Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not theD?

[Gumby]

A recent crash left my old Win ME laptop unbootable. Also, the floppy
disk and CD drive are both broken.

I understand that it's impossible to reinstall the OS by putting my HD
in an external USB box connected to another computer, which would be
the easiest solution, as the OS has to install to the C drive, I have
read.

It seems the only way I can reinstall Win ME would be to put my laptop
HD into someone else's laptop, start the installation routine from its
working CD, then, after Windows finishes copying files and says it's
going to restart the computer, turn the computer off, remove the HD,
put it in my laptop, start it up and hopefully the install will resume
and detect my laptop's hardware. (I watched someone else do this once,
and it seemed to work. One question I have is, when it says "finished
copying files, restarting computer", how do you shut the computer off?
Do you have a start button at that point and can choose START-
Shutdown? Or do you force the computer off by pressing and holding the
power button?)

But my main question is, how can I do this without completely
reformatting my HD? I don't mind if it formats C, since C only has
Windows on it. But I have a lot of files and folders on the D
partition that it would be a great inconvenience to lose, although I
have backups of most of them.

How can I make the install CD only format C and not D?

Also, should I delete the Windows folder before I reinstall? (Although
I can't boot my laptop, I can delete the Windows folder by putting my
HD into an external USB box and deleting it from another computer)

Thanks if anyone can help.

 

[Mike M]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

I think I'd try the following:
Place the laptop drive in an external usb enclosure.
Connect to another PC
Format the C: drive (although it won't be called C now)
Copy the contents of the Win9x folder on the Win Me CD to C:\WinMe on the
laptop drive. Again note it won't be C: but rather whichever letter the
host PC allocates.
Remove drive from PC enclosure and reinstall in laptop
Borrow an external usb floppy and find a DOS boot floppy or Win Me startup
disk.
Using the usb floppy drive and boot floppy (this can be the Win Me startup
disk if you have this) boot the laptop to DOS and then from the A:\> DOS
prompt type
C:\WinMe\setup
which should start the setup routine and allow you to clean install Win Me
to the C drive.

> How can I make the install CD only format C and not D?

The Win Me CD is not bootable (a few OEM copies are) and Win Me's setup
does not automatically format the target drive unlike XP or Vista.

> Also, should I delete the Windows folder before I reinstall?

Not really relevant since you are going to format C:
--
Mike Maltby
mike.maltby@gmail.com


Gumby <gumbygum@gmail.com> wrote:

> A recent crash left my old Win ME laptop unbootable. Also, the floppy
> disk and CD drive are both broken.
>
> I understand that it's impossible to reinstall the OS by putting my HD
> in an external USB box connected to another computer, which would be
> the easiest solution, as the OS has to install to the C drive, I have
> read.
>
> It seems the only way I can reinstall Win ME would be to put my laptop
> HD into someone else's laptop, start the installation routine from its
> working CD, then, after Windows finishes copying files and says it's
> going to restart the computer, turn the computer off, remove the HD,
> put it in my laptop, start it up and hopefully the install will resume
> and detect my laptop's hardware. (I watched someone else do this once,
> and it seemed to work. One question I have is, when it says "finished
> copying files, restarting computer", how do you shut the computer off?
> Do you have a start button at that point and can choose START-
> Shutdown? Or do you force the computer off by pressing and holding the
> power button?)
>
> But my main question is, how can I do this without completely
> reformatting my HD? I don't mind if it formats C, since C only has
> Windows on it. But I have a lot of files and folders on the D
> partition that it would be a great inconvenience to lose, although I
> have backups of most of them.
>
> How can I make the install CD only format C and not D?
>
> Also, should I delete the Windows folder before I reinstall? (Although
> I can't boot my laptop, I can delete the Windows folder by putting my
> HD into an external USB box and deleting it from another computer)
>
> Thanks if anyone can help.

 

[Gumby]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, notthe D?

Thanks for the suggestions, Mike. Several problems, though.

