Hiya Andy,

26-Oct-99 23:36:50, Andy Roberts wrote to Ian Moote
          Subject: M$ "screw you" FAT32
 AR> 26-Oct-99 12:40:00, Ian Moote wrote to ANDY ROBERTS Subject: M$
 AR> "screw you" FAT32

 AR>>> I need to find out how to permanently get rid of a type "b"
 AR>>> FAT32 partition created with WIN95 OSR2.  I assume that is
 AR>>> similar to a type "F" partition.

 IM>> I've got a utility here that I wrote for DOS which will blast the
 IM>> entire MBR off the drive. Send me your E-Mail address.


 Can ya send it to _ME_ as well. I'm the one Andy is trying to help.
 The two drives currently in that machine in question are Segate 4.3GB and
 a Western Digital 2.5GB. The Seagate drive is the one that poses the
 greatest problem as it refuses to allow Bootmanager to be installed,
 and will allow OS/2's FDISK to delete partitions, but not create any.


 AR>>> BTW, as far as the 10.3 GB HD is concerned, he did say he got
 AR>>> the >8GB drivers and made an updated set of OS/2 install
 AR>>> diskettes
 AR> No, Idedasd.Exe

 The 10.3GB drive is also a Seagate and is also the one that received the
 low level format, which didn't help. The IDEDASD.EXE was added to the OS/2
 install disk set.

 Additionally, I used a utility from Seagates version of DiskManager, to
 write 0's to the entire drive. Again, no go.

 FWIW, when the 10.3GB drive was being used, it was the ONLY drive in the
 system and is recognized by the BIOS on boot-up. Each of the three drives
 were used as single drives in an attempt to get OS/2 to load. All three
 show a Type B partition when OS/2's FDISK starts. When it is deleted,
 FDISK will _NOT_ allow me to create any partitions after the Type B
 partition is deleted.


 AR>>> He said he started out by deleting _ALL_ WIN98 stuff, then
 AR>>> running Seagate's Low Level Format.

 IM>> I haven't used the latest incarnation of SGATFMT*; does it have a
 IM>> "non-destructive format" option that was used?

 The Seagate format utility I used was destructive. There were at least two
 warnings I had to acknowlege before it would actually start the process,
 which with the 10.3GB drive, took almost 12 hours!

 AR> I haven't used it in many years.  But he said he used it.

  Hehehe, I did!

 AR>>> In the process he has tried to delete that FAT32 partition with
 AR>>> Linux, DOS 6.2, and Partition Magic.
 IM>> None of those worked!?
 AR> That was my understanding.  After each, OS/2 FDISK still would not
 AR> let him create Boot Manager due to a lack of free space and had 1
 AR> type "b" partition that consumed almost the whole HD.  But I
 AR> didn't do the work.  So there may be other circumstances.

 AR>>> In typical M$ user fashion he repeats those last steps 1/2 a
 AR>>> dozen times until he become frustrated and blames OS/2, then
 AR>>> re-installs Win98.

  Correction.... I didn't _blame_ OS/2, I simply stated it wouldn't load
  on my system. Since I've successfully loaded OS/2 on other machines I
  had, there obviously has to be something else causing the problem. The
  question is what!

 IM>> Sounds like he's in Micro$oft's target market.

 AR>>> Personally I'm getting very tired of hearing him complain about
 AR>>> OS/2 not installing and how wonderful the M$ installation is.

  Not how wonderful MS is just the fact that is does install easier that
  OS/2 does, even on a "perfect" system.

 IM>> And you're forcing him to use OS/2 because...

 AR> LOL... No I told him over a year ago I didn't think OS/2 was for
 AR> him.  He just gets a wild hair up his butt every few months, then
 AR> pulls Linux or OS/2 off the shelf and goes through that silly
 AR> cycle again, always ending up with M$.
 AR> Although 4-5 years ago I was serious, within the last year or so
 AR> any urging him to use OS/2 on my part is purely in jest.  And I
 AR> think he knows that.

 That I do... I've always appreciated your friendship, help and advice.
 I think you know that as well.

 IM>> Once he _does_ get it installed, who do you think he's going to
 IM>> call whenever he has a problem with his OS/2 system? [:)

 Obviously, I'll call Andy, 

 The reason for wanting to install OS/2 is simple.... The BBS System I'm
 using simply isn't up to the task I want to do with a BBS. AdeptXBBS
 however, is. So, I need to get OS/2 setup so I can run Adept. Simple as
 that.

 IM>> In order to remove all partitions from the drive, simply zero all
 IM>> the values from 01BEh to 01FDh. Personally, I think you should
 IM>> get rid of that Windows MBR entirely by zeroing out everything
 IM>> from 0000h to 01FFh.

 AR> Yes, I agree getting rid of the whole MBR seems best.  And with
 AR> those addresses it should be easy.

 Maybe for you guys it is easy. However, my knowledge of hard drive
 geometry is about equal to my knowledge of rocket science.  I can
 install 'em, format 'em, do simple diagnostics, etc. but that's it.

 AR>>> Personally I'm a little surprised that Seagate's Low Level
 AR>>> Format prgm for IDE drives did not solve the problem.
 IM>> As am I.

 That's one of the reasons why the frustration level rose so high. Unless
 I'm not doing something properly, I've followed _all_ the suggestions and
 instructions provided.

 AR> --
 IM>> 2. Take the drive and the computer over to Andy's place and have
 IM>> him install the OS/2 for you.

 AR> Oh no NO.!  I draw that line at blood and marriage related family.

 Aw come on Andy.... 

 I'm responding to this in a motel room in Houston, TX., but when I get
 back home, I'll post the exact information being shown by OS/2's FDISK ie;
 the Type B partition, the unusual Freespace sizes being reported, etc.

 Maybe, just maybe, someone will be able to unlock the secret that will
 permit me to install OS/2 on the machine in question.


 Have a GREAT one!

 Dave Davidson                        dad50@primary.net
                                      dad500@aol.com

--- Terminate 5.00/Pro*at : _Registered_ _User_ : since 03/93!