Need computer help please :(

Hardy · #1 07-28-2003, 03:43 AM

Ok, here is the deal, i will try and explain it as best as I can.

We kept on getting ads popping up, ad-aware would not get rid of em. They would pop up and have about 20 popped up by time we got up in the morning. So we decided to do a fresh install. I did not reformat yet and all of a sudden it says it can't read a system file when I restart. But that was ok, I was going to reformat anyway. I go ahead with the format, install Windows '98. But whats this? It says there is no partition?? I go in the boot disk, type in "fdisk" and set up another partition, telling it to do the max space. It says my max space is, WHAT?, 4gigs??? I have a 20gig hard drive! After I set up the partition for drive c: (was my first time, had help over the phone with my uncle who is now unavailable). I go back to dos-prompt, type in D: and it finds a drive. I then type in "dir", there is a whole bunch of stuff, not including windows. I take out all of my CDs and floppy drive just in case, I do it again, they are still there! I type "format d:", did not work, says it can't be formated.

I go ahead and install windows 98, been working ok, but getting lots of blue screen errors and illegal operations, its not to bad, happens about once every 2 days. This is where I am today, I have a 4gig hard drive. I have over 20 games, how am I supposed to play them on a 4gig hard drive plus work on a project for a game that takes up 1.5gigs. Help please :cry:

Sorry if this post sounds confusing, I am not good at trying to explain stuff. I just want drive D: gone, and drive c: with 20gig. And YES, I can reformat, I have nothing on this computer atm.

Thanks!

xXToilet_DuckXx · #2 07-28-2003, 01:56 PM

i think... *don't quote me on this* you should go to fdisk and try deleting the partition D: instead of trying to reformat it. it might work.... but i don't know. cuz then you are actually getting rid of the partition instead of trying to reformat it. unless you've already done that.... then i wouldn't know where to start...

Hardy · #3 07-28-2003, 04:08 PM

There is only 1 partition, and thats for the C drive, thats what is confusing me

I did try reformatting the D drive, but it says format is not available for this drive. :evil:

Merth · #4 07-28-2003, 04:14 PM

Inside of fdisk, there's options to display all partitions and to display info about each partition. What do you see for each?

Also, which version of fdisk are you using? You may want to google for a later version - maybe your version doesn't support the bios switch for partitions > 4gb? I don't remember what the switch was called.

Then again, maybe lightning struck and you're looking at a fried hard drive :P

Hardy · #5 07-28-2003, 04:27 PM

Here is an image: http://www.geocities.com/hardys_d2_mod/fdisk.html
I just downloaded version 1.2.1, not sure what version I had before, whatever came with windows 98 2nd ed. I didn't know it could be updated, hehe.

This info *might* help: When I run the computer off the boot disk, it says something along the lines of: "Diagnostic Tools successfully loaded into drive D"

Need any other info? I can get ya screenshots of whatever you want, easier than me trying to tell ya. Screenshots can't lie :P

Please go easy on the screenshot, its Geocities

By the way, if you or anyone else that might have ideas, I do have MSN messanger, my email for that is hardyeq@hotmail.com (don't email to that address, I don't use it). I would appreciate it!

*edit*
Why didn't I see it before??!?!?! Before I got this 20gig hard drive, guess what was in here! A 4gig! Coincidence? This is getting weird..... I updated it to 20gig a few months back.....And actually, its 3.99gig as shown on My Computer, sorry for any confusion on that, lol. :lol:

Goauld · #6 07-28-2003, 09:18 PM

Problems would be so much easier to solve if the correct info was always available...

If I'm prepping a disk using FDISK I remove all non-DOS partitions first, then extended and finally the primary. Then re-create your primary and any extended [logical] partitions you require to use all the space available on your hard disk.

Remember: Your maximum size for a FAT 16 partition is 4Gb. Thus, you have to enable large disk support when entering FDISK if you want to create a partition bigger than 4Gb. Incidentally, any partition over the 4Gb threshold will automatically become a FAT32 drive after it has been formatted.

:: If you suspect that the MBR on your disk is corrput you can use the FDISK /mbr switch from a DOS prompt (not under Windows). This switch will usually clear an MBR problem without altering disk/partition structures. You will not get any warning and/or confirmation messages on using this switch, just a return to the usual DOS prompt.

Goauld · #7 07-28-2003, 09:24 PM

The disk D: you referred to in the first post would be the Microsoft RAMDRIVE if you had booted using the Win98 boot disk floppy.