1) The only other computers I have available to me run Win XP. Can you
format a Win ME FAT file system with Win XP?
2) This old laptop does not have the ability to boot from USB.

I actually have the whole installation CD copied on the HD already. If
I could get a DOS prompt, I could presumably run the install from
there. But I can't get one. The computer gives error messages when I
try to boot. I wish there was a way I could copy something to the hard
drive (in an external box) that would give the HD the ability to boot,
at least to a DOS prompt. I know about the utility WinMeDos, but,
reading the info on the web, I don't see how it can be installed on a
non-functioning computer. If I tried to install it from an XP desktop,
with the laptop HD connected to USB, I don't know if it would work. I
would think it might install itself to the XP computer, not the ME
one.

I did find a Win ME boot floppy on the web...now I just need to find
some repair technician with an open laptop with a working floppy
drive...actually if it has the floppy drive I guess it doesn't need a
CD drive, as I have the install program on the HD.

 

[Corday]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition,

I can't remember at what point, but somewhere in the transfer procedure, you
should re-fdisk the whole HD. Mike might know what I'm referring to. You
might be able to save the files on your D: drive by transferring it to the
host laptop then back to your newly fromatted and partioned HD.
I mastered Wordstar graphics!


"Gumby" wrote:

> Thanks for the suggestions, Mike. Several problems, though.
>
> 1) The only other computers I have available to me run Win XP. Can you
> format a Win ME FAT file system with Win XP?
> 2) This old laptop does not have the ability to boot from USB.
>
> I actually have the whole installation CD copied on the HD already. If
> I could get a DOS prompt, I could presumably run the install from
> there. But I can't get one. The computer gives error messages when I
> try to boot. I wish there was a way I could copy something to the hard
> drive (in an external box) that would give the HD the ability to boot,
> at least to a DOS prompt. I know about the utility WinMeDos, but,
> reading the info on the web, I don't see how it can be installed on a
> non-functioning computer. If I tried to install it from an XP desktop,
> with the laptop HD connected to USB, I don't know if it would work. I
> would think it might install itself to the XP computer, not the ME
> one.
>
> I did find a Win ME boot floppy on the web...now I just need to find
> some repair technician with an open laptop with a working floppy
> drive...actually if it has the floppy drive I guess it doesn't need a
> CD drive, as I have the install program on the HD.
>

 

[Mike M]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

> 1) The only other computers I have available to me run Win XP. Can you
> format a Win ME FAT file system with Win XP?

Yes however XP can only format partitions up to 32GB despite being able to
access FAT32 volumes larger than that. Alternatively use the Delete key
and delete all the files and folders in the partition.

> 2) This old laptop does not have the ability to boot from USB.

Are you sure about this? Booting from a floppy connected via usb isn't
necessarily the same as booting from say a usb pen drive which is far more
unusual and only a feature of recent systems.

You could try installing DOS on the drive when connected to another PC.
You could use the command.com, io.sys and msdos.sys files from a Win Me
boot floppy as they don't need installing but rather just need to be
copied to the drive. This works for a floppy but I'm not sure whether
this will work with a hard drive (it should) but you would then have to
create the necessary autoexec.bat and config.sys files as those from a
boot floppy might not work. I'm not in a position to check this and
others will hopefully give you the necessary details.
--
Mike Maltby
mike.maltby@gmail.com


Gumby <gumbygum@gmail.com> wrote:

> Thanks for the suggestions, Mike. Several problems, though.
>
> 1) The only other computers I have available to me run Win XP. Can you
> format a Win ME FAT file system with Win XP?
> 2) This old laptop does not have the ability to boot from USB.
>
> I actually have the whole installation CD copied on the HD already. If
> I could get a DOS prompt, I could presumably run the install from
> there. But I can't get one. The computer gives error messages when I
> try to boot. I wish there was a way I could copy something to the hard
> drive (in an external box) that would give the HD the ability to boot,
> at least to a DOS prompt. I know about the utility WinMeDos, but,
> reading the info on the web, I don't see how it can be installed on a
> non-functioning computer. If I tried to install it from an XP desktop,
> with the laptop HD connected to USB, I don't know if it would work. I
> would think it might install itself to the XP computer, not the ME
> one.
>
> I did find a Win ME boot floppy on the web...now I just need to find
> some repair technician with an open laptop with a working floppy
> drive...actually if it has the floppy drive I guess it doesn't need a
> CD drive, as I have the install program on the HD.

