How to reformat win 98?

[hpx]

I have a pentium 2 notebook. I reinstalled window 98 but everything inside still stays... the programmes and so on. Can anyone tell me how to totally reformat the system? The brand of my laptop is Datamini Pegesus 520.

[Rick]

Make a boot disk ( Floppy)
boot from the floppy
Then run format

[jcnoernberg]

Right Rick,

you could also first run FDISK from the Boot disk, delete the existing partition, then re create a new one, reboot, then format it. I don't think that is required, but I always do it

[Sylvander]

"Can anyone tell me how to totally reformat the system?"
I wonder exactly what you mean?
This is where using the correct terms eliminates misunderstandings.
You Format a Partition not a System.
Use the command:
a:\>format c: [to format the C: partition]
Having booted from a Startup floppy [includes fdisk.exe & format.com] not a boot floppy.
If you want to repartition before you reformat, then use the command:
a:\>fdisk
and once you've repartitioned, only then reformat the newly made partition[s].


"I reinstalled window 98 but everything inside still stays"
If you re-run Windows Setup.exe and it finds that Windows is already installed it will ask you if you want to confirm the installation. All it then does is check that all's well with the installation. So as you've found, you either need to re-format the partition. If you would like to completely and truly and irrecoverably erase all traces of the previous installation [so that no-one can unformat or unerase to recover and read them], you need to zero-fill [Killdisk writes one set of zeros, Darik's Boot & Nuke Disk writes multiple patterns of 1's & 0's] either the whole HDD, or else just the partition. If you zero-fill the whole drive, you need then to repartition and reformat the drive. If you zero-fill only the partition, then you don't need to repartition. You may need to reformat [I'm not sure, I've only ever restored an image backup without the need to reformat].

Killdisk = www.killdisk.com/downloadfree.htm [free]
This can zero-fill either the whole HDD, or any number of chosen partitions.
It rather nicely displays the HDD info and partition layout, and allows you to choose any of these for zero-fill.

You might also consider the HDD manufacturers utility floppy.
These are usually easier to use to repartition [they also automatically format the partition, and will automatically install Drive Overlay software [DDO] if it's needed]. If your drive needed DDO [only if the BIOS is incapable of seeing all of the HDD] and it's installed and you zero-filled the whole drive, that would eliminate the DDO and it would need to be reinstalled, so you'd need the HDD manufacturers utility to do this.