I bought a new drive that was supposed to be 120 gig, (thats way lots to me)
However, when installing xp, it goes into this thing saying it has to format the drive first, then for whatever reason, it had to be partitioned. Which by the way, at that time, I NEVER even heard of it, much less understand Fat32 or NTSF ?
Anyway, after instalations ( a few different attempts) Nomatterwhat, The drive ALWAYS reads 31.? gigs.
I had a friend of mine do whatever she did/does and only 1 time did she get it reading 120gig, untill an instalation of a sys.

Can anybody possably tell me why??

Its been a year now, and I'm soo tired of all of it, I want to go back to 98, to which I am very familure with, but How do you uninstall xp, install 98???

I know how to use a pc, but this , ahh, stuffs is so way out of my caplability (comprehention ) What do I do????

It maybe you created a large partition?Did it say format on this partition or do you want to create one?Format on the partition that is already listed.not the 0 one.I asume you are formatting a new main drive C:/?

How to partition and format your hard disk by using the Windows XP Setup program

Important If you follow these steps on a hard disk that is not empty, all the data on that hard disk is permanently deleted. We recommend that you back up your hard disk before you follow these steps.

To partition and format your hard disk by using the Windows XP Setup program: 1.Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive, or insert the first Windows XP Setup disk into the floppy disk drive, and then restart the computer.

Note To start your computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM (or from the startup disk), your computer must be configured to start from the CD-ROM drive, the DVD-ROM drive, or the floppy disk drive. In some cases, you may have to modify your computer's BIOS settings to set this configuration. For information about how to configure your computer to start from the CD-ROM drive, the DVD-ROM drive, or the floppy disk drive, see the documentation that is included with your computer, or contact the computer manufacturer.2.If you are starting the computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM, select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do this.

Note If your hard disk controller requires a third-party original equipment manufacturer (OEM) driver, press F6 to specify the driver.


If you are starting from the Windows XP Setup disks, insert each of the additional disks when you are prompted, and then press ENTER to continue after you insert each disk.3.At the Welcome to Setup page, press ENTER.4.
Note If you are using the Setup disks (6 bootable disks), the setup will prompt you to instert the Windows XP CD. 5.Press F8 to accept the Windows XP Licensing Agreement.6.If an existing Windows XP installation is detected, you are prompted to repair it. To bypass the repair, press ESC.7.All the existing partitions and the unpartitioned spaces are listed for each physical hard disk. Use the ARROW keys to select the partition or the unpartitioned space where you want to create a new partition. Press D to delete an existing partition, or press C to create a new partition by using unpartitioned space. If you press D to delete an existing partition, you must then press L (or press ENTER, and then press L if it is the System partition) to confirm that you want to delete the partition. Repeat this step for each of the existing partitions that you want to use for the new partition. When all the partitions are deleted, select the remaining unpartitioned space, and then press C to create the new partition.

Note If you want to create a partition where one or more partitions already exist, you must first delete the existing partition or partitions, and then create the new partition.8.Type the size in megabytes (MB) that you want to use for the new partition, and then press ENTER, or just press ENTER to create the partition with the maximum size.9.Repeat Steps 4 and 5 to create additional partitions if you want them.10.If you want to install Windows XP, use the ARROW keys to select the partition where you want to install Windows XP, and then press ENTER. If you do not want to format the partition and install Windows XP, press F3 two times to quit the Windows Setup program, and then do not follow the remaining steps. In this case, you must use a different utility to format the partition.11.Select the format option that you want to use for the partition, and then press ENTER. You have the following options: •Format the partition by using the NTFS file system (Quick)•Format the partition by using the FAT file system (Quick)•Format the partition by using the NTFS file system•Format the partition by using the FAT file system•Leave the current file system intact (no changes)The option to leave the current file system intact is not available if the selected partition is a new partition. The FAT file system option is not available if the selected partition is more than 32 gigabytes (GB). If the partition is larger than 2 GB, the Windows Setup program uses the FAT32 file system (you must press ENTER to confirm). If the partition is smaller than 2 GB, the Windows Setup program uses the FAT16 file system.

Note If you deleted and created a new System partition, but you are installing Windows XP on a different partition, you will be prompted to select a file system for both the System and startup partitions.12.After the Windows Setup program formats the partition, follow the instructions that appear on the screen to continue. After the Windows Setup program is completed, you can use the Disk Management tools in Windows XP to create or format more partitions.




See if that helps.Format to NTFS not 32 bit.

How to Repartition the Extended Partition and the Logical Drives

NOTE: When you use this method, two or more partitions are left on your hard disk, a primary partition (usually drive C) and an extended partition. Even if you use the FAT32 file system, there is an 8-GB partition limitation unless you obtain a BIOS upgrade that fully supports interrupt 13 extensions.

If you have a hard disk that is larger than 8 GB and you are not using a disk overlay program or disk management software, you need to partition and format the space that is remaining after you create each 8-GB partition: 1.Place the Startup disk in your floppy disk drive, restart your computer, and then use one of the following methods, depending on your operating system. For a Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, or Windows Me Startup disk:

a. When the Microsoft Windows 98 Startup menu is displayed, select the Start computer without CD-ROM support menu option, and then press ENTER.b. At a command prompt, type fdisk, and then press ENTER.c. Go to step 2.For a Windows 95 Startup disk:

a. At a command prompt, type fdisk, and then press ENTER.b. Go to step 2.2.If your hard disk is larger than 512 MB, you receive the following message: Your computer has a disk larger than 512 MB. This version of Windows includes improved support for large disks, resulting in more efficient use of disk space on large drives, and allowing disks over 2 GB to be formatted as a single drive.

IMPORTANT: If you enable large disk support and create any new drives on this disk, you will not be able to access the new drive(s) using other operating systems, including some versions of Windows 95 and Windows NT, as well as earlier versions of Windows and MS-DOS. In addition, disk utilities that were not designated explicitly for the FAT32 file system will not be able to work with this disk. If you need to access this disk with other operating systems or older disk utilities, do not enable large drive support.

Do you wish to enable large disk support (Y/N)?

To uninstall XP.Ok just take win 98 cd and format as you would with XP.Although 98 usaly comes with floppys so set first boot in the BIOS to floppy not cd rom.I would first try to reformat the HDD with the xp cd you may have done some thing wrong see if my instructions help you to reinstall XP.