Usually you get a message saying that the diagnostic tools have been successfully to RAMDRIVE D:

This is a small area of your volatile memory (RAM) that has been assigned a drive letter by DOS to hold diagnostic tolls, etc. It is NOT a physical disk to be formatted or partitioned.

The fact that it is on drive D: indicates that there is a C: partition already created. If you had a disk with two partitions (C: & D

or had booted with CD-ROM support enabled, then the ramdrive would be assigned the next letter in sequence (E

Hardy · #8 07-29-2003, 04:56 AM

Quote:

If I'm prepping a disk using FDISK I remove all non-DOS partitions first, then extended and finally the primary. Then re-create your primary and any extended [logical] partitions you require to use all the space available on your hard disk.

There was NO partitions when I created this one, there was none under the partition info.

Quote:

Remember: Your maximum size for a FAT 16 partition is 4Gb. Thus, you have to enable large disk support when entering FDISK if you want to create a partition bigger than 4Gb. Incidentally, any partition over the 4Gb threshold will automatically become a FAT32 drive after it has been formatted.

I did enable large disk support.

Quote:

The disk D: you referred to in the first post would be the Microsoft RAMDRIVE if you had booted using the Win98 boot disk floppy.

Usually you get a message saying that the diagnostic tools have been successfully to RAMDRIVE D:

I have never gotten that message before, I should know, I have reformatted this damn computer so much, it ALWAYS said the diagnostic tools were loaded into C DRIVE.

I will try that /mbr you mentioned, I will post back here after I do that. Thanks

Hardy · #9 07-29-2003, 06:19 AM

/mbr
Bad command or file name

Also, I started the computer using the boot disk. It says I have 2 disk drives, yet under the partition it says I have 1. Also, it says that the tools were successfully loaded under virtual disk D:, not ramdrive.

Not sure if this is a problem: Under DOS my 2 CD rom drives are E and F, in Windows they are D and E

Trumpcard · #10 07-29-2003, 06:38 AM

fdisk /mbr

Its a command line option to fdisk. It will flush your master boot record. Very handy little command.

Also, make sure your bios is still recognizing the drive as being a 20gig, as opposed to 4 gig.

Hardy · #11 07-29-2003, 07:07 AM

ahh, okey, I will try fdisk /mbr

Quote:

Also, make sure your bios is still recognizing the drive as being a 20gig, as opposed to 4 gig.

How do I do that?
*grin* I am good at computers as long as they work :P

Hardy · #12 07-29-2003, 07:18 AM

I did the fdisk /mbr, it must have worked, it just went right back to the c prompt. I restarted the computer. What else do I need to do? I do appreciate your guys help! This sure is teaching me alot, cause I bet this will happen again. This computer sucks

Goauld · #13 07-29-2003, 09:43 AM

You have access to your C: disk now? Is it intact and have you checked its partition tables in FDISK?

Screenshot if you can would help

Q-Dog · #14 07-29-2003, 10:09 AM

Didn't read all the posts so I apologize if this has been said already.

Note: You are going to lose everything you have unless you have a way of backing it up.

What you need to do is perform a low lever format of the drive, unfortunatally fdisk does not have the ability to do this so you must use 3rd party software. What I recommend is getting maxtor, wd and seagate's hd install software. You should be able to boot to this software and perform a lower level format wich will fix your harddrives display in fdisk back to 20gigs, then you will have to do a regular format and install.

Hopefully that helps, it's a bitch but it's the easiest way.

Hardy · #15 07-29-2003, 11:16 AM

Quote:

You have access to your C: disk now? Is it intact and have you checked its partition tables in FDISK?

I am using the computer that has all the problems, only computer I have, so yes, I have access to the C: drive. The screen shot was up a ways, here it is again: http://www.geocities.com/hardys_d2_mod/fdisk.html
If that it what you wanted....

Quote:

What you need to do is perform a low lever format of the drive, unfortunatally fdisk does not have the ability to do this so you must use 3rd party software. What I recommend is getting maxtor, wd and seagate's hd install software. You should be able to boot to this software and perform a lower level format wich will fix your harddrives display in fdisk back to 20gigs, then you will have to do a regular format and install.

I will look them up, thanks

I don't have anything on here to loose except my D2 mod, can't do much with a 4gig, hehe. Can you provide a link? I searched on Google, only got Hard Drives to buy.