 

[Jim Dell]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition,not the D?

Gumby wrote:
> A recent crash left my old Win ME laptop unbootable. Also, the floppy
> disk and CD drive are both broken.
>
> I understand that it's impossible to reinstall the OS by putting my HD
> in an external USB box connected to another computer, which would be
> the easiest solution, as the OS has to install to the C drive, I have
> read.
>
> It seems the only way I can reinstall Win ME would be to put my laptop
> HD into someone else's laptop, start the installation routine from its
> working CD, then, after Windows finishes copying files and says it's
> going to restart the computer, turn the computer off, remove the HD,
> put it in my laptop, start it up and hopefully the install will resume
> and detect my laptop's hardware. (I watched someone else do this once,
> and it seemed to work. One question I have is, when it says "finished
> copying files, restarting computer", how do you shut the computer off?
> Do you have a start button at that point and can choose START-
> Shutdown? Or do you force the computer off by pressing and holding the
> power button?)
>
> But my main question is, how can I do this without completely
> reformatting my HD? I don't mind if it formats C, since C only has
> Windows on it. But I have a lot of files and folders on the D
> partition that it would be a great inconvenience to lose, although I
> have backups of most of them.
>
> How can I make the install CD only format C and not D?
>
> Also, should I delete the Windows folder before I reinstall? (Although
> I can't boot my laptop, I can delete the Windows folder by putting my
> HD into an external USB box and deleting it from another computer)
>
> Thanks if anyone can help.
Things I would do:
1) Take drive out put it in an external case or dock
2) Backup your partition D on another PC after you have down step a
3) Put drive back in your laptop
4) Plug in an external USB CD drive and Floppy
5) Get it to boot somehow from the boot floppy or CD
6) Proceed from there

Usually on Laptop, if you hold down the on/off button it will shut off.

Jim

 

[Gumby]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, notthe D?

On Oct 16, 1:07 am, "Mike M" <No_Spam@Corned_Beef.Only> wrote:
> > 1) The only other computers I have available to me run Win XP. Can you
> > format a Win ME FAT file system with Win XP?
>
> Yes however XP can only format partitions up to 32GB despite being able to
> access FAT32 volumes larger than that.  Alternatively use the Delete key
> and delete all the files and folders in the partition.

If I am going to have to put the HD into another laptop anyway,
wouldn't it be simpler to format it then? Anyway, the main question
is...when I run the install program, how can I get it to only format C
and not D? That's my main concern. There's no need for it to format
D...is the setup going to insist on it?

> > 2) This old laptop does not have the ability to boot from USB.
>
> Are you sure about this?  Booting from a floppy connected via usb isn't
> necessarily the same as booting from say a usb pen drive which is far more
> unusual and only a feature of recent systems.

I've never seen any option in the BIOS to boot from USB, just floppy,
CD and HD. This computer was built around 1998, when USB ports were
just starting to appear, I think. They didn't put any boot option in
the BIOS and I can't upgrade the BIOS.

> You could try installing DOS on the drive when connected to another PC.
> You could use the command.com, io.sys and msdos.sys files from a Win Me
> boot floppy as they don't need installing but rather just need to be
> copied to the drive.  This works for a floppy but I'm not sure whether
> this will work with a hard drive (it should) but you would then have to
> create the necessary autoexec.bat and config.sys files as those from a
> boot floppy might not work.  I'm not in a position to check this and
> others will hopefully give you the necessary details.

