On 28 May 99, at 13:17, Edgar Lemaire wrote:

> I got a new computer (PII 400MHz) and I'm planning to install Windows NT.
> I would like to know if I have to partition (FDISK) and format the HD in
> the usual way before installing Windows NT or Should I follow a different
> procedure?

  It will depend upon what kind of CD-ROM drive you have, and how it's set up.
The NT CD-ROM is bootable; if your CD-ROM drive can be booted from (usually
requires SCSI...), it will check to make sure that your (SCSI) controller is
one that it supports.  IF so, it will run the install from there.
  If not, it provides a tool to generate the three magic start diskettes that
you'll need; if your CD-ROM dirve is not ATAPI and not on a SCSI controller
for which NT bundles support, you'll need an NT driver diskette for it as
well; you can probably download the necessary files from the manufacturer's
web site.

  A ways into the install, you'll be shown the partitions on your main drive,
and be given the opportunity to delete or create them and select one to
install NT to.  Note that although it will let you specify larger partitions,
it can't create a FAT16 partition larger than 4GB -- and since it makes an
NTSF partition by creating a FAT16 partition and converting it, the same
limit applies.  [Note that the main use for a FAT16 partition under NT is to
share it with another OS such as Win 95/98, and these are limited to 2GB
using FAT16....]
  NT's boot-loader will create a menu with at least two entries on it (your
normal NT config, and one using only VGA video); if it is being installed to
a (FAT16) partition that already has an OS, this will appear as the third
menu entry.  [Adding another OS after NT is installed is considerably
harder....]


David G

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