Need to reformat or erase harddrive or both?

[mccoady]

I am not a beginner although then again I don't know how to install an OS, but can someone suggest some easy steps I may be able to understand to attemp to do this. I want to sell an old computer (400mz with 98' installed on 40gig drive) but since it was acting strange like not wanting to load Windows without taking forever, I think it needs to be reformatted first and then maybe it needs to have the information erased before I sell it.

So to start out is there some easy steps to first reformat the harddive keeping in mine my limited computer knowledge? I'm willing to try since the worse I can do is screw it up and it's not working right anyway. Also should I reinstall 98' or XP Pro which I have on my new computer? Thanks!


Mike

[ViRaL1]

You should be able to find some good utils for cleaning your drive at http://www.download.com

[lumis]

depending on the amount of ram, i would install xp.
xp requires 64mb of ram, 128mb is the minimum i would run it at.. 256 is okay.. 512 is good.. 1GB is great :P

even on a 400mhz machine, i would rather be running xp than 98. i'd just disable themes, indexing & system restore to improve system performance.

also, its a breeze to install.

if the bios is set to boot the cd-rom as the first boot device, pop in the xp cd-rom, delete the partitions, format the drive (i suggest ntfs/full), and install.

you might have to find some drivers for it, but most should be automatically installed. after that i would run windows update & deliver.

[mccoady]

Okay this is where it gets tricky for me, I know how to get to the bios but thats about it. How do I know if the bios is set to boot the cd-rom as the first boot device, is this the normal setting?

And your're saying you use the XP cd-rom to reformat the drive? I guess I'm not sure how I should answer all the questions that may be asked after I insert XP cd-rom or have you already answered them for me?

[fmctm1sw]

I don't have XP but doesn't it require activation over the internet? It may not allow you to activate it if it has it registered on another computer. In the CMOS, there should be a setting for "boot order" or something to that effect. Just find your CD ROM and make sure it's first. I believe Win98 will format the drive for you but I've had trouble with NTFS partitions. If you have NTFS patitions (like if you upgraded your WIN98 to Win2K or something), you may need a tool called delpart.exe to get them off. If not, just load the Win98 CD and boot up (after setting the CMOS to boot from the CD ROM).

[ViRaL1]

Also should I reinstall 98' or XP Pro which I have on my new computer? Thanks!


Mike

If you're talking about using your same copy of XP, that's a bad idea. That could screw both of you up (plus it's not legal). Just put 98 back on it. Besides, that machine wouldn't be all that great with XP.

[mccoady]

Okay ViRaL1 I really hadn't thought of that, I will just attempt to put 98 back on it.

[mccoady]

Okay what am I doing wrong, I put in Windows 98SE disc (not Windows 98 Starts Here disc) and it has four options:
Interactive Sample
Cool Video Clips
Browse This CD
Add/Remove Software

I have no idea what all the different folders and files in "Browse This CD" so I assume it would have to be the 4th option. When I click on add/remove program it goes through checking my computer and then ends up telling me it "already has an operating system installed which cannot be upgraded by this version", no where does it give me an option of re-formatting my drive. When I when into CMOS it had my C drive listed first so I guess that is right. Any idea?

[ViRaL1]

You want to set your BIOS to boot from CD first. Then you'll get the boot menu for the Window$ 98 CD when you restart. If you're already in Window$, you've gone too far.

[pfh]

Create a boot disk on floppy.

When computer boots choose load with cd rom support.

When you get to the c:\ prompt -type "format C:\ /s" w/out quotes.
HOPEFULLY it doesn't have any "EZ-BIOS" junk on the master boot record, otherwise, you're in for some real fun trying to get that removed!!
EZ-BIOS and it's cousins are drive manufactures utilities that once had to be used on older machines that could not recognize large drives. A nescessary but evil little boot level program that's hard to remove. A 400mhz machine with a 40 gig drive? I bet it has some type of Ez-BIOS, however, it will need this utility if you plan on keeping the same parts. So if i remember right, after format the EZ-BIOS should stay intact because it resides in a hidden partition within the Mbr. I'm pretty sure you'll be alright. To double check you'll have to find the drive manuf. web site and search for FAQ's regarding EZ-BIOS and large drive support on older machines.

After it's finished you should be able to access the Setup.exe command on the Win98 cd. To do that you have to type " D:\ " w/ out quotes to access cd rom drive.

Once you have the D:\ prompt showing you would type "setup" w/out quotes.

Keep it as a Fat32 drive if putting Win98 back on. Do not format as NTFS cause there's no going back.

And if this is all too cryptic then maybe you should seek some on site help or take it to a shop.

Another way to do it would be to take the drive out and put it in your XP machine as a slave drive and do a format on it thru the XP os. But keep in mind to leave it as fat32- XP gives you the choice to go to NTFS or fat32.

