Hi David,
On Sun, 26 Dec 1999 22:19:19 David Landau wrote:
>I am familiar with the guides on NOSPIN, but I still feel unsure. For example, which >comes first -- the formatting or partitioning procedure?
Better safe than sorry! Never hurts to make sure you are comfortable with
things before jumping in!
The only time you would really need to run FDISK is when you are setting up
a new hard drive, or redoing the existing hard drive to create new partitions.
If you are happy with the partitions, then I would skip the FDISK and just
format the drive. If you want to partition the drive, let me know and I will
send you the steps if they don't get posted here.
In answer to your question above, it would be the partitioning first, then
format. Running FDISK wipes the drive of all information, including the
format. After creating the partition(s) again, they then need formated.
>And what about drivers? I don't have the original disks or CDs for my HD, >Motherboard, BIOS, CPU, or CD-ROM. Do I need to try and find and download all the >drivers first, before reformatting or running fdisk?
Yes, you are going to need the drivers, although Windows 95/98 usually
plugs in basic ones to get the system up and running, and then you can add /
install the correct ones. You should only need the drivers for your video,
audio, and modem, as well as any peripherals you might have, however those
usually have their own CDs / disks.
If the Motherboard and BIOS have updates or patches available, then it
wouldn't hurt to get them as well. However if you are new to this kind of stuff
and the PC has been running fine, you may want to just skip this.
>Is there some program which can show exactly what is in the computer, including >model numbers? For example, I tried finding a driver for my HD on the Quantum >website, but couldn't find a match. What to I need to prepare beforehand, and where >do I look for it? What do I need to have the originals of, and what can I find on the >Internet?
If you are running Windows 95/98, then the easiest way to see what you have
is to select Start, Settings, Control Panel, System, Device Tab. You should
see a listing of everything in the system. You can then select each one and
view the properties to get additional information, although it appears that you
have most of the basics listed below, and write down the info.
A couple of good web sites to go to that are helpful:
for drivers:
http://www.driverzone.com
To identify a piece of hardware, you can use whats called a FCC number
found on most cards (like video) and devices. You can then use the
following web site to find the manufacturer if you are unable to find it
listed at the DriverZone:
http://www.fcc.gov/oet/fccid/
>I have a Pentium P55C 166 MMX, AMI BIOS DMI Ver-2.0, Quantum Bigfoot CY HD >3.5GB, Cirrus Logic 5446 PCI with VPM 2MB, Windows 95 V 4.00.950r-7 Hebrew >Enabled, 64MB RAM, USR 33.6K Internal Fax Modem.
Best of luck!
Lance Kephart
LYCOShop is now open. On your mark, get set, SHOP!!!
http://shop.lycos.com/
PCBUILD's List Owner's:
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Drew Dunn<[log in to unmask]>
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