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Thread ID: 30034 2003-02-09 02:23:00 reinstalling windows95 Term_X (560) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
119489 2003-02-09 02:23:00 hi folks, my mates pc is an old pentium 75 with a 540 mb hard disk drive, when it boots windows doesnt show up..just get a black screen and thats it the flashing cursor. so we decided to reinstall windows, but when we put the boot disk and run setup, it says something about c: not being a vaild fat32 file structure. sooo we put in format C: and it says it cant format c:. when the boot disk is in and it loads the ramdrive.it loads to c: instead of d:?..how do we make the setup process recognise c:? one of the error msgs says to use fdisk to create a ms dos partition so windows can be setup, but when we run fdisk and try to create..it says no room to create.then we try to delete all the partitions..says theres nothing to delete...can somebody break it down in plain terms..the easiest way to install windows95, taking into account the probs ive just mentioned?

cheers!! help much appresh

Term_X
Term_X (560)
119490 2003-02-09 02:48:00 To do major things to the hard disk (like fdisk, and format) you will need to boot from a floppy. You will also need to have a driver for the CD drive which will let you use it in DOS.

FDISK should be able to delete all partitions if it has only been used for MS. (If you have it partitioned with an extended partition, the logical disks inside the ext one have to be deleted first. Then make any partitions you want (one probably on a 500 MB disk :D).

Then format it, and (for preference, xcopy the WIN95 directory on the CD to a WIN95 directory on the hard disk.) Then the install should go OK.
Graham L (2)
119491 2003-02-09 03:03:00 It's possible the hard drive is now defunct. Are you getting beeps on start up? If so, they have meaning and can tell you if something is wrong.
Beep Codes (www.hardwarecentral.com)
Heather P (163)
119492 2003-02-09 03:07:00 My memory is a little hazy here regarding Fat16 and Fat32 partitions and whether Win 95 supported Fat32.

Anyway.... I suggest you boot the machine using a Win98 startup disk and run FDISK. This should allow you to delete the current partitions on the drive. Delete Extended partitions first.

Then boot the machine using a startup disk from the O/S you want to install and use the FDISK from there to create a new partition or partitions.
Elephant (599)
119493 2003-02-09 03:17:00 i dont hear anything other than the normal beeps heather.. just back to graham, boot disk we have, and dos recognises the cd room, so no worries. what we want to do is just completely blank the HD to reinstall windows95. just to let you know..the temp ram drive loads to c: and not d:. and its mentioned that c: is not vaild. when we try to run setup from the cd rom, it says cant because c: needs to be a fat32 something..soooooooo whats the easiest way to completely blank the HD so we can install windows95?..we cant use the command format, we can use fdisk but i wouldnt have a clue to do from there..all i want to do is just blank the whole lot, but it wont let us delete any of the partitions in order to create a new one..arrrrgggggh..!

hope this info helps

Term_X
Term_X (560)
119494 2003-02-09 03:22:00 >i dont hear anything other than the normal beeps

Have you counted them and compared them to the beep codes?

As things load they send a confirmation beep to say all is OK. You could be hearing them and assuming all is OK when in actual fact there is one or more missing (when all is not OK)
Heather P (163)
119495 2003-02-09 03:31:00 hiiii heather, as far as the beeps go seems to be okay, only 1 beep for most commands, any more it wa because we mistyped the command! Term_X (560)
119496 2003-02-09 03:36:00 okay..time to try elephants suggestion.. Term_X (560)
119497 2003-02-09 04:22:00 Try going to BIOS, check to see if the hard drive is recognised, if not then run the utility (something like "find hard drive", can't remember the term and I'm not in BIOS to look it up).

If it throws an error you have a bad disk.
Heather P (163)
119498 2003-02-09 04:45:00 I remembered trying to install Win95 using a Win98 bootdisk. I'm sure it worked ok when in FDISK you choose not to use LARGE (FAT32) then just create the partition and format it. Kame (312)
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