Solve : Formatting Laptop Hard Drive?

1.	Solve : Formatting Laptop Hard Drive?
Answer» I have recently bought a used hard drive (4.1GB) for my Dell Latitude CP Laptop. There is nothing on the hard drive and i want to format it with Windows 98, but this laptop does not have a CD-ROM drive. I was told that I could use a cable to CONNECT the parallel ports from my desktop to the laptop and download a MSDOS file transfer program to install Windows, but the hard drive doesn't even have MSDOS. I have tried downloading a MSDOS boot disk (from bootdisk.com) but this has not worked. Is there anything else I can do? Or is there something that I could be doing wrong? Thanks Quote ....I have tried downloading a MSDOS boot disk (from bootdisk.com) but this has not worked. . I am familiar with the Dell Latitude CP. The Floppy Disk Drive module is separate from the CDROM drive module. You only have the floppy disk drive module and no CDROM module, right? Your doing something wrong with the boot disk. You should be able to fdisk and format the hard drive, so it will boot to the C:> My advice would be to obtain the CDROM module. Not having a CDROM will cause you nothing but GRIEF. The only way I can think of to install windows is with FastLynx or LapLink, which can use a serial or parallel cable, parallel is a lot faster. FastLynx is SMALL enough to fit on the boot floppy. You then COPY the entire Windows CD to a temporary directory on the 4GB drive. Then you can install Win98. Quote Your doing something wrong with the boot disk. You should be able to fdisk and format the hard drive, so it will boot to the C:> Could you explain how I should acquire and use the boot disk properly, please. Obtain a proper bootdisk from http://www.bootdisk.de. You cannot install an operating system from a bootdisk, if that's what you're thinking.. You need it to install a pre-Windows XP OS. Quote I have recently bought a used hard drive (4.1GB) for my Dell Latitude CP Laptop. There is nothing on the hard drive and i want to format it with Windows 98, but this laptop does not have a CD-ROM drive. I was told that I could use a cable to connect the parallel ports from my desktop to the laptop and download a MSDOS file transfer program to install Windows, but the hard drive doesn't even have MSDOS. I have tried downloading a MSDOS boot disk (from bootdisk.com) but this has not worked. Is there anything else I can do? Or is there something that I could be doing wrong? Thanks When you download the bootdisk image file (To your hard drive!) put a clean formatted floppy in the A: drive and double-click on the image file and it will MAKE you a floppy bootdisk. When you now put this floppy into YOUR computer it should start up on the bootdisk. Choose Minimal boot to get to the DOS prompt and type: A:\>format c: /s This should be of help to you http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/clean1.html I have used a boot disk and sucessfully installed MS DOS on my laptop. I have the Windows 98 OS on a CD and have transferred this on to my desktop computer. Can I now transfer this to my laptop using parallel cables? If so, what file transfer programs will I need?Hi, Here is another idea for you. But you will need to do a bit of surgery on your laptop and your desktop. Few of my clients had the similar problem. The DVD/CD drive in laptop die on them, they couldn't reinstall the OS to their HD. What I did was I brought a adaptor from Drive Solution Inc. -- http://www.drivesolutions.com. It's only about $10. Now here is the fun part. All this adaptor does is to convert the tiny pins on the laptop HD to the standard IDE of your desktop. You can open up your desktop and yank out the HD in your desktop. (!!!!MAKE SURE YOU SHUT DOWN YOU DESKTOP BEFORE YOU DO THAT!!!) Then you can then plug you laptop HD via the adpter to your desktop as a primary drive. Go to the BIO of your desktop to set the CD-ROM as your boot drive and install Win98 to your laptop drive. Then you pop your HD back to the laptop and put the desktop HD back, everything is golden. This worked great for me and alot of my clients, however, you may run into a little gilchs. Just be patient, sometimes it takes a few tries. ***I can't emphsize enought that when you SWAP drives this way, always make sure you shut down your desktop and you laptop before you unplug the HD, and always backup everything before you start the operation. Hope this helps. Let me know how it goes. KDrive adapter looks like this:

Answer»

I have recently bought a used hard drive (4.1GB) for my Dell Latitude CP Laptop. There is nothing on the hard drive and i want to format it with Windows 98, but this laptop does not have a CD-ROM drive. I was told that I could use a cable to CONNECT the parallel ports from my desktop to the laptop and download a MSDOS file transfer program to install Windows, but the hard drive doesn't even have MSDOS. I have tried downloading a MSDOS boot disk (from bootdisk.com) but this has not worked. Is there anything else I can do? Or is there something that I could be doing wrong?

