XP setup help needed!!

[philzee]

ok...I have got the full XP pro...My hard drive is partitioned to 2 FAT32 drives of 20GB, one partition has all the windows files (Win98se)and installed programs, the other is just all my downloads and MP3's, I would like to do a full clean install of XP but do i have to re-format my whole drive to NTFS or just the partition win98se is on? also...how do I format my drive to NTFS?, Is there a program on the XP disc that does this before installing or is that just wishfull thinking lol
I'm sorry if this seems an easy question but i have been using win98 since 98 and I'm kind of scared to change over

[randyrhoads1981]

This depends on if you want the 98 SE..boot from the XP CD, during the setup it will allow you to pick which partition to use C or D and once you choose, it will then ask if you want to reformat before installing or to leave it as is, and will see options to use the NTFS. If you want to wipe out the 98 and have XP as the main OS, id suggest that you 1st make sure you already have all the updated drivers you may need for hardware like modems ..videocard..scanners..and printers to name a few..if ya lucky you may be able to load XP and get working drivers for most to get you online to update them, but if not and you dont have a second computer, it may be a long install. you can use the 98 you have now to go do this and save them on the second partition to have ready once you install XP...Or if ya have a burner burn the contents of the second partition and install XP on that instead to have a dual boot of both 98 and XP which is how i have mine ..in some cases you may find games you like wont work on XP or you may not be able to get updated drivers for a scanner or printer you will always have 98 to boot to when ya need them. If you want the 98 to be able to see the XP partition on D then you need to not use the NTFS and leave it as Fat 32...but if you decide to wipe out the 98 use NTFS ..its a better way to go.

[philzee]

I found some good info on the Microsoft website that helped me a lot....here is the link
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/p...installnew.asp

But...I also found some info that confused me could someone enlighten me with the answer???

*Quote from windows XP site*
IMPORTANT
You can convert your file system any time, even after you install Windows XP, without losing any of your data.

The conversion to NTFS is one–way only; if you convert your FAT or FAT32 file system to NTFS you can’t convert your hard disk back to FAT later.

Does this mean I can NEVER revert to FAT32 file system once i use NTFS even if I reformat my HDD, or does it just mean when using XP in NTFS??

[mjc]

The keyword here is convert...wiping the drive, fdisking and reformatting is not converting...so after you do convert to NTFS the only way to go back is to wipe it all out and start over.

[philzee]

thanks for the reply...I think I'll stick to this site for answers...microsoft just leaves me even more confused and asking questions that should have been answered on thier site in the first place lol

[philzee]

Well i went ahead and installed XP....and had the worst nightmare since I had that scary dream when I was 5 lol.

I decided to convert to NTFS because of the stability (as spoken of by members of this forum)
I didn't bother removing programs because i thought the format would do that for me (why did I forget what MJC said about "converting"). Well all the programs remained..but XP couldn't see them and I had no idea what to do with them since they weren't in the add/remove programs window...so i decided to "format" and start afresh.....AAARRGGHH!! the XP setup cannot be run from the DOS prompt!!! now I was flustered, with half a mind to throw PC out of window. With my pc dead and no way to get online to this forum for help i thought the game was up, so i re-installed win98se...but only after having to re-format my hard drive as the partition was now an NTFS. (this is where the fun starts ). The format, although only supposed to be my C: partition and not the D: where ALL my 20 Gigs of software and documents were stored...managed to see only 1 drive... "C:" ALL MY FILES ON D: WENT BYE BYE and I was left with a very empty 2 partitioned drive
so now i'm back with win98se, and scared to try installing XP again...I NEED HELP

[philzee]

OK....i have just completed a painless install of XP, I decided to do the upgrade instead of the full install, it was a piece of cake i just clicked on all of the "recomended" settings and this time I am leaving the file system as FAT32 lol. My programs are working perfectly and I feel a great deal of relief that i got this problem fixed...Although I have still lost all my files from the previous attempt

I think it was SEA69 who said "the only thing more dangerous than someone who doesn't know what he is doing, is someone who THINKS he knows what he's doing"
I think the above suits me well