Step 11: Formatting
The drive will need to be formatted before an operating system can be loaded. Format the Primary
partition and any Extended partitions that have been made.
Refer to FDISK, option 4 to display the partition information. This is helpful to review drive letter
assignments. Note the drive letters to ensure proper formatting.
Press ESC to return to the main menu and exit FDISK. At the A:\ prompt type format x: /s
(where x is the drive letter). The /s option will make your hard drive bootable by copying the system files
to the hard drive. If you do not want this drive to be bootable, do not use the /s command. You will see
the following warning:
WARNING: ALL DATA ON NON-REMOVABLE DISK
DRIVE C: WILL BE LOST!
Proceed with Format (Y/N)?
Type Y for yes. There should be no data on the new drive. The time it takes to format the drive is
dependent upon it’s size. When the drive has finished formatting, format the next logical drive, in this
case D: by typing format d: You will get the same message. Select Y.
File Systems
FAT 16/FAT 32(File Allocation Table)
The file allocation table is a group of specific sectors in a hard drive that contain an “address book” for the
files on a hard disk drive. In other words, it keeps track of the physical location of files on each platter.
There are usually two FATs (kept in different locations) on a hard drive. One is kept as a backup in case
data corruption occurs on the other FAT. FAT32 is used in the Windows® 95 & Windows® 98 operating
systems. FAT32 receives its designation because it allows 32 bits of data to be read as opposed to 16
bits at a time as in FAT16.
HPFS (High Performance File System)
HPFS is the file system used by OS/2. HPFS is more efficient, give better performance and resists
fragmentation better that FAT.
NTFS (NT File System)
NTFS is an advanced file system used by Windows® NT. NTFS provides built-in compression, large
partition support and better performance.
Step 12: Operating System Installation
After the drive has been formatted, install an operating system. You may encounter some of the
following issues.
Windows® 95 / Windows® 98
Windows® 95 must be version OSR2 or later in order to create a single partition greater than 8.4GB.
In Windows® 98 the system may hang-up when trying to self-restart. A reset or power cycle is required.
OS/2 and OS/2 Warp
OS/2 Warp 4.0 with Fixpack 5 can see the full capacity of the drive, no fix is required.
Windows® NT
Windows® NT 4.0(service pack 3) can see the full capacity of the drive, no fix is required.
IBM storage products
Page 17
IBM Hard Disk Drive Technical Support Center version 1.0
