How to thoroughly clean hard drive for Win98 installation?

I had Win2000 on a computer on which I have now installed Win98SE. At some
point when I was running Win2000 and Win98 dual-boot, I'm not sure exactly
when, these lines began to appear at boot-up:

Press Shift-Tab key to display network boot options menu
Press Home key to boot from Local Drive

I don't know why, because that computer was never part of a network of any
kind. Those lines may have appeared after I updated to SP4, or perhaps it
was after I installed PartitionMagic 8.0.

Anyway, when I used Fdisk to prepare the hard drive for the new Win98
installation, meaning to reformat the whole thing in FAT32 of course, I ran
into a problem because of the NTFS partition. This is a 60GB Western Digital
drive and there doesn't seem to be any WD utility for low-level formatting
it. There is a utility for writing zeroes to the whole drive and I used
that, but I was still stuck with the NTFS partition and the above messages
on boot-up. So I installed Win98 on the small FAT32 partition and then
installed PartitionMagic again and used that to convert the remainder of the
drive to FAT32.

However, I am still getting those messages at boot-up about "network boot
options menu" and "boot from Local Drive." Where are these things coming
from, and how do I get rid of them?

Is it possible in some way to fully, absolutely, thoroughly, COMPLETELY
clean this hard drive to return it to its virginal, factory-new state? I
would prefer to do that for a new Win98 installation rather than worry about
what else might be left behind and lurking there.

"Old Geezer" wrote in message
...
I had Win2000 on a computer on which I have now installed Win98SE. At some
point when I was running Win2000 and Win98 dual-boot, I'm not sure exactly
when, these lines began to appear at boot-up:

Press Shift-Tab key to display network boot options menu
Press Home key to boot from Local Drive

I don't know why, because that computer was never part of a network of any
kind. Those lines may have appeared after I updated to SP4, or perhaps it
was after I installed PartitionMagic 8.0.

Anyway, when I used Fdisk to prepare the hard drive for the new Win98
installation, meaning to reformat the whole thing in FAT32 of course, I
ran
into a problem because of the NTFS partition. This is a 60GB Western
Digital
drive and there doesn't seem to be any WD utility for low-level formatting
it. There is a utility for writing zeroes to the whole drive and I used
that, but I was still stuck with the NTFS partition and the above messages
on boot-up. So I installed Win98 on the small FAT32 partition and then
installed PartitionMagic again and used that to convert the remainder of
the
drive to FAT32.

However, I am still getting those messages at boot-up about "network boot
options menu" and "boot from Local Drive." Where are these things coming
from, and how do I get rid of them?

Is it possible in some way to fully, absolutely, thoroughly, COMPLETELY
clean this hard drive to return it to its virginal, factory-new state? I
would prefer to do that for a new Win98 installation rather than worry
about
what else might be left behind and lurking there.

boot from a w98 floppy and use fdisk to remove partitions then format the
drive. or if you want to keep your present partitions again boot from the
w98 floppy then type sys c:/s Something like that anyway. I could find out
all the information by using Google but why don't you try it first
Tricia

"Tricia" wrote in message
...

"Old Geezer" wrote in message
...
[ . . . ]

Is it possible in some way to fully, absolutely, thoroughly, COMPLETELY
clean this hard drive to return it to its virginal, factory-new state? I
would prefer to do that for a new Win98 installation rather than worry
about
what else might be left behind and lurking there.

boot from a w98 floppy and use fdisk to remove partitions then format the
drive. or if you want to keep your present partitions again boot from the
w98 floppy then type sys c:/s Something like that anyway. I could find out
all the information by using Google but why don't you try it first
Tricia

Tricia, thanks, but that's what I tried to do. I expected to be able to use
a Win98 Startup Disk to remove all the partitions with Fdisk and then
reformat, just as you say. I couldn't. It may be that PartitionMagic made
some changes that interfered with Windows' normal partitioning methods. I'm
just guessing here.

"Old Geezer" wrote in message
...

"Tricia" wrote in message
...

"Old Geezer" wrote in message
...
[ . . . ]

Is it possible in some way to fully, absolutely, thoroughly,
COMPLETELY
clean this hard drive to return it to its virginal, factory-new state?
I
would prefer to do that for a new Win98 installation rather than worry
about
what else might be left behind and lurking there.

boot from a w98 floppy and use fdisk to remove partitions then format
the
drive. or if you want to keep your present partitions again boot from
the
w98 floppy then type sys c:/s Something like that anyway. I could find
out
all the information by using Google but why don't you try it first
Tricia

Tricia, thanks, but that's what I tried to do. I expected to be able to
use
a Win98 Startup Disk to remove all the partitions with Fdisk and then
reformat, just as you say. I couldn't. It may be that PartitionMagic made
some changes that interfered with Windows' normal partitioning methods.
I'm
just guessing here.


