316 MS-DOS User's Reference
Using Part of Your Hard Disk for MS-DOS
If
you
want
to
use only
part
of
your
hard disk for
MS-DOS,
press
N,
then
press
RETURN_
Fdisk displays
the
following message
in response:
Total
fixed
disk
space
is
xxxx
cylinders
Maximum
available
space
is
xxxx
cylinders
at
xxxx
Enter
partition
size
.............
:
[xxxx]
This message shows
the
total
number
of
cylinders available for a
hard disk partition, and
prompts
you
to
enter
the
size
of
your
new
partition_ The default for this size
is
the
maximum available space
on
the
hard
disk
Press
the
RETURN
key if you
want
the
default;
otherwise, type
the
size
(in
cylinders) that you
want
for
the
parti-
tion, and press
the
RETURN
key_
Fdisk then displays
the
following
message:
Enter
starting
cylinder
number
..
:
[xxxx]
Note
If
it finds any defective tracks at
the
start
of
the
partition,
fdisk adjusts
the
partition boundaries to avoid
those
bad tracks_
The default starting cylinder
number
starts at
the
first cylinder
large enough
to
contain
the
partition.
If
you
want
to
locate
the
DOS partition
at
the
default location, press
the
RETURN
key_
Other-
wise, type the
number
of
the
cylinder
where
you
want
the
DOS
partition, and press
the
RETURN
key_
If you
want
to start
MS-DOS
from this partition
on
your
hard
disk,
remember
to
use
the
format
/s
switch. For
more
information
on
formatting
your
hard disk,
see
the
format command in Chapter
3,
"MS-DOS Commands."
Note You can have only
one
DOS partition
on
your
hard disk at a
time_
To
create a partition for
another
operating system, you
must
refer
to
the
documentation for that operating system.
Choice 2 - Changing the Active Partition
If
you choose
the
second
option
on
the
main menu, fdisk displays
a
screen
showing
the
status
of
each partition
on
your
hard
disk.
The active partition, indicated
with
a status
of
A,
is
the
partition
whose
operating system and files you access
when
you
turn
on
the
power
or
reset
your
computer_ Only
one
partition is active
at a time;
the
others
are non-active, indicated with a status
of
N.
To Next Page
Loading...
