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BOOT CAMP 53
FORMATTING AND PARTITIONING
There are only two reasons to partition or format (or both) a
PC hard disc drive: one, because it is a brand new drive that you're about to
install on your machine, or two, the programs or data that it contains have
become irretrievably corrupted. Both procedures effectively erase all of the
data on a hard disc drive so they shouldn't be undertaken lightly. (Yes we know
data can be recovered but for the purpose of this piece we'll assume a disc is
'wiped' when it is formatted or partitioned).
Formatting in particular has come to be regarded as a 'cure-all'
for PC ills but it really should be used only as the absolute last resort,
especially if the hard disc contains a lot of programs and data. It goes
without saying that you should backup anything that cannot be replaced before
embarking on such a desperate measure but more than anything else it's the nuisance
factor that should make you think twice and try every other possible solution.
Apart from the time and effort required to re-load the operating system and programs,
all of the individual settings and customisation for Windows and every other
application will be lost, it could take days or weeks to get back to normal. One
final word of warning, before you start make sure you have a boot disc (more
about that in a moment) the full version of Windows (not an upgrade) plus the
product ID code or registration numbers (and those for any other applications
that need one).
If that still hasn't put you off then it's a good idea to
know something about what you're about to do. Think of a hard disc drive as a
filing cabinet; partitioning is akin to deciding how many drawers it will have.
Until recently most hard disc drives had a single partition but earlier versions
of Windows were unable to handle more than 2 gigabytes of data at a time, so
larger disc drives had to be split up into chunks or partitions that the
operating system regards as separate drives. Later versions of Windows 95 and
Windows 98 use an improved data handling system called FAT 32, which allows
disc drives with a capacity greater than 2Gb to be treated as a single drive.
Formatting a freshly partitioned hard disc prepares it for
use, gives it a structure and creates a filing system. Returning to our filing cabinet
analogy, on a previously used drive, re-formatting a bit like emptying everything
out of the drawer (or drawers) and filling it with a new set of empty hanging
files.
If you are starting afresh with a new hard disc drive,
either as a replacement or an addition, (to increase the capacity of your
system), then before you can use it, it has to be partitioned with a program called
Fdisk. Fdisk is included on the System or Boot disc that you were prompted to
make when you first used your Windows PC (you did make one, didn't you? If not
do so now, go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove
Programs and select the Startup Disc tab). If the new drive is larger than 2Gb
make sure the version of Fdisk supports FAT 32 -- i.e. the boot disc was
created on a Windows 98 PC or the OSR2 version of Windows 95.
The PC's BIOS (see Jargon Filter) has to be set to boot from
the floppy drive, so it can read the boot disc. Switch the machine on and when
the A: prompt appears on the screen type 'fdisk', (without the quotation marks
of course), press return and follow the instructions. Always ensure that
Partition 1 is 'active' if you want the PC to be able to boot up from that disc.
When the job has finished re-boot the PC, run fdisk again, select option 4 to display
the partition information and check that everything is okay.
Formatting is equally straightforward. Once again the PC
must be set to boot from the floppy disc drive in the PC's BIOS program. Load
your Boot disk and at the A: prompt, type 'format c: /s' and return. The command
/s is an instruction to copy important system files onto the hard disc so that
it can boot upon its own, without help from a floppy disc.
When it has finished remove the boot disc and re-start the
computer, this time it should boot up on its own and present you with the C:
prompt. If you get a message saying 'please insert boot disc' that means the vital
system files haven't been copied from the floppy to the hard disc. In that case
boot up from the floppy disc once more and when the A: prompt appears enter the
command 'sys c:', and try again.
At this point you should now have a working but empty PC,
the next job is load the Windows operating system. The system files that were
copied to the hard drive during formatting should tell the PC to recognise the
CD-ROM drive. In that case all you have to do is change to the drive letter for
the CD-ROM drive, usually by typing D: (though it may be another letter if the
drive is partitioned), type setup, enter the necessary registration
information, sit back and let Windows get on with it. If you can't get it to
recognise the CD-ROM drive then the CD-ROM driver hasn't been installed and you
will need to load the necessary software manually. You will find it on one of
the floppy discs that came with your PC. Pop in the disc, change to the A: drive
and type 'dir'. This will show you want's on the disc, look for something called
'install.exe', 'setup' or 'cdinstall', type it in, press return and follow the
instructions.
Next week -- PCs and family trees…
JARGON FILTER
BIOS
Basic Input Output System, a set of instructions that tells
your PC what it is connected to, and how to communicate with devices like disc
drives and memory chips. Instructions about how start the BIOS program appear
at start up (usually press a key or key combination). The Boot Sequence command
(usually listed under Standard or BIOS features) specifies the drive where the
PC looks for the boot program. This should be set to 'A,C', so the PC checks the
A: drive first.
FAT 32
File Allocation Table -- the indexing system used by the PC
to control where and how data is stored on the hard disc. The FAT 32 system
makes more efficient use of the storage space available and allows drives
larger than 2Gb to function as a single drive.
OSR2
Original equipment manufacturer Service Release 2, the later
version of Windows 95 supplied to PC manufacturers, incorporating many of the
features of Windows 98 (including FAT 32). This was not sold separately by
Microsoft but it is widely available from 'friendly' dealers and through ads in
computer magazines.
TOP TIP
This little tweak will allow you to add Control Panel to
your Start menu, with a sub-menu containing all of its contents. Go to the
Start button, right-click your mouse and select Open. Go to File then New and
choose New Folder. The folder will appear in the window below, press backspace
to clear the name field and type in the following line precisely:
ControlPanel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-
A2DD-08002B30309D}
Double check it, check it again and when you are 100%
certain it is correct press Enter. Now go to the Start menu and you should see
Control Panel, along with an arrow leading to its contents. You can remove the
item using the Remove options on Start > Settings > Taskbar & Start
Menu.
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