If the NTFS (Win2K) partition is on a dos logical drive, fdisk cannot remove
it. PM may be able to do so.
WD's tools includes a tool for writing zeroes to the HD, takes 12-24 hours
or more depending on the HD capacity and the I/O speed of your PC. This is
as good as it gets for clean for the typical PC. Removing all with PM will
probably suffice. Stick with either fdisk or PM to make your partitions.
Don't mix these.

Is it possible that the boot-up message is being generated by the BIOS?

Simon

"Old Geezer" wrote in message
...
I had Win2000 on a computer on which I have now installed Win98SE. At some
point when I was running Win2000 and Win98 dual-boot, I'm not sure exactly
when, these lines began to appear at boot-up:

Press Shift-Tab key to display network boot options menu
Press Home key to boot from Local Drive

I don't know why, because that computer was never part of a network of any
kind. Those lines may have appeared after I updated to SP4, or perhaps it
was after I installed PartitionMagic 8.0.

Anyway, when I used Fdisk to prepare the hard drive for the new Win98
installation, meaning to reformat the whole thing in FAT32 of course, I
ran
into a problem because of the NTFS partition. This is a 60GB Western
Digital
drive and there doesn't seem to be any WD utility for low-level formatting
it. There is a utility for writing zeroes to the whole drive and I used
that, but I was still stuck with the NTFS partition and the above messages
on boot-up. So I installed Win98 on the small FAT32 partition and then
installed PartitionMagic again and used that to convert the remainder of
the
drive to FAT32.

However, I am still getting those messages at boot-up about "network boot
options menu" and "boot from Local Drive." Where are these things coming
from, and how do I get rid of them?

Is it possible in some way to fully, absolutely, thoroughly, COMPLETELY
clean this hard drive to return it to its virginal, factory-new state? I
would prefer to do that for a new Win98 installation rather than worry
about
what else might be left behind and lurking there.

Zap or Wipe freeware will remove all partition information so you can start
over fresh with FDisk. Download he
http://www.microstorage.com/Harddriv...20Life%20Guard

--
Regards

Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo

"Old Geezer" wrote in message
...
I had Win2000 on a computer on which I have now installed Win98SE. At some
point when I was running Win2000 and Win98 dual-boot, I'm not sure exactly
when, these lines began to appear at boot-up:

Press Shift-Tab key to display network boot options menu
Press Home key to boot from Local Drive

I don't know why, because that computer was never part of a network of any
kind. Those lines may have appeared after I updated to SP4, or perhaps it
was after I installed PartitionMagic 8.0.

Anyway, when I used Fdisk to prepare the hard drive for the new Win98
installation, meaning to reformat the whole thing in FAT32 of course, I
ran
into a problem because of the NTFS partition. This is a 60GB Western
Digital
drive and there doesn't seem to be any WD utility for low-level formatting
it. There is a utility for writing zeroes to the whole drive and I used
that, but I was still stuck with the NTFS partition and the above messages
on boot-up. So I installed Win98 on the small FAT32 partition and then
installed PartitionMagic again and used that to convert the remainder of
the
drive to FAT32.

However, I am still getting those messages at boot-up about "network boot
options menu" and "boot from Local Drive." Where are these things coming
from, and how do I get rid of them?

Is it possible in some way to fully, absolutely, thoroughly, COMPLETELY
clean this hard drive to return it to its virginal, factory-new state? I
would prefer to do that for a new Win98 installation rather than worry
about
what else might be left behind and lurking there.

Have a look here and select the category on the left for you setup:
http://thpc.info/dual/removedualboot.html

--=20
Brian A.

Jack of all trades, Master of none.
One can never truly be a master as there is always more to learn.


"Old Geezer" wrote in message =
...
I had Win2000 on a computer on which I have now installed Win98SE. At =
some
point when I was running Win2000 and Win98 dual-boot, I'm not sure =
exactly
when, these lines began to appear at boot-up:
=20
Press Shift-Tab key to display network boot options menu
Press Home key to boot from Local Drive
=20
I don't know why, because that computer was never part of a network of =
any
kind. Those lines may have appeared after I updated to SP4, or perhaps =
it
was after I installed PartitionMagic 8.0.
=20
Anyway, when I used Fdisk to prepare the hard drive for the new Win98
installation, meaning to reformat the whole thing in FAT32 of course, =
I ran
into a problem because of the NTFS partition. This is a 60GB Western =
Digital
drive and there doesn't seem to be any WD utility for low-level =
formatting
it. There is a utility for writing zeroes to the whole drive and I =
used
that, but I was still stuck with the NTFS partition and the above =
messages
on boot-up. So I installed Win98 on the small FAT32 partition and then
installed PartitionMagic again and used that to convert the remainder =
of the
drive to FAT32.
=20
However, I am still getting those messages at boot-up about "network =
boot
options menu" and "boot from Local Drive." Where are these things =
coming
from, and how do I get rid of them?
=20
Is it possible in some way to fully, absolutely, thoroughly, =
COMPLETELY
clean this hard drive to return it to its virginal, factory-new state? =
I
would prefer to do that for a new Win98 installation rather than worry =
about
what else might be left behind and lurking there.
=20

"Simon" wrote in message
...
Is it possible that the boot-up message is being generated by the BIOS?