[mccoady]

Thanks for the response but I think this may be over my head. I may need to just junk it as I was going to try to sell it (I know for not much) and it wouldn't make since to pay anyone to do it for me.

[Skith]

make a windows 98 startup disk:
1. Put a disk in the floppy drive
2. Right click on the A: drive (in explorer)
3. Choose "Format"
4. Select the "Full Format" option
5. Select the "Copy System Files" option
6. Proceed to format the disk.

Once the disk is finished, restart the computer with the floppy in the drive. Your computer should boot from the floppy to a DOS Prompt screen (all black with a bit of text).

If your prompt should look like:
A:\>
If not, type: A: and press [enter].

type: Format C:\ /s
The computer will begin formatting the system drive, it may take a while for the process to complete.

If you have any additional drive partitions to format:
Type: Format x:\ (replace "x" with the drive partition letter you want to format).

Once you are done formatting, insert the Win98 CD and reboot.

You should now see an option to boot from CD to install Win98.

If you do not get the option/chance to boot from the CD you should end up back at the DOS Prompt.

Switch to your CD drive by typing D: and press [Enter]. (replace "D" with your CD drive letter.)

Type Setup or install (it is one of the two, I do not remember which).

Post back if you have problems.

[snafu099]

Don't junk it. For someone it may be a great first computer at a great price.

If you have a win98 boot floppy boot disk, use that to boot with or without cd support.

When you get to the A: prompt type the command "format c:/s" without the quatation marks. This will format the drive with fat32 due to it's size, destroying any data that was on it and make it bootable but without a windows os installed. Give or make a copy of win98se install disk to provide with pc and sell it. Explain that for the price it is not worth your time to re-install os

This should not be to hard for you, and if you want give it to someone that can not afford one at any price? Makes you feel good, is better for the enviiroment and could help someone less fortuneate.

[snitzle_iii]

XP! if u got the cd all u need to do druing hte boot is to hit i think f8 or something and u can reformat that way

[mccoady]

Thanks Skith and snafu099 I will give it one more try this weekend with your instructions, much appreciated!

[mccoady]

Skith after I made the boot disc (and left in computer) and rebooted it went back to reloading Windows, what have I did wrong?

[pfh]

set bios to boot from floppy 1st

[Skith]

pfh has the right idea. You will need to enter the bios at boot up (usually during POST, a message will be displayed saying to press the Del key (or some other key) to enter setup.

The setting to change device boot order will likely be under the "Advanced BIOS Features" (or something similar).

There should be a list of options that looks something like:

Feature / Setting
Virus Warning / Disabled
Quick Power on Self Test / Enabled
First Boot Device / Floppy***
Second Boot Device / Hard Disk***
Third boot device / CDROM***
Boot Other Device / Enabled
Swap Floppy Drive / Disabled
Boot Up Floppy Seek / Disabled
....
some other features
....

The setting with the *** next to them are the ones that you need change.
I personally have my systems set to look at Floppy 1st, CDRom 2nd and Hard Drive 3rd.

DO NOT change any other settings in the BIOS. If you accedentaly change a value, there should be an "exit without saving" option (it should also ask when you exit if you want to apply the changes).

[Bjs]

If its ever had xp on it you need the tool that removes the boot information , the tool is called delpart , and as ms seems to have buggered the ftps , I did find it on a site all by itself and not wrapped up in the 40mb download it was initially .

Make yourself a windows 98 boot floppy and add format.com , fdisk , and the delpart too it , thats the basis for a good system wide utilty floppy .

Next : you locate in your bios the information regarding "boot from cd" and move it to second boot device .

Second is a: , and as for the hard drive , its better to set it to "no" boot .

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Place floppy in drive and wait till at a:
Run delpart .
simply folllow the instructions .
If you see anything related to ntfs , delete it now .
The program should ask if you want to update the boot sector , do so , and reboot .
Now you repeat the step again , but this time you run fdisk
If you only wnat one partition , chosse the first number in the options , and follow the on screen information , when done , esc to reboot .

Now when it dose this , turn the pc off or else .

turn it back on , do all before again , this time you will run "format c:" , and let it go .

when done this , place the windows 98 cd in cdrom , remove floppy , let it reboot .

Turn pc off , then back on again .

Now it will load the cd , choose the load win98 option , and its smooth sailing from there , the pc should be back to good health once you load all the system drivers such as audio , video , and others , including any mother board related drivers .

As for those people saying go with xp , fine , do it that way , but I am telling you that pc is way , way , way , to damn slow to be of any value , and the user certainly wont get any satisfaction from it being so slow ...

Dont forget when done to reset the hard drive to boot ...

[mccoady]

Well I've never been able to figure out how to change the boot order in the Bio so I've kind of came to a standstill.