: for the OS
to simplify things.

Good luck

 

[DJ]

Hi Roger
I partitioned it with the WD installation CD but whenever I try to
install the WIN XP it says it's not formatted right or something. So then
WIN XP cd won't go any further until the drive is formatted. I chose 3
partitions 40 GBs each, NTFS and then the default setting. I think the
default number was 4. Should I have chosen a different setting.
Thanks Donna J

 

[roger]

Hi Donna,

NTFS is more robust than FAT32, so you should have less problems with
the partitions in case of power outage, etc. It also offers more
possibilities of protection regarding privacy than FAT32.

With three partitions you can use one for the OS, one for Data and one
for programs, so if ever you decide to reinstall XP and format that
especific partition, you won't lose all the data you have on that hard
drive. I think you chose the right settings.

Good luck

 

[DJ]

Roger
Thanks for the reassurance. I hope I get it set up before my 1 year
warranty is up. HA, I hope so.
Thanks again
Donna J.