Install 2 80GB HDD, partition as follows:
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disk 1 (WD800JB) disk 2 (ST380021A)
C - BOOT 6.5 G PRI MBR D- SWAP/Pagefile 2.4 G PRI
E DATA 4.9 G K - MUSIC 19.5 G
F- PROGRAMS 9.7G L - VIDEO 14.5 G
G- DOWNLOAD 2 G M - BACKUPS 22.4G
H-TEMP/RECENT 2.4G N - EMPTY 15.4G
I- APPS/PROGRAMS 10.7G
J- EMPTY 38G
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O- CD ROM
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Situation:
screwed the pooch when partitioning and installing OS
set both C & D as PRI partitions, then installed
1. win 98SE on C
2. WIN XP home C & D
3. used BOOTMAGIC to moove MBR from D to C
4. MBR is on sector in middle of XP install files, so now have some apps using XP files and some using WIN98 files- lot 's crashes!
QUESTIONS:
1.) Is there any way to rebuild\restore the C: volume, D: volume or reinstall WindowsXP without deleting ALL the partitions?
2.) The registry is a mess, especially since I cannot get driver files to load properly. If I delete everything, then rebuild partition structure and format. Will this process also clear the registry and MBR? -or- Do I need to zero-fill disks in order to get a clean start? (I want to clear the registry.)
3.) What about BIOS and CMOS ROM? Do I need to clear this memory prior to new install to avoid any problems later?
4.) Would booting with ONTrack's DDO clean the registry and allow me to clean partition/format without having to zero-fill?
5.) Do I need to change the hard drives back to original setup (Sea 1/ WD 2) in order to have them boot properly?
6.) I have text docs and spreadsheets used in my business and created w/ WIN98 in FAT filesystem. I want to be able to access the data in XP - can I avoid using NTFS file system or am I better off running XP Home with NTFS?
7.) Require updated Intel 845PE chipset driver and new drivers for NIC, modem, soundblaster and Radeon video card because Dell OEM XP install disk is old and causes I/O and IRQ conflicts without the new drivers. Plan to create an unattended text file for install, oh I am a barrel of laughs, huh?. Any thoughts as to where i might find a helpful "how-to" guide or web-page for a newbie fool like myself? Should I include SP1a or SP2? Should I quit before I blow-up my PC?
8.) If I delete and repartition/reformat - what file system is best for 1st PRIMARY partition FAT16 or FAT32? and how large should this first partition be in order to optimize Master Boot Sector?
