format C procedures........

[tempo21]

im thinking of doing a clean sweep of my HD. ie: reformatting and reinstalling win98. i have all the drivers for my hardware on CD, so wot is the best way to do it ???

 

[butchrecon]

Well if you have avery thing backed up the boot from the boot floppy and at select option #2 (For CD support). Then at the promt type format c: and then hit enter. Its that easy. James Collins
Field Service Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

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[goway]

make sure you have a startup disk that has format on it. Sometimes the ones that come with Win98 don't have this included on them. If it isn't goto C:\windows\command and copy format to your floppy. Start the computer up with the floppy and make sure it allows CD Rom support. Format the drive - format c: /u
After the format is completed goto the CD drive and type setup.

 

[Mosaic1]

As I remember it. Format is in the ebd cab on the bootdisk. Extract that to A: and you will have use of it.
Also, you should reboot after format or you will be stuck in Compatibility Mode and to get out of it you will need to
reformat, reboot and reinstall.

 

[Mulga]

Mosaic
Think you may be mistaken here, I have formatted and then reinstalled windows many times without rebooting after the format and have never experienced any problems. It is necessary to reboot after using fdisk before formatting any new partitions.

 

[Mosaic1]

Mulga,
Yes. After FDISK you do reboot. I have been taught to also reboot after FORMAT. I was told to first start without CD support and Format. Reboot, accept CD support and Change to the CD Drive>setup
I was also told when I started on the Boards that you had to restart after Format or you would be in Compatibility Mode. If I was taught incorrectly, that is interesting.

 

[Mulga]

Mosaic
I use my own boot disk which has a generic CD ROM driver and always boots with CD ROM support and have never had any problems. As a general rule restarting at each stage of any procedure (where applicable) is not a bad idea but I have never done it in this case. I was taught by a couple of very high powered pros and this was never mentioned. I would be interested to know if there is any reason why a reboot should be carried out. Anybody else out there care to comment?

 

[smitee]

I have had very limited experience in the areas mentioned. I am enjoying this thread. That being said, This excerpt explains at least one reason why reboot after format makes sense. I certainly cannot comment on the validity of the statements but offer it up as "grist for the mill".

From an article found on the following website..

http://www.datman.com/xxcopy/xxcopy10.htm

-----------------------------------------------------------
5. Reboot after format (back to Windows 9x)

Although it is possible to enter Windows from this
environment (provided that you installed HIMEM.SYS),
we do not recommend doing so at this point. Remove
the system diskette from the floppy drive and reboot
the system and enter the regular Windows environment.

-----------------------------------------------------
If you were preparing the new partition inside a
DOS Box, rather than in real-mode DOS, you could
access the volume and proceed to the next step
(XCOPY /CLONE), but you should still reboot now.
Because after a volume is formatted, it remains
in the so-called "MS-DOS compatibility mode" where
the disk I/O cache is disabled. Without a reboot
after a format, file access to the volume will be
extremely slow --- the XXCOPY action would take
literally hours rather than minutes without reboot
------------------------------------------------------------

Smitee

 

[hotfusion]

One thing to check is that the CD-ROM drive is accessible. Do this by inserting your boot-up floppy and re-starting the computer. Opt for CD ROM support when asked, allow the various processes to complete, after which you should see your CD ROM drive with its new temporary drive letter. Insert Windows CD and type in e:\setup (change e for whichever letter is asigned to your drive) This will, if everything is fine, begin the Windows installation routine which you can now cancel.
It would be a bit of a problem if you were to format and them to find you couldn't access the CD ROM drive. I have had this problem, which is why I recommend this simple check before going ahead with it. Good luck. Andy. My suggestions are what I would try myself. If incorrect, I welcome corrections to my rather limited knowledge. Andy.

 

[edfair]

Even in DOS environment would be better so you have some verification that the system took. But it isn't a big deal since the only difference is the loss of the configuration from the floppy. Whatever you are comfortable with.
I do it both ways depending on what needs to go on the hard drive and what I am installing from. Ed Fair
efair@atlnet.com

Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.

Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.