Dear forum,

Let me ask the question first and then write something about my hardware history.

How can I make a CD-rom with Fdisk with which I can make partitions on a HDD? Should only the application be on it, or also other files (a CD with only the application didn't work.)

I'd been having trouble with my HDD (bad sectors, conflicting software) on my desktop pc (specs: ) for a while when I finally decided to back up my documents and run a recovery of the system. I'd done it before with succes. I do have an installation CD for windows XP professional, but the current system was put on the computer in the factory with XP home edition and internet explorer and some other stuff. I'd loose this if I'd use the installation disc.
This time, recovering the system with the recovery CD's didn't work, probably because of the damaged HD. During the recovery process I got a few messages telling me something couldn't be extracted. The recovery continued, but after a restart a message tells me that 'The system isn't fully installed. Please run setup again'.
I bought a second HD with 160 GB (the old one has 80 GB). I wanted to use this as a slave, having heard that a recovery can not be done on another disc than the one the CD's are derived from.
I contacted HP (the computer's manufacturer), where they told me I actually can use the recovery CD's on the new disc. I tried this and it seemed to work (no error messages), but after the restart a noise was produced by the HD, as if it was stuck. Also here the message: 'The system isn't fully installed. Please run setup again' appeared.
I contacted HP again and they told me the new HD might have to be divided in two partitions, because it's twice as big as the old one. You can make a floppy disc with Fdisk that does this for you. The thing is, I don't have a floppy disc drive on the laptop I'm currently working on. An alternative would be to use a CD-ROM, but I noticed just putting the file FDISK on the CD doesn't work. The desktop computer ignores the CD. I set the drive containing the CD as the first boot device in BIOS.
What should I put on the CD to make it work, and: is it true the recovery should work if the HD has the a partition the same size as the old HD?
Thank you in ADVANCE for your answer.

Kind regards,
Jilt Dijk
Jiltdijk........ When you set the new hd as a slave , and installed it , is it not SEEN in the Computer Management section of XP as a raw disk ? Because you should be able to format it right from there ....... or has that failed as well ?

dl65 This far, I only tried to set it as a master (I wanted to set it as slave to the old HD until that one went bad). I'm not sure I know what the Computer Management section of XP is. How can I get there if no Windows is installed on the HD?

Kind regards,
Jilt Dijk
XP does not require FDISK. You can create and delete partitions from the screen right after you have to press F8 to agree to the EULA. Then you format the first one and install Windows.The thing is I'm not installing Windows from an installation disc. All I have is 8 recovery discs that contain the system as it was before it went bad. Therefore I need a way to make a partition without Windows or any other OS.Are these disks from the manufacturer or how were they created? If you just copied files from Windows onto them this likely will not work.No, they were made with a special feature in XP: System recovery. They're specifically meant for reinstalling the system without an installation disc and seem to be a way to avoid giving buyers a normal install CD which they can copy illegally. It seems to be relatively unknown, I've had several help desk attendants and other people raise their eyebrows on it.
In the mean time, I found a way to make a floppy disc with Fdisk. I haven't figured out yet how to make the partitions with it, but I'll keep you postedI'm still struggling. I deleted the partitions on the 160 GB HD:

1 PRI DOS 5426 MB 25% usage (C)
2 NTFS 16119 MB 75% usage

I did this because I want to format the drive and make two equal sized partitions. But now, I can't reach the HD with the command format, because I deleted C:. Did I make a mistake?
Come to think of it, I should probably look what partitions the old HD has and make exactly those on the new one. My initial hunch was: New HD is twice as big as old HD, so cut it in half.
I wonder how this will end..

JiltQuote

No, [highlight]they were made with a special feature in XP: System recovery[/highlight]. They're specifically meant for reinstalling the system without an installation disc and seem to be a way to avoid giving buyers a normal install CD which they can copy illegally. It seems to be relatively unknown, I've had several help desk attendants and other people raise their eyebrows on it.
In the mean time, I found a way to make a floppy disc with Fdisk. I haven't figured out yet how to make the partitions with it, but I'll keep you posted