Simon

I doubt it, Simon. I'm 99% sure those boot-up messages just started
appearing at some point, though I'm not sure at exactly what point.



"Old Geezer" wrote in message
...
I had Win2000 on a computer on which I have now installed Win98SE. At
some
point when I was running Win2000 and Win98 dual-boot, I'm not sure
exactly
when, these lines began to appear at boot-up:

Press Shift-Tab key to display network boot options menu
Press Home key to boot from Local Drive

I don't know why, because that computer was never part of a network of
any
kind. Those lines may have appeared after I updated to SP4, or perhaps
it
was after I installed PartitionMagic 8.0.

Anyway, when I used Fdisk to prepare the hard drive for the new Win98
installation, meaning to reformat the whole thing in FAT32 of course, I
ran
into a problem because of the NTFS partition. This is a 60GB Western
Digital
drive and there doesn't seem to be any WD utility for low-level
formatting
it. There is a utility for writing zeroes to the whole drive and I used
that, but I was still stuck with the NTFS partition and the above
messages
on boot-up. So I installed Win98 on the small FAT32 partition and then
installed PartitionMagic again and used that to convert the remainder of
the
drive to FAT32.

However, I am still getting those messages at boot-up about "network
boot
options menu" and "boot from Local Drive." Where are these things coming
from, and how do I get rid of them?

Is it possible in some way to fully, absolutely, thoroughly, COMPLETELY
clean this hard drive to return it to its virginal, factory-new state? I
would prefer to do that for a new Win98 installation rather than worry
about
what else might be left behind and lurking there.

Thanks, Ron! That looks like just what I need.

I'll get that right away.

O.G.


"Ron Badour" wrote in message
...
Zap or Wipe freeware will remove all partition information so you can
start
over fresh with FDisk. Download he
http://www.microstorage.com/Harddriv...20Life%20Guard

--
Regards

Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo

"Old Geezer" wrote in message
...
I had Win2000 on a computer on which I have now installed Win98SE. At
some
point when I was running Win2000 and Win98 dual-boot, I'm not sure
exactly
when, these lines began to appear at boot-up:

Press Shift-Tab key to display network boot options menu
Press Home key to boot from Local Drive

I don't know why, because that computer was never part of a network of
any
kind. Those lines may have appeared after I updated to SP4, or perhaps
it
was after I installed PartitionMagic 8.0.

Anyway, when I used Fdisk to prepare the hard drive for the new Win98
installation, meaning to reformat the whole thing in FAT32 of course, I
ran
into a problem because of the NTFS partition. This is a 60GB Western
Digital
drive and there doesn't seem to be any WD utility for low-level
formatting
it. There is a utility for writing zeroes to the whole drive and I used
that, but I was still stuck with the NTFS partition and the above
messages
on boot-up. So I installed Win98 on the small FAT32 partition and then
installed PartitionMagic again and used that to convert the remainder of
the
drive to FAT32.

However, I am still getting those messages at boot-up about "network
boot
options menu" and "boot from Local Drive." Where are these things coming
from, and how do I get rid of them?

Is it possible in some way to fully, absolutely, thoroughly, COMPLETELY
clean this hard drive to return it to its virginal, factory-new state? I
would prefer to do that for a new Win98 installation rather than worry
about
what else might be left behind and lurking there.

Thanks!

O.G.


"Brian A." GoneFishn@aFarAwayLake wrote in message
...
Have a look here and select the category on the left for you setup:
http://thpc.info/dual/removedualboot.html

--
Brian A.

Jack of all trades, Master of none.
One can never truly be a master as there is always more to learn.


"Old Geezer" wrote in message
...
I had Win2000 on a computer on which I have now installed Win98SE. At some
point when I was running Win2000 and Win98 dual-boot, I'm not sure exactly
when, these lines began to appear at boot-up:

Press Shift-Tab key to display network boot options menu
Press Home key to boot from Local Drive

I don't know why, because that computer was never part of a network of any
kind. Those lines may have appeared after I updated to SP4, or perhaps it
was after I installed PartitionMagic 8.0.

Anyway, when I used Fdisk to prepare the hard drive for the new Win98
installation, meaning to reformat the whole thing in FAT32 of course, I
ran
into a problem because of the NTFS partition. This is a 60GB Western
Digital
drive and there doesn't seem to be any WD utility for low-level formatting
it. There is a utility for writing zeroes to the whole drive and I used
that, but I was still stuck with the NTFS partition and the above messages
on boot-up. So I installed Win98 on the small FAT32 partition and then
installed PartitionMagic again and used that to convert the remainder of
the
drive to FAT32.

However, I am still getting those messages at boot-up about "network boot
options menu" and "boot from Local Drive." Where are these things coming
from, and how do I get rid of them?

Is it possible in some way to fully, absolutely, thoroughly, COMPLETELY
clean this hard drive to return it to its virginal, factory-new state? I
would prefer to do that for a new Win98 installation rather than worry
about
what else might be left behind and lurking there.