Topic from another n00b user.

Hi Shinigami The hard disk you want to re-format, it is your main c: drive or a second drive you use for data etc. If it's e.g. your D: drive (NOT your main hd), then go to Windows Explorer, do a right click on the name of the HD you want to re-format and then click on Format.. If it's your main C: drive, you need to make sure that your system files are copied to it before the format begins. Most people use the (start.. run) fdisk command to format disks. Dane Dane

So what exactly do you do to wipe a HD clean?

why do you want to format your deive in the first place? If you do not know what or how to format then you learn more by reading the books and get more info because you will need all the drivers for all your hardware when you reinstall the OS. Did you backup all the data you need to keep?

i usualy format my HD whenever its bugged up pretty good. to format, rebot in DOS and at the C: command, type 'format C: /s' it will then say 'do you wish to format this drive' and select yes. but once you format you will loose all information on your HD. everything will be gone. make sure to reinstall whichever OS you were using before after the format.

you will have to bootup in dos from the floppy drive not from the 'c' drive because you cannot format the drive that you bootup from. Mkae sure you have the format command on the floppy disk and then type 'format c:/s' as suggested by Lindsy.

How to Partition a Hard Disk IMPORTANT: If you use the following steps on a hard disk that is not empty, all of the data on that hard disk is permanently deleted. How to Partition a Master Hard Disk To partition a master hard disk, run the fdisk command: 1.) Insert the Startup disk in the floppy disk drive, restart your computer. When the Microsoft Windows 98 Startup menu is displayed, select the Start computer without CD-ROM support menu option, and then press ENTER. At a command prompt, type fdisk, and then press ENTER. 2.) Do you wish to enable large disk support? Press Y and then press ENTER. This will enable the FAT32 file system 3.) After you press ENTER, the following Fdisk Options menu is displayed: 1. Create DOS partition or Logical DOS Drive 2. Set active partition 3. Delete partition or Logical DOS Drive 4. Display partition information 5. Change current fixed disk drive **Note** that option 5 is available only if you have two physical hard disks in the computer. 4.) Press 1 to select the Create DOS partition or Logical DOS Drive menu option, and then press ENTER. 5.) Press 1 to select the Create Primary DOS Partition menu option, and then press ENTER. 6.) After you press ENTER, you receive the following message: Do you wish to use the maximum available size for primary DOS partition? A.) After you receive this message, use the following method: B.) Press Y if you want all of the space on the hard disk to be assigned to drive C, press Y, and then press ENTER. Go to Step 7 C.) Press N if you do not want all of the space on the hard disk to be assigned to drive C. a.) If you select N then continue to follow these instructions b.) Enter the size of the partition you wish to make and then press Enter c.) Press ESC d.) Press 1 to select the Create DOS partition or Logical DOS Drive menu option, and then press ENTER. e.) Press 2 to select the Create Extended Partition menu option, and then press ENTER f.) Press Enter to create an extended DOS partition that uses up the rest of the hard drive g.) Press ESC. After pressing ESC fdisk will automatically try to create a logical DOS drive h.) Enter the size of the second partition you wish to create and then press Enter i.) If you created your second partition to use the entire size of the Extended DOS Partition go to Step 7 J.) If not then repeat step h until you have used up the rest of the Extended DOS Partition Go to Step 7 7.) Press ESC, and then press ESC to quit the Fdisk tool and return to a command prompt. 8.) Reboot How to Format a Hard Disk After you create the partitions, you must format the partitions: 1.) Restart your computer with the Startup disk in the floppy disk drive. NOTE: a.) If you are using a Windows 95 Startup disk, a command prompt is displayed and you can skip to step 2. b.) If you are using a Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, or Windows Me Startup disk, select the Start computer without CD-ROM support menu option when the Windows 98 Startup menu is displayed. 