Intallation issues with Win NT 4.0 (FAT32)

[Toga]

I've read in the forum what hasn't worked but I thought I'd throw this question out for opinion from someone a whole lot smarter than me since it's a little different....

Here's a quick summary of what I have...
Win98 (FAT32)
C drive (6.4 gig)
D drive (30 gig) Just got this for xmas but when I connected it as the slave.....it also is FAT32.

Anyway...here's my question because I really need Win NT installed so I can install the Sybase Server I have.

Could I possibly back up my C drive onto my D drive and then reformat the C drive; install Win NT; and then restore my back up. Would this work???? I just have several programs where I no longer have the original disk and don't want to loose the programs.....

I Sincerely Appreciate any input anybody might have.....
Thank You

 

[Karpi]

Hello,

I think you can't go this way. Because NT4 doesn't support FAT32, you also can't use the Win9x registry database with NT4. Maybe you can run some applications after the restore. But you can install w2k if this is aa way for you. W2k supports FAT32 and maybe you can use all of the settings from Win98.

HTH
Karpi
<fluctuat nec mergitur>

 

[Toga]

Thanks....but I want to use 4.0 NT so I'm using the same OS we have at work.

I also found another limitation in this whole scenario.....my BIOS is limited to 8.4 gig. I get around that on my 30 gig hard drive via the software that comes with the maxtor drive....but it seems that it has to stay a 30 gig drive......and FAT32. What I mean is if I try to partition it up, it is only recognized as 8.4 gig drive total...until I reinstall the maxtor software.

Anyway....I went ahead and formated a 2 gig portion of the 30 gig drive to FAT and installed NT to see how things would work out. (My thinking was that I'd just change the start up sequence in the BIOS depending upon which operating system I wanted to run.)

In a nutshell, everything seemed to work fine when I had the 6.4 gig hardrive completely disconnected and the 30 gig configured as the master. If it was connected via the cable though, NT wanted to store a file on it....but couldn't because it is formatted FAT32. If I get it completely installed and plug the 6.4 gig drive in afterwards....it stops working again.

I tried so many different scenarios that I'm not sure I remember what's what anymore but does anyone know what this file that NT is trying to store on my other hard drive and is there away around it? It seems like the reason is related to my having to change the 30 gig back to the slave drive (Even though I tell the BIOS to start up via that one first) and it seems like NT can recognize and wants a file on the master drive?????

Anyway, my last thought short of having to physically unplug a hard drive each time is to pin them so they are both master drives and only delare one of them in the Bios when I start up....depending if I want to use WIN98 or NT. I'll transfer WIN98 op system to the 30 gig drive since it likes FAT 32 and I'll use the 6.4 gig for NT. Does anyone think that will work...or am I still in dream world here?

Sorry this is so long but I'm sure I can't be the only one that has struggled with this problem. I'm just hoping someone has actually solved it!!!!!

Thanks Again

 

[dxd]

I'll throw out a few things here, as it is really hard to follow exactly what you are doing or wanting to accomplish.

First, rather than going to all the trouble to jump into the Bios or alter the hd cables or jumpers I would suggest you get Partition Magic 5.1 or later. Along with being able to create/resize/convert partitions(on the fly), it also comes with a boot manager (Boot Magic) that will allow you to hide partitions from one operating system or another and boot whatever drive you want to.

Second, although your Bios is limited to an 8.4gb maximum, Windows NT 4 is limited to 7.9gb for the boot partition. Using the partitioning/translation software from Maxtor allows the drive to be seen in its entirety eventhough the Bios will not. (You may want to look into a Bios upgrade if possible).

Third, what happens exactly when the 6.4gb drive is installed after NT is setup.....any error messages or Blue Screens? I can't think of a reason why NT would want to store anything on this drive. As long as...the first primary partition is on the 30gb drive and is FAT16. Not real sure.....is the Maxtor software installed?

Anyway...that's about all I can think of at the moment. Doug
dxd_2000@yahoo.com

 

[Pistol34]

Hi,

You have a couple of options. If you are not interested in having windows 9x and a bootable operating system, then you can format the the boot partition with NTFS this has a 4GB limitation during install but can be as large as 7.5 GB. Window NT can read from Fat 32 but can not write. You could then copy all your data to the NTFS partition. You could then format the second drive to be as large as needed. The problem is Maxblast, the Maxtor software. It is bad. Software like that formats your drive to fool you motherboard into thinking the drive is smaller than it is. Windows then recognizes the full size. If you are a simple home user the software is fine, but not for what you are after.

I would burn all your important data to cd or maybe a tape. Reformat and reinstall NT. But you can't reformat the 30GB drive because the formating is what allows your motherboard the see the drive.

You could also use Windows 2000 It reads from all FAT tables. I know it's not NT but you Sybase server will probally run.

You should check your motherboard's website for bios upgrades. Otherwise get a new board. You can hardly find drives smaller than 20GB now. Your life will be easier if you do this.

 

[tweakthis]

Did you get it to dual boot yet?

How to Dual Boot Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 with FAT16 or NTFS Volumes

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 98
Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q243/8/96.ASP