i have windows xp and windows 98 os installed on my hard drive. i tried formatting windows 98 drive but recieved an error message at the end of the process that the drive could not be completely formatted. i then tried formatting windows xp but received an error mesaage that the drive cannot be formatted "quit any disk utilities that are using the contents of the drive or other programs and close any windows that are displaying the contents of the drive. then try formatting again." i dont know what this means and i really want to format my hard drive. note : the hard is split into two. a portion for xp and another for 98. i really want to format these drives. any assistance offered would be appreciated.
You dont have 2 disks -- you have one that is partitioned into 2 segments ! So you format each partition -- ! Only primary partitions can be marked active. An active primary partition is where the computer's BIOS looks for a bootable operating system when powered on. In addition to primary partitions, there are extended partitions. A system can have up to four primary partitions or a maximum of three primary partitions and a single extended partition. In your case , it looks like you want only 2, so you are OK. Best you start fresh like you mentioned you want both new O/S installed; wipe out the whole drive by using FDISK or Partition Magic first then Format.
ok i will try that. i will get a copy of windows xp soon. i will let u know how it goes. thanks for ur help .its indeed appreciated.
Check the thread again , I was interrupted while I was answering and editing my post --- to give you a bit more to grab on !
