Partitioning A Hard Disk
SoulSkorpion
Join Date: 2002-04-12 Member: 423Members
Join Date: 2002-04-12 Member: 423Members
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">Need some advice</div> I'm running Windows NT, and my hard disk's file structure is NTFS. I want to play certain really old games again, and after a long and arduous journey I've found a bootable DOS-like OS which supports them. The only problem is that it doesn't understand NTFS, only FAT. I know this for a fact because I've been able to play these old games on my mum's computer, the hard disk of which use FAT.
Basically, I want to put in a FAT partition on my hard disk, and I want to know if there's any way of doing this without reformatting. I can live with having to reformat, I guess, but it's a huge pain in the backside.
Basically, I want to put in a FAT partition on my hard disk, and I want to know if there's any way of doing this without reformatting. I can live with having to reformat, I guess, but it's a huge pain in the backside.
Comments
(Well so far haven’t failed me but I still back it up first)
As for any freeware I have no idea
Edit: dos emulators would probably be a better idea
Well if you read deep enough you find the reason of Partition magic
But I agree it is better to start over again
Not really, Partition magic lets you make partitions out of ones that already have data on them.
I would suggest, rather than bothering with attempting to partition your active HD (a risky endeavour the first time you try it) Just go to ebay or some site and buy a small 1-2 gig HD that you can use and not worry if it loses its data or not.
They are, and you have no idea how many I've been through. For these particular games, this boot disk is the only thing that works.
<!--QuoteBegin--OttoDestruct + Nov 11 2003, 12:36 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (OttoDestruct @ Nov 11 2003, 12:36 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->
fdisk > partition magic. Please. People need to stop paying for stuff that already comes with windows.
<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Can that set up partitions without reformatting, though?
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> would suggest, rather than bothering with attempting to partition your active HD (a risky endeavour the first time you try it) Just go to ebay or some site and buy a small 1-2 gig HD that you can use and not worry if it loses its data or not.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Well, if I was going to buy hardware I might as well by a whole other box, and set it up as a DOS box. I'm trying to avoid buying more hardware (I'd like to avoid buying anything at all, actually, if at all possibly).
Can that set up partitions without reformatting, though?
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> would suggest, rather than bothering with attempting to partition your active HD (a risky endeavour the first time you try it) Just go to ebay or some site and buy a small 1-2 gig HD that you can use and not worry if it loses its data or not.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Well, if I was going to buy hardware I might as well by a whole other box, and set it up as a DOS box. I'm trying to avoid buying more hardware (I'd like to avoid buying anything at all, actually, if at all possibly). <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Fdisk cannot setup partitions without reformatting. Its a very powerful tool (In the computer world, powerful simple refers to the tools ability to foul you up in the least number of steps)
As for additional hardware, you can find 1-2 gig HD's for $10-$20. Hardly a cost justifying the purchase of a an entire new box.
But if all you want is an extra FAT partition. Use partition magic to slice one out of your current drive.
<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Is this <a href='http://www.freedos.org/' target='_blank'>Freedos</a> you're talking about?
<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Is this <a href='http://www.freedos.org/' target='_blank'>Freedos</a> you're talking about? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
No. It's <a href='http://www.geocities.com/faustino909/bootdisk.html' target='_blank'>this</a>. I have little idea what it is, and I haven't found so much as a website about it other than this one.
Either way, I'm going to need to free up some space and defrag before I use whatever it is I'm using to partition, right?
Well, IIRC linux could read from NTFS without problems fairly early on, but since they had to reverse engineer the filesystem, writing was always a bit risky. I think SuSE has some tool to resize windows partitions in its installer, though it may be proprietary.
Yeah, its been able to read NTFS awhile, but the Linux mongrels in my SA&D class say that very recently Writing to NTFS has been completed and is now working, one one of the distros at least (can't remember which)
Funny thing is, the OS wasn't recognising my USB mouse. That was until I remembered that I kept an old, slightly buggy mouse from when we replaced one of ours. I plugged it into the "normal" mouse port and it works great!
Here's the funny thing: Windows recognises both mice. As being the same mouse. So both mice control the pointer <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
Now, if I can just get the sound working...