Thanks Mike, I will think about this option. But if I do have to put
the HD in another laptop, is there a simple way to get Setup to format
only C, not D?

 

[Gumby]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, notthe D?


> Things I would do:
> 1) Take drive out put it in an external case or dock
> 2) Backup your partition D on another PC after you have down step a
> 3) Put drive back in your laptop
> 4) Plug in an external USB CD drive and Floppy
> 5) Get it to boot somehow from the boot floppy or CD
> 6) Proceed from there
>
> Usually on Laptop, if you hold down the on/off button it will shut off.
>
> Jim

Thanks Jim, but as I mentioned, I really don't think this laptop can
boot from USB. Also, I don't have an external USB CD or floppy drive,
and don't have time to run around trying to borrow or rent one.
Another thing I should have mentioned is that I want to do this on the
cheap. I don't want to put any money into this old jalopy of a laptop.
I just want to get it to run for 2-1/2 more months, until January,
when I will buy a new one. (tax reasons why I want to wait)

 

[Mike M]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

> If I am going to have to put the HD into another laptop anyway,

Since you have never stated the size of the drive I thought I'd try and be
helpful and say what I would do if the drive was more than 32GB, the
maximum size that can be formatted using XP. Perhaps you didn't
understand that.

> Thanks Mike, I will think about this option. But if I do have to put
> the HD in another laptop, is there a simple way to get Setup to format
> only C, not D?

Win Me's setup doesn't include the ability to either fdisk or format the
drive. This is done using a boot floppy. See the file CLEANHD.TXT which
is in the Win 9x folder on the Win Me CD and also as KB271673 - "Windows
Millennium Edition Cleanhd.txt File Contents"
(http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=271673).
--
Mike Maltby
mike.maltby@gmail.com


Gumby <gumbygum@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Oct 16, 1:07am, "Mike M" <No_Spam@Corned_Beef.Only> wrote:
>>> 1) The only other computers I have available to me run Win XP. Can
>>> you format a Win ME FAT file system with Win XP?
>>
>> Yes however XP can only format partitions up to 32GB despite being
>> able to access FAT32 volumes larger than that. Alternatively use the
>> Delete key and delete all the files and folders in the partition.
>
> If I am going to have to put the HD into another laptop anyway,
> wouldn't it be simpler to format it then? Anyway, the main question
> is...when I run the install program, how can I get it to only format C
> and not D? That's my main concern. There's no need for it to format
> D...is the setup going to insist on it?
>
>>> 2) This old laptop does not have the ability to boot from USB.
>>
>> Are you sure about this? Booting from a floppy connected via usb
>> isn't necessarily the same as booting from say a usb pen drive which
>> is far more unusual and only a feature of recent systems.
>
> I've never seen any option in the BIOS to boot from USB, just floppy,
> CD and HD. This computer was built around 1998, when USB ports were
> just starting to appear, I think. They didn't put any boot option in
> the BIOS and I can't upgrade the BIOS.
>
>> You could try installing DOS on the drive when connected to another
>> PC. You could use the command.com, io.sys and msdos.sys files from a
>> Win Me boot floppy as they don't need installing but rather just
>> need to be copied to the drive. This works for a floppy but I'm not
>> sure whether this will work with a hard drive (it should) but you
>> would then have to create the necessary autoexec.bat and config.sys
>> files as those from a boot floppy might not work. I'm not in a
>> position to check this and others will hopefully give you the
>> necessary details.
>
> Thanks Mike, I will think about this option. But if I do have to put
> the HD in another laptop, is there a simple way to get Setup to format
> only C, not D?

 

[Jim Dell]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition,not the D?

