Hi - I have a Thinkpad with a "scrubbed" hard drive. I would like to install win 98se - but am having trouble. I do not have a floppy drive but do have a win 98 boot cd. I have proceeded part-way into the installation and get the message "an error was detected while formatting your primary hard disk partition". I have tried deleting partitions using fdisk and adding partitions with fdisk and have not been able to resolve the problem. I am a bit of a rookie at this and would really just like to format the HD so that I can install win 98. Any suggestions? thanks - Peace

Do you mean a Win98 CD that is bootable and exactly what sort of CD is it (full W98 or an OEM disk supplied with machine)? You say this happens during installation but do you mean during formatting? DerekW

Before you continue - Some Thinkpads have a built in restore function, it will return the computer to its orignal configuration. During boot up does the computer say, just after the IBM screen displays to "Press F11 for System Restore" or something similiar? If it does, and you didn't delete the hidden partition on the hard drive that system restore uses, you'll have the computer up in a very short while. You won't need a floppy or CD. Even though you may have reformatted the c: drive, it won't effect the hidden restore partition.

I have a Win 98 se full CD. There is no restore option when booting the machine. It lets me go into DOS with CD support and begins the process of setting up Win 98, but gives me an error (as above) when formatting the HD. thanks - Peace

I'm not familiar with the newer Thinkpads with the restore-on-the-hard drive deal, but have you Run "fdisk" after booting with your '98 CD? Does it show a "non DOS" partition of any size? If so, that would be the "restore" stuff. I can't answer your question about the ongoing problem. Assuming the hard drive is healthy, and it may not be, what is the CD you are using? Is it a factory (Microsoft) cd, instead of a homemade burned copy? What does the format process do? Does it hesitate and "recover bad sectors" along the way?

I've tried running "fdisk" and it seems to work. The problem I am having is in installing win 98. I have a factory CD and it starts the set-up process then restarts - then tries to continue the formatting process and says "an error was detected while formatting your primary hard disk partition". It does not even begin formatting - there is no pause or anything. I suspect that the HD may be corrupted and I will probably just have to replace it. Thanks for your help. thanks - Peace

Before you trash the hard drive, try and find and download some diagnostics for it. Also, for not much money, you can buy a cable adaptor that will allow you to temporarily hook your laptop drive to your desktop, and at least elimiate the laptop as a hardware problem. like this one: http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat%5Fid=906&sku=17705&engine=adwords!654&keyword=%28laptop+hard+drive+adaptor%29