Hi, I have a new HDD I have just put into laptop. I am running xp installation cd, I have partitioned drive to about 20%, I now have message saying the partition i have selected is not formatted, then it gives me list of ways to FORMATT the HDD.

Formatt the partition using the NTFS file system (quick
Formatt the partition using the FAT file system (quick)
Formatt the partition using the NTFS file system
Formatt the partition using the FAT file system


Which ONE should i use??

What are the differences between the above.?

Thanks for any help.After i do the formatt of the 20GB partitioned section c:
would i then have to go and formatt the unpartitioned section of the remaining 56gb to be able to use it once installation has complete?Yes you can do that from Disk Management Tools. The space has to be partitioned BEFORE you can format it.

As to what filed system to use, if you have 512 RAM or more go for NTFS (not quick)

If you have less than 512 I would recommend FAT32 (also not quick).Thanks Bud, I have now partitioned and formatted(NTFS) C:

Should i now repeat the steps for the unpartitioned space? I reckon i should but thought to ask to be safe.


A section of unpartitioned space can`t be used once windows is installed on I.E C: section can it?
It has to be partitioned and formatted to create say a f drive, doesnt it?

What do i do about lettering the drives. C has come up automaically when i partitioned and formatted 1st section.
So what letter will be assigned when part/formatt second larger section. If d comes up wouldn`t that effect the cdr drive when xp installed?
C is the primary boot partition in a normal system.

The free space will have to be partitioned to be formatted and used. If you have already installed Windows any other partitions created will get the next drive letter after any optical drives, so it could be E or F, depending on how many drives you have. If you do it while you are installing Windows it will get the next drive letter after C (i.e. D)

I do my systems by creating all of the partitions within the Windows installation, right after the EULA screen when you have to press F8. You do not have to format the extra drives created at that time, and you must be sure that you are CHOOSING C to install Windows on. After Windows is installed you can format the additional drive(s) and use them.

THere are ways to reassign drive letters afterwards, but if Windows is on C, that is the main thing.