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Aptiva - How to partition and format unpartitioned hard drive space
Applicable to: World-Wide
To View Partition Information:
1.
- Go to a DOS prompt:Click on "Start", "Programs", "MS DOS Prompt", or:
- Click on "Start", "Shut Down", "Restart computer in MS DOS mode." Click "Yes", or:
- Boot with Recovery disk and press "N" to recover software, or:
- On computers preloaded with OS/2, boot from recovery diskette number 1.
Insert diskette #2 when prompted.
From the recovery menu select the option "Go to OS/2 Command Prompt".
Remove diskette 2 and insert diskette 3.:
- For Aptivas that come with a Diagnostics and Utilities CD, boot with Diagnostic CD and at menu, press "0" (zero).
2. - At the command prompt, type "fdisk" and press "Enter" key.
Windows 95/ DOS
- If you receive an option to enable large disk support, the default answer is "N" for no. Press "Enter" key to go to the "FDISK Options" Screen. Earlier models do not offer this option. Go to next step.
- At the FDISK Options Screen, enter choice "4" and press "Enter" key. This will bring you to the "Display Partition Information" screen. Earlier models usually only have one partition and will have no option for EXT DOS information.
- The last column is labeled "Usage". This column will list percent usage. The column should total 100%. If your system has an EXT DOS partition, further information is available on that partition by pressing "Y" and the "Enter" key. There you will find the percent of usage in the EXT DOS partition.
- If the total of the "Usage" column equals less than 100 %, there is unpartitioned space on your hard drive which is unused. WARNING, If you repartition any space that is being used, you will lose all data on affected partition.
To Partition Unused Space On Your Hard Drive:
1. If the percent deficiency shows on the "Display Partition Information" screen, you will need to create an Extended DOS partition. If the percent deficiency shows on the 'Display Logical DOS Drive Information' screen, you will need to create one or two Logical DOS Drive/s in the Extended DOS Partition.
2. Press "Esc" to return to "Fdisk Options" screen. Press "1" and "Enter" to create a partition.
3. Press "2" or "3" to create the desired partition. Drive integrity will be verified. Then you will receive an option for the size of the partition to be created. The default will be the amount of remaining drive space. If this is less than 2,000 Mbytes, press "Enter" To accept size. (If over 2,000 MB, create two logical DOS drives, one at a time. Type in desired size in percent or number of Mbytes).
4. Press "Enter" to create partition. The next screen will show a designated drive letter for the newly created partition. Make note of the new drive letter. The "System" column will show "Unknown" because the partition has not yet been formatted. Press "Esc" until the Fdisk screen is closed. Shut down and restart computer for changes to take effect.
To Format newly created partition:
1. Return to a DOS prompt. Type "format x:" (x = the drive letter of the partition that you have just created), and press "Enter" key. You will receive a warning that all data on specified drive will be lost. There is no data in the partition that we have just created. Press "Y" and "Enter" key.
2. The formatting process will take a few minutes. You will see an rate indicator for the format process.
3. When the format process is complete, you will receive an option to enter a volume label. You may enter up to eleven characters, or press 'Enter' key for none. You will then be returned to a DOS prompt.
4. To test that the drive is formatted, type "x:" (x = the drive letter of the partition that you have just created) and press "Enter" key. Then type "dir" and press "Enter" key. You should see some volume information, "File not found", and the amount of bytes free.
OS/2
1. An OS/2 Fdisk Window will be displayed showing the partition information. The opening screen will display some basic information about all the hard disk partitions on the current hard disk. Using the arrows keys on your keyboard, select the partition listed as "Free Space". Press the "Enter" key to bring up the Options or pull down menu.
2. This will bring up the Option menu. Press "C" to create a partition. A screen will appear prompting you for the size of the partition. The default value in the box will be the maximum amount of free space on the disk. Press the "Enter" key to accept this size.
3. On the following screen, select the type of partition you wish to create, either Primary Partition or Extended Logical Drive, and press the "Enter" key.
4. Press F3 to exit Fdisk.
5. Press F3 again when the menu appears. Remove diskette number 3 and reinsert diskette number 1.
6. Reboot by pressing the Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys simultaneously. The first diskette should be in the diskette drive and the
recovery CD should be in the CD-ROM drive.
7. Repeat the boot process on the first disk and insert the second diskette when prompted. From the recovery menu select the option "Go to OS/2 Command Prompt". Remove diskette 2 and insert diskette 3.
8. At the A:\> prompt, type in "format c:". There is a space between the format and the C:. Enter "Y" when the warning message comes up about formatting the hard drive. Press the "Enter" key when prompted for Volume Label (this enters a blank volume label).
9. When the drive has been formatted, you will be returned to the OS/2 command prompt. You are now done partitioning and formatting the free hard drive space.
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Hint Category |
Hard Drives, Windows 95, OS/2, DOS/Windows 3.x | |
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Date Created |
29-12-97 | |
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Last Updated |
22-01-99 | |
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Revision Date |
07-12-99 | |
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Brand |
IBM Aptiva | |
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Product Family |
Aptiva | |
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Machine Type |
2134, 2136, 2137, 2138, 2140, 2142, 2144, 2159, 2161, 2162, 2168, 2176 | |
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Model |
All | |
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