Partitioning And Formatting

Partitioning And Formatting

In order for an operating system (such as MS-DOS or Windows) to store files on a hard drive, the disk must be partitioned and formatted.

Partitioning

This designates which areas of the disk are used for the operating system files. Windows uses the MS-DOS partition file FDISK.EXE. FDISK allows a primary DOS partition, extended DOS partitions, and logical drives within the extended DOS partitions.

A primary DOS partition contains the essential files to boot the system from the hard drive (system files). To boot to Windows from a hard drive, an active primary DOS partition must exist.

An extended DOS partition is a portion of a hard drive where non-system files can be stored. Unlike a primary DOS partition, a computer cannot be booted from an extended partition and it is not required for the computer to function.

A logical drive is an area of an extended DOS partition that can be set up to group directories and files; it does not increase disk storage capacity. An extended DOS partition must be set up before a logical drive can be established. Up to 23 logical drives can be created in an extended DOS partition.

Formatting

Formatting a hard drive prepares the section to receive files. Windows uses the MS-DOS file, FORMAT.COM, to format disks.

Creating Partitions

The MS-DOS File Allocation Table (FAT) allows a computer system to address only 2048MB of hard drive space per partition. Gateway systems, though they use LBA Translation Mode, have this limitation.

Below are the steps necessary to setup the drive in various scenarios: To partition as the primary (boot) drive: Use these instructions if the drive has been configured as the "master" on the Primary controller. This assumes that all logical, extended, primary and non-DOS partitions have been deleted from the drive.
  1. Place the Gateway System disk or the first disk of the MS-DOS setup disks in the A: drive and boot the computer.
  2. Exit to an A:\> prompt, type fdisk, and press Enter.
  3. Depending on the number of hard disks present in the system, four or five options appear on the screen. If configuring multiple drives, select option 5 and choose the appropriate drive.
  4. After selecting the appropriate drive, choose option 1, Create DOS Partition or Logical DOS Drive, and press Enter.
  5. Choose Create Primary DOS Partition.
  6. FDISK asks whether to use the maximum size available or a smaller size. Type Y and press Enter.
  7. After partitioning the drive with the chosen sizes and drive letters, exit FDISK.
To partition as a secondary drive: Use these instructions if there is already a primary hard drive in the system and another hard drive is being added.
  1. At the A:\> prompt, type fdisk and press Enter. Five options should appear on the screen.
  2. Select option 5 and choose the appropriate disk drive.
  3. Select option 1, Create DOS Partition or Logical DOS Drive, and press Enter.
  4. Select Create Extended DOS Partition. FDISK prompts for a size (as either a percentage of the drive or a size in MBs) to use for the partition.
  5. After creating the extended DOS partion(s), FDISK will prompt for the creation of logical DOS drives.
  6. When the logical DOS drives are assigned and the drive letters are changed, press Esc to exit FDISK and reboot.
To format the drive:
  1. To start the format from the A:\> prompt, type format c: (or the appropriate drive that needs to be formatted) and press Enter.
  2. Format warns that all data will be lost and asks whether or not to continue the format. Press Y to continue.
  3. When the format is complete, a volume label is requested; this is optional. The drive is now ready for data.

Information in this document was provided by the manufacturer.