windows 2000 fat32

[Tremaine]

hi, i currently have windows me installed im currently thinking of upgraidng to 2000 professional, does anyone know if it would be more stable than windows me even though it has the fat32 kernal? Also if there are any other advantages due to the update.

[isus]

windows 2000 is much better than me... it is more secure, is written better, etc.

win2000 should have fat32 tho. it has ntfs as well, but i think fat32 is what it runs on mostly........

[Tremaine]

ok i installed windows 2000 but i upgraded it with nfts, the computer had problems loading some of the files, it also continues to stall on the loading devices screen halfway then it freezes. Is ther any way i can install it without loading windows, or even worse do a clean system, because i cant fully boot up windows 2000. thanks for your help so far.

[Tremaine]

no it changed it after the installer ran in windows it had 2 options fat32 or nfts.

[Tremaine]

also would it be possible to switch back to me, or would i have to a clean install becuase me runs off of fat32 and my system is now nfts.

[Tremaine]

Originally posted by zebi
I don't understand what the problem is or what you want to do.
You say you want to install it without loading windows, what are you referring to with it.
oh i mean it will not let me load windows because it continues to try to install the device driver in which it freezes. i cant uninstall it from windows because it tries to finish the installation. ok When you boot your system is there away i can reinstall windows 2000 before windows 2000 boots up.

[Induna]

If you have problems with your computer hanging, turn it off at the power and do a cold boot up, it may carry on from where it was hanging.

If you was installing over ME then maybe you should have stuck to using FAT32, and not NTFS. This might be the cause of your problems. You may have to consider doing a clean install, which isn't a bad thing really. Win2K has a bigger database of drivers than ME anyway so it should detect your expansion cards.

If you was doing a clean install then use NTFS. It's a more efficent file system, doesn't waste as much space as FAT32 and you don't have to defrag as much. As it uses the whole space in a cluster rather than only a part of it like in FAT32.

[Tremaine]

how would i start a cold boot up? or do you just mean i should shut it down and try loading it up again, because when i try that it still stalls in installing devices.

[nasrules]

Formatting your system (doing a Clean Install)

if you want to format your system, insert a boot-floppy to get you into dos. if you have a windows me one then it includes cd-rom support. boot into dos and type:

format c:

this will erase ALL the data from your hard-disk. then, boot using the boot-floppy and go into "Boot to DOS with CD-ROM Support" (or something to that effect). stick your win2000 cd in and install. you will need a boot disk with cd-rom support unless your win2000 disk is a proper copy or is definitely bootable.

BUT

before you do any of that, wait for krell or phalk to turn up and give you some more advice. formatting is always a last resort. if you decide to format and reinstall win2000, use ntfs. if youre going to install me again, obviously use fat32.

you could also:

stick in your win2000 disk and boot from the cd. try using the system recovery console. its a life saver!

[Tremaine]

thanks i can make a windows me boot disk from my other computer, thanks nas ill wait for krell to see if he shows up becuase he always gives good advice.

[nasrules]

Originally posted by zebi
You can reformat your c: drive simply from the win2000 cd, wich would be better cause i don't think a winme bootdisk will format using ntfs.

yeh good point, it won't. you need a bootable win2000 cd though don't forget.

[Tremaine]

i tired formating with the winme boot disk but it isnt supported, is ther another way i could format my harddrive. or how would i format from a cd, because when i try booting the the computer with with cdrom support, it cant be preformed due to its nfts, sorry im taking your time i really f****... up my comp this time

[nasrules]

if you have a real copy of win2000, stick it in your cd drive and boot from that. see if you can get into dos. do it through that. if your win2000 is an *ahem* backup *ahem* it may not be bootable.

if it doesnt give you a "Boot from CD?" prompt, go into your bios and set your cd-drive as the 1st boot device, then floppy, then your hard drive. if it dont work then, ur cd aint bootable.

after youve finished, make sure to set the 1st boot device to floppy, 2nd to cd and 3rd to hd.

keep us updated tremaine!

[CCSDUDE]

In short...

FAT32 is just fine for a 2k/XP system...

NTFS is better if the system is meant for A/V capture and editing and for security....nether are really needed for a 'home system'.

Plus NTFS indexing is annoying as hell...you can turn it off...just annoying.

All 9x platforms run off FAT...either FAT16 or FAT32.

So going backwards after a NTFS convert or format you lose everything.

Stick to FAT32 if the two above mentioned things aren't on your to-do list.

[nasrules]

thanks ccs, dint no that. always assumed jus to use ntfs with nt/2k/xp, although i use fat32 with xp due to upgrading from me

[Tremaine]

im currently using a dell comp and its not reconizing the f2 command to prompt the setup utliltiy i think it has something to do with the intelitype keyboards which require certain drivers, im going to try starting up my system again to see if there s any progress. due to this i dont think i can change my bios so im going to see if it continues to do the same with my original keyboard.

[nasrules]

TREMAINE: If youcan get into the sysrecoveryconsole you will probably be fine. it probs jus missed out a file on install.


Originally posted by Tremaine
im currently using a dell comp and its not reconizing the f2 command to prompt the setup utliltiy i think it has something to do with the intelitype keyboards which require certain drivers, im going to try starting up my system again to see if there s any progress. due to this i dont think i can change my bios so im going to see if it continues to do the same with my original keyboard.

my other comp wont recognise the f2 command in the setup even with a standard keyboard, i think it may be a glitch in the software.

using a dell/microsoft ergonomic keyboard, mine was usb so it wasnt any use till i got into windows. i had to have my old one connected at the same time, but i just got a standard microsoft one instead!

