formattin hard-drive (1 Viewer)

[pigs_can_fly]

hei, i'm wondering, when u format ur hard-drive, do u lose everything including DOS and BIOS (i'm only on Win98 SE)? so does that mean i have to install drivers for like floppy drice, CDROM and all that stuff u take for granted when u buy a new comp? can someone explain the process of formatting all the way to getting ur computer working again?

thnx heaps!

 

[Winston]

DOS?! mmmmm lol... well DOS can be located on your Windows startup diskette, while your BIOS is actually not a part of formating ur HDD lol... so dont worry about that

Drivers side, most of your drivers will be automatically detected during Windows installation and installed on its own, but maybe there would be one or two maybe like your cd-rom drive might need a installation disk for its drivers because windows 98 might not have drivers for that cd-rom.

 

[Winston]

hmmm formating i think i'll leave that to Huy to explain once he gets on, because i need to go out now and i've explained it too many times im having dreams of formating my comp, so yeah just hold on tight and be ready for an exemplar response from Huy on Formating your PC!

To save him a little trouble i'll ask some questions so it will be easier

Tell us your File System, go to My Computer, Right click on your C: Drive and go to properties and tell me what it says at File System:, FAT 32 or NTFS? I think it should be FAT 32, i'm not recalling that 98 supports NTFS, i may be wrong havent touched Win 9x in decades

You don't have any important data on your HDD that needs backing up right?

Make a startup diskette to get ready if u already havent, insert a new formated floppy in your drive and go to Control Panel, and go to Add/Remove Programs, there should be a Startup disk tab, it's the last tab, and just follow what it says.

Make sure you got your Modem driver on a disk or something just in case Windows 98 doesn't have it and you'll be screwed in getting online that's the most important driver to get, as long as u got that to go online u can obtain any other missing drivers.

That's about it, please be patient and wait for our MSKB Technician Huy .. cause i gtg now cya

 

[pigs_can_fly]

thnx

file system is 32-bit

 

[tonberry_kun]

when u format u lose everything on your harddrive dos too, that's why when u restart ur comp after a format you just get a "insert system or boost disc" becuz u got nothing to boot to... which is why u need a startup disc, using it u can boot to dos, enable CD-ROM support (floppy disc drives don't need drivers)

win98 only supports FAT32 and 16 i believe...


neway:
- make a startup disk (control panel ---> add/remove programs ---> 3rd tab (startup disk))

- back up everything u need (i.e mp3s, movies, whatever)

- restart ur comp with your startup disk u just created and say goodbye to everything on your hardrive as you type "format C:"

- say yes... wait 10mins or so (depending on your HD size)

- after that restart again with your startup disk and choose "with CD-ROM support" go to D: or whatever drive ur CD-ROM is... and type "setup" (i'm assuming you're reinstalling win98se again), follow the prompts and it'll install win98 again...

otherwise:
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IF u're installing win2k, xp etc. i think you can just boot straight from your CD-ROM, simply change your computer's boot order so that it boots your CD-ROM first before your floppy drive (go to cmos... that's hold DEL key when ur comp starts and it'll go into cmos, and change the boot order sequence to make it boot your CD-ROM first)

now hit reset and put your win2k/xp CD-ROM in and it'll boot to the install screen... installing is pretty much simple it'll just as you the basic install questions
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after all this is done, when u boot ur comp u'll have windows back again... albiet with nothing else...

just go about installing all your drivers (such as video card, mouse/keyboard, sound etc.) again (i hope you have all the cds/disks they gave you when you bought the comp)

 

[jm1234567890]

when you format you loose everything on your hard-drive except the partition.

If possible try to get a winME startup disk, if you can't get one i can email to you. It is much better than the 98SE one.

EDIT: Also, you should go:

format C: /s


since C is your system drive

 

[Huy]

Originally posted by pigs_can_fly
when u format ur hard-drive, do u lose everything including DOS and BIOS (i'm only on Win98 SE)?

No.

so does that mean i have to install drivers for like floppy drice, CDROM and all that stuff u take for granted when u buy a new comp?

If you format your hard disk, yes.

can someone explain the process of formatting all the way to getting ur computer working again?

Wipe the disk.
Put the files back on.