2.) When a command prompt is displayed, type format c: /s, and then press ENTER. This command transfers the system files and should only be used when you format drive C (or your "active" drive). For all other partitions, type format drive: (where drive is the letter of the partition that you want to format). 3.) When you successfully run the Format.com tool, you receive the following message: WARNING, ALL DATA ON NON-REMOVABLE DISK DRIVE C: WILL BE LOST! Proceed with Format? 4.) Press Y, and then press ENTER to format drive C. 5.) After the format procedure is finished, you receive the following message: Volume label (11 characters, ENTER for none)? **NOTE:** This is an optional feature that you can use to type a name for the drive. You can either type an 11-character name for the drive, or you can leave it blank by pressing ENTER. 6.) Reboot. How to Install Windows 98 After you partition and format your hard disk, you can install Windows 98: 1.) Insert the Windows 98 Startup disk in your floppy disk drive, and then restart your computer. 2.) When the Windows 98 Startup menu is displayed, select the Start computer with CD-ROM support menu option, and then press ENTER. 3.) Insert the Windows 98 CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive, type the following at the command prompt X: and then press ENTER Now that you are at the X: prompt type setup **NOTE** X is the drive letter that is assigned to your CD-ROM drive in these instructions. 4.) When you receive this message, Please wait while the Setup initializes. Setup is now going to perform a routine check on your system. To continue press Enter. Press ENTER 5.) Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the Setup procedure: Windows 98 Setup can be divided into the following phases: 1.) Pre-file copy phase 2.) File copy phase 3.) Enumeration/detection phase 4.) Configuring system settings 5.) Configuring Internet Explorer settings 1.) Pre-File Copy Phase During this phase, Windows 98 Setup runs ScanDisk on the hard disk, sets up the Windows 98 Setup Wizard, determines the folder in which to install Windows 98, prompts you for your CD Key number, and determines the components to be installed with Windows 98. Windows 98 Setup first displays the End User License Agreement (EULA). When you accept the EULA, Windows 98 Setup prompts you for your CD Key number. The CD Key number is a twenty-five digit value located on the back of the Windows 98 CD-ROM sleeve. When you run Windows 98 Setup from within Microsoft Windows 95, Setup automatically installs Windows 98 to the same folder in which Windows 95 is installed. When you run Windows 98 Setup from Windows 3.1 or MS-DOS, you are prompted for the folder in which to install Windows 98. Windows 98 Setup then runs ScanReg to test the integrity of the registry. ScanReg also makes a backup copy of the registry at this point. You are then prompted to save system files from the previous operating system. Saving these files enables to uninstall Windows 98. Note that if you convert your hard disk to FAT32, you no longer have the option to uninstall Windows 98. Windows 98 Setup then determines what components to install based on the following criteria: If you run Windows 98 Setup from within Windows 95, Windows 98 Setup automatically installs the same components that are installed in Windows 95. If you run Windows 98 Setup from MS-DOS or from within Windows 3.1, you are prompted to perform a Typical, Portable, Compact, or Custom Setup. After you select a Setup option, you are prompted for the locale for the Internet channels. You are then prompted to create a Windows 98 Startup disk. After you create a Windows 98 startup disk, Setup proceeds to the file copy phase. 2.) File Copy Phase During this phase, Windows 98 Setup copies the files needed to complete Setup. This involves copying files from the Windows 98 CD-ROM or shared network drive to your local hard disk. 3.) Enumeration/Detection Phase During this phase, Windows 98 Setup determines what hardware components are installed in your computer. This phase requires you to restart your computer either once or twice, depending on the type of hardware in your computer. This Setup phase can be identified by the Setting Up Hardware screen. 4.) Configuring System Settings During this phase, Windows 98 Setup configures Control Panel, prompts you for the appropriate time zone, and finalizes system settings in preparation for the first time Windows 98 is started. 5.) Configuring Internet Explorer Settings During this phase, which occurs when Windows 98 Setup restarts for the last time, Internet Explorer configures personal settings and any other optional Internet utilities installed with Windows 98.