[CCSDUDE]

Originally posted by nasrules
TREMAINE: If youcan get into the sysrecoveryconsole you will probably be fine. it probs jus missed out a file on install.



my other comp wont recognise the f2 command in the setup even with a standard keyboard, i think it may be a glitch in the software.

using a dell/microsoft ergonomic keyboard, mine was usb so it wasnt any use till i got into windows. i had to have my old one connected at the same time, but i just got a standard microsoft one instead!

Certain BIOS do grab the USB keyboard/mouse before windows boots. I know a load of those shitty Gateway USB combo minisystems do...

Try f8 and boot to command line or use a WinME boot disk and boot with CD ROM support...

Then at command prompt...

X:\setup for all win9x platforms and XP
X:\i386\winnt for 2k/NT

X being the place holder for your CD drive...

Once you start installing..if a FAT32 partition exists...all NT based systems will ask if you wish to format or use the active partition...use the active one if you wish to save your files...convert to NTFS if you want all the 'goodies'.

[Tremaine]

i finally was able to prompt through the windows me disk and i am able to partion it also but the problem is that everytime i try to install it says im out of space which is incorrect becuas ebefor ei installed windows 200 i had about 4 to 5 gigs of free spcae. the installation i know took up space but not that amount it was only a fraction of my free space. i checked dir in dos mode and only system diagnostic tools show up, so i believ part of the problem is it is not reconizing the actual c drive. when i booted up windows 200 before i could check folders but couldnt look at specific files due to i was only able to look at dll files. this is getting complicated and thanks for all of your help so far. I tried to open the system recovery but havenbt been sucessful. the command comes up as invalid.

[Tremaine]

when it load it asked me where my window 2000 files are loacted, then it tell me that it did not detect smart drive

[CCSDUDE]

Word of advice...

Install XP....2k/NT aren't for you dude....it's a sign from the big techie god in the sky....

[Tremaine]

thanks for all your help today were taking out ther hard drive putting it into my other computer to try to get all the important files off of it(into a comp with win me not sure if it will work b/c its fat32). then ill delete the nfts partion because it takes up all 100%, after that ill make a new partion and install windows 2000 hopefully it will works thanks for all your help, the reasons why we all hate windows, i have about 5 computers but none of them are that good i have my dell 400mhz and about 3 166 and one 70mhz its a shame back 5-6 years ago it was a really good computer due to it was custom made. i'm putting linux on one of the 166, i have windows me on a another which runs great which is a surprize. and the other is just for parts, the 70mhz has win95 it is just used for word nothing else. well thanks for all your help. and thanks for taking the time to reply....i would install xp css dude but i think it would lag up the comp when i get my next comp ill be sure to get xp or whatever microsoft has.

[Krell]

I have not looked at this thread until today, mainly because we haev so much W2K and XP discussion, I just get tired of it.


I have review the course of the thread, from your original post, until now, and I see that you are still in a pickle.

You are in trouble for this reason, you converted your drive to NTSF, and your plan to move the files from the Windows ME machine might work, but ME cant read NTFS.

So heres what I would like to know.
1) what is the size of the drive you want to redo and get files from?

2) these files, are they imperitive, or just MP3s etc you can download?

3) What are the specs of the machine that will be running your new O/S? Is it the 400Mz?

You see, you "could" install an O/S, such as W2K, or XP, and chose to "Keep the existing file structure" and not format!

That will get you in to the O/S to read files, back up, burn to CD etc. THEN you could start from scratch, and redo the partitions, format, etc.

Give me your specs, and what O/S you have to work with, to install from, and I will help you. Or, just wipe it out and start over.

[Tremaine]

the computer is a dell optiplex g1, 400mhz 192mb of ram petium 2 it was designed for win98 it has a 20gb hard drive and the it had another hard drive that had 4gb which used to be the promary hard drive.
The computer which i want to switch the hard drive into has a 4gb hard drive also 166mhz pentium 80 mb ram 4gb hard drive running win me.
Both comps used to run win me, the dell now has windows 2000 i made the mistake of partitioning it 100% nfts, or just switching it in an update from fat32 to nfts.
The other mistake i made(which was stupid) was not to backup my files. And the cd-rom did not read some of the files during installation, so i now i a friends disk that reads better. on the comp is just documents and emails, the 10gigs of mp3s i have i dont mind that much about them, but it is just the documents im worried about.

[Tremaine]

ill be back later to see if any one replies thanks for replying though, which comp are you talking about krell the one with win2k already on it because that comp tells me i can't install win2k again because i do not have enough space or do you mean on the comp im going to move the hard drive in so it can read the ntfs partion of the hard drive?

[nasrules]

i think he means the one that's currently fucked. and i think he also means that if there's nothing imperative on it, you could just install win2000 agen and, once backed up, format. have you tried using the system recovery console yet?

[CCSDUDE]

Tremaine, with those specs you can get XP running just fine....after it's installed before you install or move anything clean up services.

I set XP Pro up on at crappy 300mhz K6 with 128 mb of ram...cleaned up services...removed all the fancy shadowing and animation on menus...played with the page file.

Once I was done it was a bit more sluggish then 2k but it did recognize everything..installed easy..and worked fine.

So think about it...if you do install PM me and I'll walk you through all the stuff to remove.

And give this page a look to figure out which services can and should be shut down.

http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm