Noobie Partition Question

[Jorsoft]

I'm very new to partitions and I couldn't quite find what I was looking for in the search, so here it goes:

I have a 40 GB hard drive with Windows 98 SE installed on it. I have about 21 GB free. I just bought Windows XP Professional Ed. and want to install a dual boot system. Setup won't allow me to partition the C:\ Drive (I press C when highlighted but nothing happens) so I want to use fDisk or Super fDisk to make a 16 GB Partition.

From the stuff I've read on Microsoft's website, it seems like making a partition like this will erase my entire hard drive. Is this true? I just want a blank partition to install Windows XP onto and boot up from. Thanks in Advance.

 

[U-Toast]

ok, 1 st u cant format ur c drive, windows is installed on it. ul need partition magic or some tool to squeez ur partition, so u can creat a new one. i dunno if they have a free demo, but u could check it out.

 

[Jorsoft]

Yeah, I found a couple of demos. It's like 21.6 mb, so it'll take a while for me to download (56K only!). I figured I might need something like this. Thanks.

 

[justdoit]

First, you need to know more about partitions

Then you can use fdisk or pqmagic(recommend for newbies) to manage your partitions( add/delete/modify etc).

Be care when you use pqmagic, cos sometimes it may cause unexpected problem if you don't use it properly.

 

[TheMajor]

yes, use partition magic...resize your current partition to make some space for XP on the end of your drive. You don't need to format it, because you can with windowsXP setup (select the unallocated space and select format using NTFS)

 

[Jorsoft]

The demo doesn't actually let you partition your disk, as I just found out. I can buy PM 8.0 from Amazon.com for $26, though.

My plan is to make a 15 GB Primary Partition, install XP on it, and use BootMagic (included with PM 8.0) To boot up to XP by default.

A Question: Can I still access my other Primary (with 98SE on it) when I boot up from the new one? I don't think that I can, but I just want to make sure.

 

[TheMajor]

asuming the first partition is for Xp and the second is for 98..YES you can acces

but if your XP is on the second partition you normally can't see the first partition (98), but you can force it with bootmagic although it might not work..good luck

 

[Jorsoft]

It won't hurt to try, right? Thanks for your help, everyone!

By the way, "TheMajor", how does XP Pro run on your system? Given that your processor is below the required one and well below the "recommended" 300 mhz, it doesn't seem like it would work well. Does all your RAM Make up the difference?

 

[TheMajor]

well...it runs...almost acceptable

 

[Jorsoft]

Indeed. You lucky Swedes living in your marijuana-filled socialist paradise. Can you send a little to America? ;-)
It's all good, just better where you are!
Thanks for your help, I apreciate it! I must buy Partition Magic!