hey i just got a new hard drive and i tried yto install win 95 but it says i need to create an ms-dos boot partition when i use a bootdisk to try it says i get a disk error or ivalid dos version

The easiest way to partition / format a new drive is to use the manufacturer's utility disk. An alternative is to use a version of win supporting 32 bit fats such as win95b or win98. The quickest method here is to insert a floppy disk in A:, and open a dos window. Issue the typical dos commands of Format A: /s cd\windows\command copy fdisk.exe A: copy format.com (exe) A: This will create a boot disk with the correct versions of fdisk and format.

Are you mixing up error messages? I usually get "non system disk or disk error" when the boot disk does not have the boot files on it. "Wrong DOS version" usually occurs when I try to use a command from a different version of DOS than the version whose COMMAND.COM is loaded in memory. (One comes before booting and the other after booting is complete). My guess would be you booted to drive C: and put a boot disk in drive A: and tried to use the commands on it when you got "Wrong DOS version"? I imagine your needing to create a dos partition means you did not make drive C: active when you were FDISKing, but I am not sure. Do you have any operating system on drive C:? What did you try to install Windows 95 from, floppys or a CD? If your drive is less than or is 8.4 Gigabytes and you are using Windows 95, I would not involve FAT32. FDISK with a version of MS-DOS (or windows 95 and do not pick large drive support if the option is offered). I think you need to start at the beginning with FDISK. Remove any partitions. Repartition and make C: the active drive. Format the drives created, and then try to install windows 96 again.