ski

I made both of my hard drives (main and storage) NTFS upon Win2000 Pro installation. I'd like to make the storage one FAT32 now so I can put Win98 SE on there and have it dual boot.

How do you change from NTFS to FAT32? I've tried formatting the storage drive (X... it only works when I set it to NTFS. If I try to change it to FAT32 for formatting, it says "Volume size (or label) too big" and exits at 99%. HELP please!

OverDrive

actually, are you sure you don't mean FAT32 to NTFS? Because of the way NTFS is, its impossible to convert it to the broken FAT32 system, if it is possible, it is gonna be so fragmented that it would be nearly useless data.

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OverDrive

well beat me down like a red headed step-chosenfool, I made a mistake.

But I doubt that it is smart to "undo" something that is not meant to be undone.

It would probably be better for both the HD and the life span of the OS's to just berid of the partition and and do a fresh clean format.

attgig

well, win2k's setup, you can undo the ntfs partition, and format it into a fat partition. then, install win98 and it'll convert it into fat32.

but...you might have to reinstall both os's if you don't want to get into the setup files....this is because win98 doesn't have an os chooser thing that win2k has before starting up. So, if you install win98 on top of that, then, win2k has no clue that you did that, and won't put 98 on the menu.
Also, I remember reading that 98 has to be on the c: partition....so, it might be a bit of trouble to got through.

I forget how you can install win2k and then win98 on top of that, but there is a way....(anyone help?)

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thorodin

Yeah you can do it..
But:
1. Back up all the data and stuff you gotta keep.
2. Get a copy of Partition Magic 6 (FYI the v7 is out now).
Install it on the computer . Also install the BootMagic program that is also on the CDROM with Partition Magic. Read the manual throughly!! I can't stress this enough! Make the floppy disks as outlined in the Partition Magic manual. AND the disks at outlined in the Boot Magic manual. Take my word for it, you WILL nead them at some point.
3. Boot the computer using the Partition Magic disks you made.
4. Convert the partition from NTFS to Fat32. You can also go the other way.
5. You can use Boot Magic to setup a boot option menu for the various OS you have .
I have done this several times and it works.

You may just want to wipe the entire disk clean and start over.

I did this and setup 3 OS on the same disk. 1 partition for Win2000 w/NTFS, 1 partition for Win ME w/FAT32, and the last for Win NT w/FAT. The onle thing you must remember is to load the FAT partition of the first partion on the disk because of the boot boundry limit of FAT, in this case with Win NT. Win 2000 (w/FAT32 or NTFS) and WIN ME do not have this issue.
I then installed Boot Magic on the Win ME partion, set it up, and now I can choose what partition (W2k//ME//NT) I want to boot to at any givin time. Yes it's a lot of work, but it gives me lots of options. FYI> if you decide to wipe the disk clean at some time in the future, please remember to uninstall Boot Magic from whatever partion you installed it on. If you don't, it will cause you headaches when you go to fdisk/partition the disk again. This is because Boot Magic modifies the the first clusters of the disk and sets a boot table index up that simple FDISK will NOT remove. I learned this one the hard way. I ended up calling Boot Magic's tech support on that one.
Have fun!

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ski

So could I copy all my stuff back to the storage drive (X:), format C: to FAT32, install win98, then install win2000 all on C:?

1. Take out X: after all stuff is copied to it?
2. It's basic, but how would I format my C: drive, like i need the steps to get to the command prompt and what the command is.
3. Then I'd insert the win98 CD, install, and make sure to create C: as FAT32?
4. Then reboot, insert win2000 CD and install it onto C:?

FYI...
C: IBM 60GXP Deskstar 40gb (7200)
X: Western Digital CAVIAR 60gb (5400)

Thanks in advance guys, you've been a help so far

ski

hey, UPDATE
I just got my X: drive to FAT32 using Partition Magic. I'm gonna try some stuff now, see how it works

I loaded all the stuff on C: and stuffed it on X:
Now should I format C:, or just change it to FAT32? I think format... so I can install win98 then 2000?


[Edited by skiAtomic on 08-27-2001 at 09:15 PM]

thorodin

Hey skiAtomic,
It sounds like you have a copy of Partition Magic v6?
I'm going to assume so. It's quite long, but here goes:
1. Wipe the disk clean of EVERYTHING.
2. Boot with the Partition Magic boot disks.
3. Create 2 PRIMARY partitions. (NOTE you can only have 4 primary partitions on a single hard drive. One of the partitions will have Win 98 and the other Win 2000. (as an example)You will create each partition, one at a time. Select the option to create primary partition, format to FAT32 and make one of the partitions active. (Worry about converting to NTFS later for simplicity sake.) Remember, whichever partition you select to make active will be the first partition you setup (ME/2k/98/NT-whatever. NOTE: if it's a NT partition make sure that you put this one at the beginning of the hard drive due to the cylinder limit issue of FAT)
5.In your case, what you should end up with is 2 primary partitions, both of them formatted with FAT32, and 1 of them will be active. The other partition will be hidden.
6. Turn off the computer to clear the memory.
7. Now comes the fun part. Assemble all of your OS software and drivers. NOTE: you should start building it with nothing but the video card installed.
8. Startup the computer and install the first operating system. It does not matter which one is first. This OS will install on the new "C" partition. The other one you created will be hidden by Partition Magic. Don't worry, you will get to that one later.
Get out the Partition Magic CDROM and install Boot Magic (it's on the same disk). Having read the manual, identify and label both partions. The active one and the hidden one. I usually name them "ME, 98, 2k or something you can be sure of.
9. When done installing this, turn off the computer.
10. Startup the computer. If you setup Boot Magic correctly, you should see a listing of partitions (named after whatever you decided on) before you. Select the partition for the OTHER operating system you want to install.
11. Install the new OS on this partition.

After you are done here, install you PCI cards one at a time. I.E. Put 1 in, load the drivers and reboot. Then startup and select the other OS on your startup list and load the drivers for that OS. Follow me? Continue until you get all of your hardware installed.

What you end up with is a hard drive that gives you the best of all worlds. I use this type of setup so I can play games on 98 while doing my work with W2k. All on different partitions. If one dumps, so what! I just reformat that particular partition and set it up again. A quick note here. If you have another hard drive that is at least as big as the partitions you created, use a program such as Drive Image 4 and make an image to the spare drive of each of the partitions you create after they are up and running. It really is nice to use when you are faced with a trashed partition and don't feel like reloading the whole thing all over. (like, how would -SICK-)
Have fun

thorodin

OOPS>I knew I should have included a thought on various imaging programs.

I have actually used Goast, Drive Image, Take Two, and a couple of others.
Of all the ones that I have tried Drive Image and Goast are by far the most reliable.

In my opinion, it seems the ones that are run from a pure DOS mode seem to get it right. I have had a few issues from ones that report that they can be run from within windows.

I own a copy of Drive Image and use it frequently. I have used a previous version of Goast with great sucess, but do not own a current copy

If you are looking for an "Image" program, I would highly recommend Drive Image or Goast (my personal preferences).

ski

It's silly, but how where do you type in "FORMAT C:" ... should I boot to the win2000 command prompt, and should it say like
"C:\> FORMAT C:" ?

I know you can't format the hard drive you're working on. Sorry, I told you it's silly! But I gotta know :)