Thanks Quote

....I have tried downloading a MSDOS boot disk (from bootdisk.com) but this has not worked. .

I am familiar with the Dell Latitude CP. The Floppy Disk Drive module is separate from the CDROM drive module. You only have the floppy disk drive module and no CDROM module, right?

Your doing something wrong with the boot disk. You should be able to fdisk and format the hard drive, so it will boot to the C:>

My advice would be to obtain the CDROM module. Not having a CDROM will cause you nothing but GRIEF. The only way I can think of to install windows is with FastLynx or LapLink, which can use a serial or parallel cable, parallel is a lot faster. FastLynx is SMALL enough to fit on the boot floppy. You then COPY the entire Windows CD to a temporary directory on the 4GB drive. Then you can install Win98. Quote

Your doing something wrong with the boot disk. You should be able to fdisk and format the hard drive, so it will boot to the C:>

Could you explain how I should acquire and use the boot disk properly, please.
Obtain a proper bootdisk from http://www.bootdisk.de.

You cannot install an operating system from a bootdisk, if that's what you're thinking.. You need it to install a pre-Windows XP OS. Quote

I have recently bought a used hard drive (4.1GB) for my Dell Latitude CP Laptop. There is nothing on the hard drive and i want to format it with Windows 98, but this laptop does not have a CD-ROM drive. I was told that I could use a cable to connect the parallel ports from my desktop to the laptop and download a MSDOS file transfer program to install Windows, but the hard drive doesn't even have MSDOS. I have tried downloading a MSDOS boot disk (from bootdisk.com) but this has not worked. Is there anything else I can do? Or is there something that I could be doing wrong?

Thanks

When you download the bootdisk image file (To your hard drive!) put a clean formatted floppy in the A: drive and double-click on the image file and it will MAKE you a floppy bootdisk.

When you now put this floppy into YOUR computer it should start up on the bootdisk.

Choose Minimal boot to get to the DOS prompt and type:

A:\>format c: /s

This should be of help to you http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/clean1.html
I have used a boot disk and sucessfully installed MS DOS on my laptop. I have the Windows 98 OS on a CD and have transferred this on to my desktop computer. Can I now transfer this to my laptop using parallel cables? If so, what file transfer programs will I need?Hi,

Here is another idea for you. But you will need to do a bit of surgery on your laptop and your desktop. Few of my clients had the similar problem. The DVD/CD drive in laptop die on them, they couldn't reinstall the OS to their HD. What I did was I brought a adaptor from Drive Solution Inc. -- http://www.drivesolutions.com. It's only about $10.

Now here is the fun part. All this adaptor does is to convert the tiny pins on the laptop HD to the standard IDE of your desktop. You can open up your desktop and yank out the HD in your desktop. (!!!!MAKE SURE YOU SHUT DOWN YOU DESKTOP BEFORE YOU DO THAT!!!)

Then you can then plug you laptop HD via the adpter to your desktop as a primary drive. Go to the BIO of your desktop to set the CD-ROM as your boot drive and install Win98 to your laptop drive.

Then you pop your HD back to the laptop and put the desktop HD back, everything is golden.

This worked great for me and alot of my clients, however, you may run into a little gilchs. Just be patient, sometimes it takes a few tries.

***I can't emphsize enought that when you SWAP drives this way, always make sure you shut down your desktop and you laptop before you unplug the HD, and always backup everything before you start the operation.

Hope this helps. Let me know how it goes.

KDrive adapter looks like this:

Solve : Formatting Laptop Hard Drive?

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