Gumby wrote:
>> Things I would do:
>> 1) Take drive out put it in an external case or dock
>> 2) Backup your partition D on another PC after you have down step a
>> 3) Put drive back in your laptop
>> 4) Plug in an external USB CD drive and Floppy
>> 5) Get it to boot somehow from the boot floppy or CD
>> 6) Proceed from there
>>
>> Usually on Laptop, if you hold down the on/off button it will shut off.
>>
>> Jim
>
> Thanks Jim, but as I mentioned, I really don't think this laptop can
> boot from USB. Also, I don't have an external USB CD or floppy drive,
> and don't have time to run around trying to borrow or rent one.
> Another thing I should have mentioned is that I want to do this on the
> cheap. I don't want to put any money into this old jalopy of a laptop.
> I just want to get it to run for 2-1/2 more months, until January,
> when I will buy a new one. (tax reasons why I want to wait)
>
Know anybody that has the same model you can put your disk in?

Jim

 

[Phred]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

In article <7977c468-48cd-4c97-a93e-7b7f8a4dc421@r38g2000prr.googlegroups.com>, Gumby <gumbygum@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Things I would do:
>> 1) Take drive out put it in an external case or dock
>> 2) Backup your partition D on another PC after you have down step a
>> 3) Put drive back in your laptop
>> 4) Plug in an external USB CD drive and Floppy
>> 5) Get it to boot somehow from the boot floppy or CD
>> 6) Proceed from there
>>
>> Usually on Laptop, if you hold down the on/off button it will shut off.
>
>Thanks Jim, but as I mentioned, I really don't think this laptop can
>boot from USB. Also, I don't have an external USB CD or floppy drive,
>and don't have time to run around trying to borrow or rent one.

Well you've spent the past two days seeking advice here. -)

>Another thing I should have mentioned is that I want to do this on the
>cheap. I don't want to put any money into this old jalopy of a laptop.
>I just want to get it to run for 2-1/2 more months, until January,
>when I will buy a new one. (tax reasons why I want to wait)

At least that's a valid reason.

How much data do you have on your D: partition that you can't lose?
You can now get 8 GB thumb drives quite cheaply, and one or more of
them would probably still be useful with your new PC.

I'd be surprised if installing ME from CD would reformat your D:
partition if you're simply installing it on C: -- but I have to admit
I don't really *know* what it would do, and I'm always prepared to be
surprised!


Cheers, Phred.

--
ppnerkDELETE@THISyahoo.com.INVALID

 

[Gumby]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, notthe D?

Most of the data on the D partition is already backed up and I could
backup the rest easily enough. THe HD is 120 GB (it's a fairly new
hard drive) THe system recognizes about 112 GB of that amount (amazed
me, too, as most people told me that this old system would not be able
to recognize most of a big HD.)

I don't know anyone who has this same laptop, Jim.

Right now I would really like to try Mike's idea of copying a boot
floppy to the HD. But the boot floppies you can download from the web
all seem to demand to be unpacked to a floppy drive. I can't just
unzip them and copy the files to the HD.

Still working on it...thanks for your suggestions.

One question that occurs to me...if I succeed in copying boot files to
C:, can I command DOS to format C and install Windows on C? Can it do
those things on the same drive that it's installed on? But i can't
copy the DOS files to D, because the system always boots from C,
right?

Aren't computers intellectually stimulating...

 

[Mike M]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

> One question that occurs to me...if I succeed in copying boot files to
> C:, can I command DOS to format C

No. Why do you need to do this to format C:? I've earlier suggested two
alternatives, format C: from XP if C: <32GB, delete all files in C: from
XP if C: > 32GB.

> But i can't
> copy the DOS files to D, because the system always boots from C,
> right?

