Replacing 'C' drive!

Thanks Steve, I didn't think about that, the processor is just a "Pentium",
not sure what the speed is, but isn't the capacity-capabilitiy determined by
whether you choose "Fat32", or "NTFS" in the Partition process, or am I
thinking of the Format process where you make that choice? I guess either
way, I might run into some BIOS problems; why can't things be simple?

Thanks again for your help!

Ray
 >> Stay informed about: Replacing 'C' drive! 

Lunaray wrote:
 > Thanks Steve, I didn't think about that, the processor is just a "Pentium",
 > not sure what the speed is, but isn't the capacity-capabilitiy determined by
 > whether you choose "Fat32", or "NTFS" in the Partition process, or am I
 > thinking of the Format process where you make that choice? I guess either
 > way, I might run into some BIOS problems; why can't things be simple?
 >
 > Thanks again for your help!
 >
 > Ray
 >
 >
win98 does not give you the option to use NTFS
however you do need to get the updated fdisk since the original fdisk
with win98 has problems with a drive over 64 gigs
you can get the updated version from microsoft...of just use a winME
bootdisk
(see <a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://www.bootdisk.com" target="_blank">www.bootdisk.com</a> )
btw: if your bios does not support a drive that big...
an alternative to the pci controller would be to merely use 'drive
overlay' software
it usually will come with the new drive (or you can download it from the
mfg/s site)
 >> Stay informed about: Replacing 'C' drive! 

On Wed, 15 Sep 2004 22:03:02 -0700, "Lunaray"
wrote:

 >I've only done this once and it was awhile ago, so I forget the things that
 >caused me grief!
 >
 >I picked up a Sony PC that I want to fix up for my daughter, but it only has
 >a 2 Gig hard drive and I would like to replace it with an 80 Gig, can
 >someone refresh my memory on how to go about this, or give me a
 >tutorial-link? I want to make it as painless as possible!
 >
 >Here's what I think I need to do:
 >
 >1. New hard drive: check to make sure that it's jumpered to be the Master
 >
 >2. Have a Windows '98 SE boot-floppy (I'll be using a Full Windows '98 SE
 >installation disk)
 >
 >Questions:
 >
 >1. After I physically install the new hard drive, can I boot from the
 >Windows CD and format & partition the new drive from it,.or will I have to
 >boot from the boot-floppy and do an "FDisk"? ( I seem to remember that I may
 >have to set something in the BIOS to allow booting from the CD, but if it's
 >a virgin hard drive, there's no drivers loaded yet for the CDRom, this
 >confuses me
 >
 >2. I plan to install a new modem also, 'cause the old one didn't work, can
 >I do this at the same time I install the new hard drive, or should I wait to
 >make sure that the new OS is working right first?
 >
 >Any help or tips, would be greatly appreciated, Thank You!
 >Ray
 >

Couple of hints...

Make sure you have all the necessary drivers first - such as
motherboard, sound, display etc. If the hardware is old you may find
that the OS drivers will do...a date preceding 1998 on the bios chip
is a good marker. While you've got the lid off, check the chipset and
download any updates as required ( i.e. Via 4 in 1 etc ).

Consider the partitioning of the disk. I tend to avoid using a single
partition as it makes backing up far easier - particularly if you use
an imaging program such as Norton's ghost.
Also helps if you ever need to initiate 'disaster recovery'.

A simple setup would be a couple of gigs for the OS partition ( you
shouldn't need much more than this, even a gig would do...keep it lean
and mean ); another partition for your applications (10 gigs? ),
another for your data..such as photos, mp3s etc, another for
storage...drivers..etc, and the last one for games ( typically the
largest partition ).

You can do all this via Fdisk from your 98 boot disk - create a
primary dos partition of 2 gigs ( ensure you confirm support for large
partitions...i.e. FAT32), then create an extended dos partition for
the remainder of the drive, then add partitions to it as
desired....format the partitions afterwards.

I'd then copy the W98 disk to the storage partition.
You needn't copy the entire disk - just look for the folder that
contains all the cab files.
I assume your boot disk is the 'setup' disk? If not, it probably won't
have drivers to enable the cd drive from dos..in which case, as
already recommended, get a boot disk image from Bootdisk.com.

