Clean Reformat 1

[noellees1]

Hi,
I have an old box which i rarely use but all the same it is used. It runs Win98SE with a 12gb hdd 128mbram AMDK6 right old bucket really but it runs office which is what its main use is.
I would like to reformat it entirely removing everything and reinstalling win98se i have it on CD do i need the boot floppys like i did for XP PRO (which was easy to isntall).
Do i need to Fdisk etc?
Can anyone point me to a knowledge base article with the steps to do this?
Cheers

 

[fenix]

With 98 it's always a good idea to have the start disk floppy. You can make one in control panel/add remove programs/make start disk (tab). You then boot to this disk,
and at the A:/ prompt, type in format.exe. Reboot to the disk and enable cd rom support option, and then change the A: prompt to your cd drive letter (Dand then type in setup with the 98 cd in the drive.

Your boot sequence must list the A: drive first for this method. To use the below, the boot sequence must be set to your D drive first
or go here:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q250928

 

[noellees1]

no sweat tht seems relatively simple 2 do. Just like xp really so i dont need to fdisk? or does format.exe do this for me?
Thanks

 

[fenix]

fdisk is for partitioning and is not necessary to do for a reinstall, unless you want to repartion your drive into sections (logical drives): some folks like to keep the primary drive for the OS and the logical drive for the data. Or for dual booting different OSs.

format sets up a structure for storing the data.

I have to correct my previos post. If formatting via the start up floppy, type 'format C /s' without the quotes at the A: prompt. (I said to type in 'format.exe')

 

[diogenes10]

I just did this recently on a machine that needed the harddrive (western digital) cleaned off.

I went to western digital's site, downloaded their zero fill utility, and zero filled the harddrive.
Then used windows 98 setup disk to fdisk, set primary partition active, and format drive.
Then booting from setup diskette, copied install files from cd to harddrive and installed win98 from harddrive.

I dont know that the zerofill and fdisk steps were necessary, but they made me feel better about anybody seeing previous data on the machine.

 

[ceh4702]

The Zerofill utility helps to identify bad spots on the disk and to completely remove the old data, or as close to it as most people can get. IBM told me one day it helps to mark the bad spots on the drive because it attempts to write to every bit on the hard drive.

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[noellees1]

Hi,
Sorry to bring this old topic back up.
Im now ready to do the reformat, how do i do it step by step.
I.E what do i need, then what do i need to press type at the prompt im afraid ive drifted into WYSIWYG things and have forgotten most of my DOS knowledge.
Also when my pc was built, several years ago. The person who made it and installed 98 on it managed to put the whole 98 cd on the harddrive i think, because whenever i installed a new protocol network etc, and most people need the cd i didnt it was found on the harddrive. Any idea where/how i do this

 

[edfair]

Usually put in a directory called \cabs somewhere under windows.
If you reformat the drive your reinstall stuff will go away and you will have to reload it again.
I would probably advise a floppy, check to make sure you have CD support with it, fdisk and see what you have. If you only have one partition, delete it, then create a primary drive leaving 200 mb unused, make it active, create an extended and assigned to D:. Then do the formats on both and copy the CD\win98\*.* to a \cab file on the D: and reinstall windows from there.
That way you can format the C: without having to reload the setup stuff again.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[noellees1]

Ed i dont follow, i really want to wipe EVERYTHING! totall reformat, cant i just use the format command and wipe everything then begin from the start because the PC is full of junk and i want it cleared.

 

[noellees1]

I also only want one partition and once the pc fills up with junk again its off to the junk yard!

 

[edfair]

Yes, you can format it. But you will need to have CD access to reinstall the OS, and unless you reload the .cab files you'll need the CD for driver/hardware changes.

I was suggesting the 2nd drive to simplify the next OS install, which may come before the HD gets full again.



Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[diogenes10]

Cant tell from your other posts if you have your product key, if you dont, you need to get it (the coded letters/numbers version) from the harddrive before you format it.

 

[masterchicker]

1. Make sure that the first item in the boot sequence is your floppy drive. Insert your Windows 98 Start Up disk. Allow your machine to boot from the floppy drive. The A propmt is expected to be displayed.

2. Type: "format c:" then press Enter. This should format drive C. If you have other partitions, format them accordingly if you wish.

3. Insert your Win98 installer in the CD Rom Drive. If you don't have other partitions, it is expected that your CD Rom drive is the D prompt. Type: "D:" then press enter. After which, type: "setup". Installation of Windows 98 must be launched. Follow instructions and you're good to go.