No. The system will boot from the drive that is active which can be set
as D:.
--
Mike Maltby
mike.maltby@gmail.com


Gumby <gumbygum@gmail.com> wrote:

> Most of the data on the D partition is already backed up and I could
> backup the rest easily enough. THe HD is 120 GB (it's a fairly new
> hard drive) THe system recognizes about 112 GB of that amount (amazed
> me, too, as most people told me that this old system would not be able
> to recognize most of a big HD.)
>
> I don't know anyone who has this same laptop, Jim.
>
> Right now I would really like to try Mike's idea of copying a boot
> floppy to the HD. But the boot floppies you can download from the web
> all seem to demand to be unpacked to a floppy drive. I can't just
> unzip them and copy the files to the HD.
>
> Still working on it...thanks for your suggestions.
>
> One question that occurs to me...if I succeed in copying boot files to
> C:, can I command DOS to format C and install Windows on C? Can it do
> those things on the same drive that it's installed on? But i can't
> copy the DOS files to D, because the system always boots from C,
> right?
>
> Aren't computers intellectually stimulating...

 

[Mart]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

As you are now prepared to 'forfeit' the D: partition (if necessary) and if
you have access to "someone else's laptop" then you *might* be able to
install WinMe as you suggested yourself, in the 3rd paragraph of your
original post.

There are some points you need to consider first. Is your WinMe CD an MS
Retail version or an OEM version?

You asked :- How can I make the install CD only format C and not D?

Your question implies that the CD is an OEM and bootable and would attempt
to first format the drive and install a 'factory fresh' installation. On the
other hand you *might* also need a special floppy disk (supplied with your
CD) - as the installation files on the CD may be in a special (OEM)
compressed format. Also, an OEM version *may* be tied to your original
laptop's BIOS and *may not* install onto another.

Assuming, that you are able to proceed and all goes well, let it completely
install onto your HDD in "someone else's laptop" and confirm WinMe is
working ok on that machine.

Now replace the HDD into your original laptop and re-boot and you will very
likely find that it will hang during the boot sequence. Switch off and
re-boot into Safe Mode and it 'should' now at least work in that mode.

Open Device Manager and 'Remove' any/all devices showing conflicts - Yellow
exclamation/question marks (and there's likely to be a few!). Then close
down and re-boot into Normal Mode.

And this is where the fun starts! - WinMe will ask for various drivers for
certain devices specific to your original laptop (e.g. Display, touch-pad,
modem, etc. drivers) and you will have to try and satisfy its needs until
you eventually get all the correct drivers installed.

This is likely to be an iterative process - each time it hangs when trying
to boot into Normal Mode, restart in Safe Mode and correct the Device
Manager issues - until you eventually get it to work.

BTW - if your CD is an MS Retail version, things might be a little simpler.

Best of luck

Mart


"Gumby" <gumbygum@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:41ea7537-6502-47bd-b4bd-a349d7fd46e7@42g2000pry.googlegroups.com...
> Most of the data on the D partition is already backed up and I could
> backup the rest easily enough. THe HD is 120 GB (it's a fairly new
> hard drive) THe system recognizes about 112 GB of that amount (amazed
> me, too, as most people told me that this old system would not be able
> to recognize most of a big HD.)
>
> I don't know anyone who has this same laptop, Jim.
>
> Right now I would really like to try Mike's idea of copying a boot
> floppy to the HD. But the boot floppies you can download from the web
> all seem to demand to be unpacked to a floppy drive. I can't just
> unzip them and copy the files to the HD.
>
> Still working on it...thanks for your suggestions.
>
> One question that occurs to me...if I succeed in copying boot files to
> C:, can I command DOS to format C and install Windows on C? Can it do
> those things on the same drive that it's installed on? But i can't
> copy the DOS files to D, because the system always boots from C,
> right?
>
> Aren't computers intellectually stimulating...

 

[Shane]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

The boot floppies you can download - from boot-disk.com at least - can be
extracted with winrar (http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm). That leaves you
with an .ima or .imz which can then be extracted using winimage
(http://www.winimage.com/download.htm). Both can be run as fully functional
evaluation versions.