(It's hot... I don't want to get into the 'beefy' bits)

Originally posted by Winston
[Bformating i think i'll leave that to Huy to explain once he gets on, because i need to go out now and i've explained it too many times im having dreams of formating my comp, so yeah just hold on tight and be ready for an exemplar response from Huy on Formating your PC![/B]

LOL it's too hot to type. I've had dreams about computer-usage too, it's freaky!

Make a startup diskette to get ready if u already havent, insert a new formated floppy in your drive and go to Control Panel, and go to Add/Remove Programs, there should be a Startup disk tab, it's the last tab, and just follow what it says.

Or you can visit www.bootdisk.com and download the disk if you want to create one from the image.
If you have the original Windows 98 (SE) CD-ROM, you can also boot from the CD if I'm not mistaken (I havent touched 98SE in ages...since 97/98 - Win2000 came out in 1999).

Originally posted by pigs_can_fly
file system is 32-bit

I assume you mean FAT-32.

If possible try to get a winME startup disk, if you can't get one i can email to you. It is much better than the 98SE one.

As tonberry_kon has stated correctly - you can boot off the CD-ROM, and if pigs cannot make a boot disk (startup diskette) then he can always visit bootdisk.com to download the images and create the disks (you can also visit microsoft.com to locate installation floppy disks).

Other than that, just follow tonberry's instructions.

Note If you don't know what you're doing - DON'T DO IT. Get someone else who knows what's going on to do so.

 

[jm1234567890]

formatting isn't so bad, a friend of mine formats/ghosts every month. I reckon that is needed to keep windows working smoothly. i only format every 6 months or so.

 

[Huy]

I had a friend who formatted almost everyday because he was "bored". It's good to format and start afresh every half year, if not at the latest on a yearly basis.

 

[hurrotisrobbo]

Originally posted by Winston
i'm not recalling that 98 supports NTFS, i may be wrong havent touched Win 9x in decades

A) It doesn't.
B) It hasn't been out for a decade yet, you arsehat.

Originally posted by Huy
It's good to format and start afresh every half year, if not at the latest on a yearly basis.

Only with certain broken OSes. ^_^

 

[Huy]

http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/ntfswin98.shtml

NTFS for Windows 98 is a NTFS file system driver for Windows 95 and Windows 98. Once installed, any NTFS drives present on your system will be fully accessible as native Windows 98 volumes. This version provides read-only capabilities.

B) It hasn't been out for a decade yet, you arsehat.

LOL, but maybe Winston was implying the extended-support phase for Windows 98.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle.mspx

Only with certain broken OSes. ^_^

True (don't go all Unix on me... )

Even with Windows XP, I would still recommend that people reinstall Windows (cleanly) every 6 months, or at least once a year to remove all the built-up junk. If not, then it's not very good PC maintenance imo.

 

[pigs_can_fly]

geez, i haven't formatted my comp in like 4-5 years

maybe that explains why it rumbles so much now, and is so fragmented

 

[Huy]

Originally posted by pigs_can_fly
maybe that explains why it rumbles so much now, and is so fragmented

You should always defragment your disks after you reinstall windows, and preferrably on a weekly basis upon scanning your disks for viruses.

 

[pigs_can_fly]

really, how long does it normally take? cos mine keeps restarting cos apparently something keeps writing to the hard drive

 

[Huy]

The bigger the hard disk, the longer the wait.

@pigs, if you have other processes running in the background, this would occur. Ensure that you are not 'actively' using the computer so as to prevent any restarting to occur. When writing to the disk whilst trying to defragment the disk will, inevitably, restart the process. I suggest that you close everything and end any superfluous background processes (check with your Task Manager) and leave your computer running overnight if need be to ensure that your disks are fully defragmented - don't touch it unless you have to (Start/Pause/Stop/Finish defragmenting).

 

[fatmuscle]

Originally posted by Huy


Or you can visit www.bootdisk.com and download the disk if you want to create one from the image.
[/B]

how do u go about doing that with a formatted HDD?



TIP: b4 u format, backup your stuff, and anyone else's who uses the same computer!
that's why networks are great!

 

[Huy]

Originally posted by fatmuscle
how do u go about doing that with a formatted HDD?

No, he would be reading the responses to this thread, before he formats. There's no point in formatting if you don't know how to, or the procedures that one would undertake

That was the whole point to this thread - so he can have answers, gain knowledge, etc. Bootdisk.com is required if he cannot make an startup disk.