Reformatting Hard Drive

[p_funk]

I was thinking about reformatting my hard drive, and was wondering if anyone could give me any advice on what would the best way to go about this, or if it has alredy been discussed some where else in the board give me a link to it. Thank you for any help. :beerchug:

[ck-uk]

U r m8 i was just readin this tread 2mins ago (http://www.klboard.ath.cx/bb/index.php?act=ST&f=30&t=32230&hl=) :) :)

[Teena]

Hi p_funk, you could try searching google.com im sure you will find pleanty of info there to help you :)

[Somebody1234]

Are you intending on installing XP?

If so then just bootup the XP CD. There are options to delete/create partitions and options to format in FAT32 or NTFS.

[deathman102]

you have to make sure that your cd roms are atapi and that the boot record in the bios goes like this
floopy
cd pri master
and then hdd
then reboot the machine stick in the oem os and it will ask you what to do. its really easy. i did a whole pc clean up in an hour and a half and i have an 80 gig hdd

[p_funk]

This might be a stupid question, but I am fairly new to the computer world. Anyways what is the difference between FAT32 and NTFS? :beerchug:

[amphoteric88]

fat32 and ntfs are two different types of file system
fat32 is slightly faster for gaming purposes (but not noticably so) and ntfs is newer
right click here (http://people.msoe.edu/~taylor/cs384/sitania.pdf) and select save target as to get a pdf file which compares the two standards

[Grim]

Originally posted by amphoteric88@10 May 2003 - 07:47
fat32 and ntfs are two different types of file system
fat32 is slightly faster for gaming purposes (but not noticably so) and ntfs is newer
right click here (http://people.msoe.edu/~taylor/cs384/sitania.pdf) and select save target as to get a pdf file which compares the two standards
ntfs is not new, it has been used on the the commadore amiga for over 7 or 8 years, i used that system myself & still do.
Yet again MS steal other folks ideas.

[amphoteric88]

ok, maybe the concept is not a new idea, but it's widespread inplementation in home computers across the world is new.
ok?

[Hasnain]

Some precautionary steps while formatting your hard drive:

1. Make sure you store a backup of your 'My Documents' Folder.
2. If you use a lot of rare fonts, backing up the \Windows\Fonts folder would be a good idea.
3. Goto My Computer->C: and check if you have created any new folders there (Like C:\Downloads, etc..). Backing up those would be a good idea too.
4. If you use NAV, you could backup the \VirusDefs folder too, which would save you the time for re downloading the virus definitions.
5. Make sure you have access to all the driver software for your hardware. Most hardware vendors provide their installation disks separately, so that shouldn't be a problem.
6. Also, formatting will erase all your applications. So make sure you have the required setup files with you on a CD/Floppy/Another drive. (Examples would be MSOffice, Antivirus, etc..).

While formatting yout hard drive:
1. If you are about to install Windows XP, or any other OS that has a bootable installation disk, you would be required to set the 'First Boot Device' as your ATAPI CDROM. Your CDROM must support booting from it. (Older Samsumg CDROM's are known to lack this feature).
2. Make sure you have a Win98SE boot disk. You can download the boot image from many places over the internet. (Try a google search).
3. If you are installing from a CD, but you have booted your PC from a floppy, then most probably you wont have SmartDrive loaded into memory. This will cause the file copy process to slow down tremendously. (For Win2k, XP).

After you install your new Operating System:
1. If you have a permanent internet connection, you should install an antivirus as soon as your new OS is up and running.
2. You will also need to install the driver software for all the hardware that you have.

Thats all I can think of now :D