Shane



"Gumby" <gumbygum@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:41ea7537-6502-47bd-b4bd-a349d7fd46e7@42g2000pry.googlegroups.com...
> Most of the data on the D partition is already backed up and I could
> backup the rest easily enough. THe HD is 120 GB (it's a fairly new
> hard drive) THe system recognizes about 112 GB of that amount (amazed
> me, too, as most people told me that this old system would not be able
> to recognize most of a big HD.)
>
> I don't know anyone who has this same laptop, Jim.
>
> Right now I would really like to try Mike's idea of copying a boot
> floppy to the HD. But the boot floppies you can download from the web
> all seem to demand to be unpacked to a floppy drive. I can't just
> unzip them and copy the files to the HD.
>
> Still working on it...thanks for your suggestions.
>
> One question that occurs to me...if I succeed in copying boot files to
> C:, can I command DOS to format C and install Windows on C? Can it do
> those things on the same drive that it's installed on? But i can't
> copy the DOS files to D, because the system always boots from C,
> right?
>
> Aren't computers intellectually stimulating...

 

[Shane]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

You get an error message in the winrar stage, but it can be ignored. It has
nothing to do with the contents and presumably applies to the fact the .exe
contains commands for writing to a floppy.

"Shane" <shanebeatson@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:%23JDKIPUMJHA.5844@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> The boot floppies you can download - from boot-disk.com at least - can be
> extracted with winrar (http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm). That leaves
> you with an .ima or .imz which can then be extracted using winimage
> (http://www.winimage.com/download.htm). Both can be run as fully
> functional evaluation versions.
>
> Shane
>
>
>
> "Gumby" <gumbygum@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:41ea7537-6502-47bd-b4bd-a349d7fd46e7@42g2000pry.googlegroups.com...
>> Most of the data on the D partition is already backed up and I could
>> backup the rest easily enough. THe HD is 120 GB (it's a fairly new
>> hard drive) THe system recognizes about 112 GB of that amount (amazed
>> me, too, as most people told me that this old system would not be able
>> to recognize most of a big HD.)
>>
>> I don't know anyone who has this same laptop, Jim.
>>
>> Right now I would really like to try Mike's idea of copying a boot
>> floppy to the HD. But the boot floppies you can download from the web
>> all seem to demand to be unpacked to a floppy drive. I can't just
>> unzip them and copy the files to the HD.
>>
>> Still working on it...thanks for your suggestions.
>>
>> One question that occurs to me...if I succeed in copying boot files to
>> C:, can I command DOS to format C and install Windows on C? Can it do
>> those things on the same drive that it's installed on? But i can't
>> copy the DOS files to D, because the system always boots from C,
>> right?
>>
>> Aren't computers intellectually stimulating...
>

 

[Bart]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

Op Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:57:59 -0700 (PDT) schreef Gumby
<gumbygum@gmail.com>:

>Thanks Jim, but as I mentioned, I really don't think this laptop can
>boot from USB. Also, I don't have an external USB CD or floppy drive,
>and don't have time to run around trying to borrow or rent one.
>Another thing I should have mentioned is that I want to do this on the
>cheap. I don't want to put any money into this old jalopy of a laptop.
>I just want to get it to run for 2-1/2 more months, until January,
>when I will buy a new one. (tax reasons why I want to wait)

You can make a bootable (WinME-)DOS CD.
You will need someone with a floppy drive though.
Download the ME bootdisk, then create the ME bootdisk on the other
persons computer.
Then create a bootable CD, using the ME bootfloppy as the boot image.

Put the CD in your laptop, boot from CD, choose the option with CDROM
support from the bootmenu and you have the DOS from WinME staring at
you.
Next you can access your WinME CD and run the setup (or run setup from
your HD).
AFAIK the installation process will not format your D: drive.

