Drive reformatting

[tim55]

We have a Dell Windows 2003 SBS server with a number of partitions with data files on them. However, I want to reinstall the operating system as plain 2003 server and an obvious way seemed to be to reformat the c drive and reinstall from the recovery CD, leaving all the other partitions as they are.

I assumed that by booting from the 2003 recovery CD, as the 2003 install process was run, it would see that there was an existing operating system and give the sort of reformat options that I would have expected when doing W2K or XP installations. However, it simply launched into a 2003 server installation and on bootup, there is now the option to boot either 2003 server or 2003 SBS server. However, I may have missed an option. Did I?

No real issue, and if the c drive was reformatted first, then booting from the recovery disk would give a clean 2003 server only installation. However, and this might seem a pretty basic question, but what is the best way to reformat the NTFS c drive without effecting the other partitions?

Thanks.

 

[strella]

I don't think you missed an option. I think if the install detects it may be a reinstall it may not offer re-partitioning.

The quick answer might be to delete everything on C: and re-try, or, rename the program files and win directories to xxx.SAV anything to make the install think it is an original installation.

If you really need to re-partition ntfs of course there is partition magic -- I've had success with the open source

http://gparted.sourceforge.net/livecd.php

but not on your configuration.

Grin: Is everything backed up? Of course it is.

- J