Kevin Nowicki wrote:
>I received the box with the HD already wiped clean.  Fdisk showed no
partitions.
>How would I go about formatting HD?

By saying you "received to box" does this mean you got a tower or some such
thing? Was this a new unit or a previously owned one? Your hard drive may be
damaged as Michele Sayer wrote. When trying to format the disk and it hangs
for almost an hour, it may be hung on a bad sector and doesn't have
instructions on how to get past it.

When using FDISK, you have to decide on the partition size(s) you want and
set them. After this point you have the option of installing the operating
system and let it do the format or do it manually after you set the FDISK
partition size(s)that you want.

>Checked fdisk which showed one active partition 30gig fat32.
>I have a 30Gig HD.

I would think that the FDISK you did is set to use the whole hard drive
without partitions. If your willing to start over, I would go back and
examine all of the data in FDISK using option 4.This should show you the
information on how the drive is setup.

>Tried to install Win98 and setup stopped saying I needed more space to
>install the OS.  I don't know what was on the HD prior to me getting it.
>Could it be it had NTFS or HPFS on it

If memory serves me correctly I had the same thing happen to me on occasion
and I had to revisit FDISK, delete everything and start over. I recently
installed a new drive and had the dickens of a time trying to get it off the
ground. Only due to tenacity and determination was I able to format it and
go on about my business.

>and I can't format using Win98 startup disk?  How would I go about
formatting HD?

This may be subjective but there have been times that I have had to try
various Windows 9X "Start up disks" in order to be able to install the OS. I
maintain a Boot disk for my entire client builds just in case they misplace
the ones I give them.

Set the shunt in the hard drive accordingly. Boot the system using the
"Start up disk", enter FDISK and delete everything you can find listed. Back
out of FDISK and reboot the system. Start over doing the same thing by
entering FDISK and setting the parameters you desire and again, do as the on
screen instructions advise, shut down the system and restart it.

Please make sure that you have set the BIOS to boot from the CD when you
restart and put the Windows 9X setup disk in the CD. If all works well, you
will be on your way to a successful install of the OS.

Please let us know how you do.




Sincerely,

Frank Suszka
netTek Computers
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