Bart

--
Bart Broersma
broersma.juda_ANTISPAM_@tiscali.nl
(ff _ANTISPAM_ wegpoetsen uit dit adres natuurlijk)

 

[Shane]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

"Bart" <broersma.juda_ANTISPAM_@tiscali.nl> wrote in message
news:tvlmf4h08lq2msqhs2sv1vqh3morrpqjjm@4ax.com...
> Op Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:57:59 -0700 (PDT) schreef Gumby
> <gumbygum@gmail.com>:
>
>>Thanks Jim, but as I mentioned, I really don't think this laptop can
>>boot from USB. Also, I don't have an external USB CD or floppy drive,
>>and don't have time to run around trying to borrow or rent one.
>>Another thing I should have mentioned is that I want to do this on the
>>cheap. I don't want to put any money into this old jalopy of a laptop.
>>I just want to get it to run for 2-1/2 more months, until January,
>>when I will buy a new one. (tax reasons why I want to wait)
>
> You can make a bootable (WinME-)DOS CD.
> You will need someone with a floppy drive though.
> Download the ME bootdisk, then create the ME bootdisk on the other
> persons computer.
> Then create a bootable CD, using the ME bootfloppy as the boot image.

You don't need a floppy drive, all you need is a boot image. Of course, it
helps if you have a CD drive on the machine you're making the bootable CD
for.

Shane

 

[Gumby]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, notthe D?

Really overwhelmed by all the helpful suggestions. Shane sent me an
email that, if I understood it correctly, might have a way to put
WinMeDos on my laptop HD by copying it over from an XP desktop. And
that this might enable me to get a DOS prompt when I boot the laptop.
If I could get a DOS prompt, then I could run setup from the ME
install CD that I previously copied to the D partition. That would be
the easiest and cheapest of all options to get this machine running
again.

You know, I must correct something I wrote earlier. Actually, the
fellow who previously installed Win ME on my laptop HD from another
computer did not put the HD into another laptop, but installed ME from
a laptop HD connector on an XP desktop. I wonder how he was able to do
that? Was it that the laptop HD was connected in such a way as to be a
slave to his desktop's C drive? I don't really know what "slave" drive
means, but that occurred to me as a possibility.

He did in fact install only the first stage of the install, the
"copying files" stage, then disconnected the laptop HD and put it in
my laptop, where it proceeded to detect my hardware upon restarting.

Bart, thanks for the suggestion but my laptop's CD drive does not
work, in addition to the nonfunctional floppy drive.

 

[Mike M]

Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

There are cheap converters (US$3 or so) that allow a 2½" laptop IDE drive
to be connected to a full size desktop IDE connector. I use one of these
quite often and recently upgraded the disk drive on a number of laptops,
each time imaging the C: drive on the old laptop drive to the new drive
using BING and with the old and then new laptops drives connected to a
desktop PC running XP. I've used the laptop IDE connector/converter in
both an external USB enclosure and also a full size IDE caddy.

I see no reason why you shouldn't do the same given the relatively low
cost involved and the resulting easy solution to your problem which both
Shane and myself have already detailed.
--
Mike Maltby
mike.maltby@gmail.com


Gumby <gumbygum@gmail.com> wrote:

> Really overwhelmed by all the helpful suggestions. Shane sent me an
> email that, if I understood it correctly, might have a way to put
> WinMeDos on my laptop HD by copying it over from an XP desktop. And
> that this might enable me to get a DOS prompt when I boot the laptop.
> If I could get a DOS prompt, then I could run setup from the ME
> install CD that I previously copied to the D partition. That would be
> the easiest and cheapest of all options to get this machine running
> again.
>
> You know, I must correct something I wrote earlier. Actually, the
> fellow who previously installed Win ME on my laptop HD from another
> computer did not put the HD into another laptop, but installed ME from
> a laptop HD connector on an XP desktop. I wonder how he was able to do
> that? Was it that the laptop HD was connected in such a way as to be a
> slave to his desktop's C drive? I don't really know what "slave" drive
> means, but that occurred to me as a possibility.
>
> He did in fact install only the first stage of the install, the
> "copying files" stage, then disconnected the laptop HD and put it in
> my laptop, where it proceeded to detect my hardware upon restarting.
>
> Bart, thanks for the suggestion but my laptop's CD drive does not
> work, in addition to the nonfunctional floppy drive.