KB ID 0000083
Problem
Before starting the hard drive must be formatted, refer to the PARTITIONING section for more details. You CAN format a partition that is ALLREADY formatted to “wipe it clean”.
WARNING: Formatting a Partition that contains information will DESTROY that information.
This section deals with FAT32 formatting, this is required for operating systems like Windows 95/98/ME but can also be used by Windows 2000 and XP – The only time I would recommend using FAT32 for 2K and XP, is if you are dual booting your PC with two operating systems, and still want to see ALL the drive from either operating system.
Solution
Formatting a Partition
1. First ensure you have a windows 98SE Bootdisk, you can download one, CLICK HERE
2. Boot the PC with your boot disk, ENSURE the boot order is set in the BIOS to boot from the floppy disk BEFORE the hard drive.
3. When The PC has booted simply type format c: {enter}.
4. You will get a warning that you are about to “Wipe” your drive and erase all the data. Press Y then {enter}.
5. The drive will now start formatting, depending on the drive size, this may take a while – time for a coffee :0)
6. The system will now create the File Allocation Table – This is like a “routemap” for your operating system so it can find all its files.
7. You will now be asked to enter a Volume Label, if you have a lot of partitions to do this is a good idea, i.e. Music, WorkStuff etc.
8. If you don’t want a Volume Label, just press {enter} I’m calling this one PETESDRIVE.
9. This will tell you some information about the drive, for example how big it is, this one is approx 4Gb. And that’s it finished.
Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links
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