Boot to A:, navigate to the drive and folder with the w98 files on and
type setup at the command prompt

As regards the modem...it doesn't matter...I'd be inclined to do it
afterwards, given that windows probably won't have its own native
drivers for a new modem.

And that's basically it.

What I tend to do next is upgrade the browser and DirectX, install all
my usual OS enhancements and gadgets ( clipboard managers, unzippers,
firewall, antivirus etc ) and then run windows update.

If you have a copy of Ghost ( and I thoroughly recommend it! ), it's
worth taking 'snapshots' of the OS during the build process.
I usually do one after the bare installation, just in case any of the
updates screw the OS.
Once it's all running tickety-boo, I do a final image...which is what
I'd use for my backup in the event of a disaster or a 'spring clean'.
These images can be kept on the storage partition.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk" target="_blank">www.shwoodwind.co.uk</a>
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk
 >> Stay informed about: Replacing 'C' drive! 

A computer that currently uses a 2 GB harddrive is not modern enough for
it's motherboard's BIOS to recognize a harddrive as large as 80 GB.

--
DaveW



"Lunaray" wrote in message

 > I've only done this once and it was awhile ago, so I forget the things
 > that
 > caused me grief!
 >
 > I picked up a Sony PC that I want to fix up for my daughter, but it only
 > has
 > a 2 Gig hard drive and I would like to replace it with an 80 Gig, can
 > someone refresh my memory on how to go about this, or give me a
 > tutorial-link? I want to make it as painless as possible!
 >
 > Here's what I think I need to do:
 >
 > 1. New hard drive: check to make sure that it's jumpered to be the Master
 >
 > 2. Have a Windows '98 SE boot-floppy (I'll be using a Full Windows '98 SE
 > installation disk)
 >
 > Questions:
 >
 > 1. After I physically install the new hard drive, can I boot from the
 > Windows CD and format & partition the new drive from it,.or will I have to
 > boot from the boot-floppy and do an "FDisk"? ( I seem to remember that I
 > may
 > have to set something in the BIOS to allow booting from the CD, but if
 > it's
 > a virgin hard drive, there's no drivers loaded yet for the CDRom, this
 > confuses me
 >
 > 2. I plan to install a new modem also, 'cause the old one didn't work,
 > can
 > I do this at the same time I install the new hard drive, or should I wait
 > to
 > make sure that the new OS is working right first?
 >
 > Any help or tips, would be greatly appreciated, Thank You!
 > Ray
 >
 >
 >> Stay informed about: Replacing 'C' drive! 

"DaveW" wrote in message

 >A computer that currently uses a 2 GB harddrive is not modern enough for
 > it's motherboard's BIOS to recognize a harddrive as large as 80 GB.
 >
 > --
 > DaveW


Is that so? Care to explain that? I could stick a 2gb hard drive in my
a7n8x-d based box, and it'd work fine. Does that mean it can't take bigger?

There's a good possibility that someone stripped the good components from an
old but decent-ish pc, fired in basic gfx, hard drive etc, and sold it on.
Bit of an assumption there.
 >> Stay informed about: Replacing 'C' drive! 

On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 02:16:49 +0100, "mrlipring"
wrote:

 >


  >>A computer that currently uses a 2 GB harddrive is not modern enough for
  >> it's motherboard's BIOS to recognize a harddrive as large as 80 GB.
  >>
  >> --
  >> DaveW
 >
 >
 >Is that so? Care to explain that? I could stick a 2gb hard drive in my
 >a7n8x-d based box, and it'd work fine. Does that mean it can't take bigger?
 >
 >There's a good possibility that someone stripped the good components from an
 >old but decent-ish pc, fired in basic gfx, hard drive etc, and sold it on.
 >Bit of an assumption there.
 >

It might also be possible if the original box came with a
2GB drive (thinking circa-'97-9 and if motherboard was
well supported, that a bios update supports up to 128GB.
 >> Stay informed about: Replacing 'C' drive!