[bubba]

I had Windows ME loaded on my computer. I wanted to put Windows 2000 Pro. on it. I fdisked the hard drive and went to load in 2000 Pro. It informed me that it would not work with Dos. I thought I had to reload Windows back into it. I loaded in Windows 98. Then loaded in 2000 Pro. I thought it would overwrite the Windows 98 but it did not and then I had two operating systems on a small hard drive. I decided to fdisk and start over loading in the original system I had which was ME. I did use the fdisk utility and when I went to load in ME it told me that I did not have enough space. It told me that I only had 495MB to use. Where did the rest of the space on my hard drive go? How do I retrieve the remainder of the hard drive space? I have a 6gig hard drive.

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Welcome bubba

Click Here you should find all your answers in this tutorial.

In a nutshell:
1. Boot using the Windows 2000 CD, or if your computer is unable, create bootable floppies.
2. Delete any partitions found.
3. Create one new partition.
4. Format (I recommend NTFS)
5. Continue installing.

If this doesn't help, please reply.

[admin]

Welcome bubba

Click Here you should find all your answers in this tutorial.

In a nutshell:
1. Boot using the Windows 2000 CD, or if your computer is unable, create bootable floppies.
2. Delete any partitions found.
3. Create one new partition.
4. Format (I recommend NTFS)
5. Continue installing.

If this doesn't help, please reply.

[bubba]

Nothing seems to work. I did as you suggested and deleted the larger partition thinking I would format the C drive to the full size but it still shows only 495mb. I went ahead and used Fdisk again and got nowhere. Now I have nothing loaded. Please give me a direction to go. This is what I would like to do. Get my hard back to full size and load in ME as my operating system.

[admin]

Were you able to boot using the Windows 2000 CD or floppies? Windows 2000 doesn't use fdisk anymore, it uses a program called diskpart. Diskpart supports larger partition sizes and the NTFS file system. (It sounds like you may have an old version of fdisk. That would limit the max size of the partitions.)

The Windows 2000 setup will assist you in creating these partitions. First delete ALL partitions, and then create one new one (maximum size avialable). Do all this in Windows 2000 setup as the tutorial above shows.

If you want to get WindowsME back on your system. Download a Windows ME bootdisk from bootdisk.com. Run fdisk from that bootdisk. Remove all partitions. Create new partition(s). When finished format the new partition(s). Restart and type Setup at the command prompt.

P.S. You won't find many people that would recommend Windows ME as an operating system. It's just poorly written, not widely supported, and very buggy. Windows 2000 would be a much better choice.

Try the Windows 2000 setup tutorial above, step-by-step. If there's something you don't understand, or doesn't look right, just ask and we'll help.

[bubba]

Yes i was able to boot using the 2000 cd. OK you have convinced me on the Operating system. So let's start over. I have a boot disk from Windows ME that I just made. The only other bootdisk I have is a Windows 98. When I tried to boot up with the 2000 cd it is telling me that it is an invalid system disk. Will I have to reload Win98 back in to get the 2000cd to work? Remember I used the Fdisk utility and there is no operating system currently loaded in.

[admin]

Click Here, download the file to your desktop or other location you'll remember. When finished insert a blank floppy and double click to run. The program will prompt you for 4 floppies (number them in order). When finished you'll have 4 Windows 2000 boot floppy disks.

Make sure your Windows 2000 CD is in your CD drive, insert the first floppy and use them to boot your system. Windows 2000 setup should start.

[admin]

Try another set of floppies, sounds like one's defective.

[bubba]

No response on other reply. Here is what I have done. Loaded in Windows 98. Put my Windows 2000 Pro CD in and clicked on Autorun.
During Setup a screen came up and gave me three choices. The first choice was setting up Windows 2k on the selected item(the one that was highlighted)Which reads:"C: FAT 472MB(288MB free)"
or the second choice was: To create a partition in the unpartitioned space.
THe "unpartitioned space contains 5677MB"
The last choice is:"To delete the selected Partition"
Now What do I do here?
The first choice is out because Windows 2KP will obviously not fit in 472 MB of space. I could create a partition in the unpartioned space of 5677 MB and then load Windows 2KP in that partition. If I do that it will leave that 472 MB of space with Windows 98.
Now the third choice listed is:"To delete the selected partition, press D." I tried this on each option and it did nothing at all.
I would like to get all the hardrive space(6150 MB)into one partition with Windows 2KP as the only operating system. How do I do this?

Thanks for all the help so far. Bubba

[admin]

You're not going to be able to delete the active (Windows 98) partition while Windows is running. You'll need to boot from floppies or the CD. Did you try using other floppies as I recommended above?

Or... Configuring Your Computer to Boot from CD

Many computers are not configured to boot from the CDROM. If you cannot boot from the CDROM, this is probably due to the boot order of your devices being incorrect. You can change this in the BIOS.

You enter the BIOS from the first screen you see when you turn your computer on. To enter your BIOS, most users here will press the DEL key.

Most Dell, Toshiba, Gateway, Sony & HP systems will press F2.

Compaq users will usually have to press F10.

IBM typically uses F1 or F2.

Other brands may have different keys to press to enter setup, F1, F2, Del, Tab and CTRL+S. If possible see the manual for your computer or motherboard. Also, the BIOS will usually display which button to press to "enter setup" during POST (if it flashes by too fast, press the Pause key).

When you enter the BIOS setup, you need to change the boot order. The CDROM should be setup before the Hard Drive. Each BIOS is different, but here is an example:

[bubba]

No I didn't try another set of floppies because I didn't see your response until I had sent the last message
But I did go into the Bios and change the order of bootup you suggested.
Now my CD was in and floppy #1 was in. I turned the PC on, It put me directly into Windows 2000 Professional Setup.
It still did not allow me to delete the C: Fat 472 MB Partition. I must be doing something wrong but I don't know what. Sorry. Anymore suggestions? I am and going

[bubba]

Actually I think that I am not correct with the change I made in the Bios.

This is what my Bios were: A, C, SCSI. They were my choices.

I changed them to: C, A, SCSI. Doesn't the "C" represent the Hard drive?

Should I change them Back?

[admin]

It must have restarted Windows 2000 setup from the hard drive. It doesn't look like your BIOS allows you to boot directly from the CD. You'll need to boot from the floppy drive. When you're able to successfully boot Windows 2000 setup from the floppies, you'll be able to delete the C partition.

You BIOS settings should be A, C, SCSI.

[bubba]

Thank You!! You were probally running out of patience on this but you did a great job!!! You were right and I finally got it to load from the CD. After that, all I had to do was follow the directions.
Thanks a big BUNCH.

Bubba

[admin]

Glad to help! Thanks for posting the results.