Repartitioning Your Hard Disk to Upgrade to 6.0 or 6.2

ID: q106423

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft MS-DOS operating system versions 6.0, 6.2, 6.21

SUMMARY

This article describes how to determine whether you need to repartition your hard disk before you install MS-DOS 6 or 6.2 Upgrade and how to complete the procedure if it is necessary.

DO YOU NEED TO REPARTITION?

In most cases, you don't need to repartition your hard disk to install MS-DOS version 6.0 or 6.2. You need to repartition your hard disk only if:

The primary DOS partition on your hard disk is too small (less than 2 megabytes [MB]).

The size of the clusters or sectors on your hard disk is incompatible with MS-DOS version 6.0 or 6.2.

There are more than four primary partitions on your hard disk.

The primary DOS partition is inaccessible.

A disk-partitioning program that is not compatible with the Setup program for MS-DOS was used to partition your hard disk.

Your primary DOS partition is incompatible with the Setup program for MS-DOS. (This may be the case if you receive an error message when trying to run Setup.)

If you don't need to repartition your hard disk for any of the preceding reasons, but you still would like to, see "Optionally Repartitioning Your Hard Disk" at the end of this document. If you have determined that you cannot install MS-DOS version 6.0 or 6.2 without repartitioning your hard disk, use the procedures in the "Preparing to Repartition" section.

Warning: Once you repartition your hard disk, you can no longer use the Uninstall disk to return to your previous version of MS-DOS.

PREPARING TO REPARTITION

Before you partition your hard disk, you need the following:

Enough floppy disks to back up your hard disk. Make sure your floppy disks are newly formatted.

A single floppy disk on which to install MS-DOS 6.0 or 6.2.

Repartitioning your hard disk involves:

Creating an MS-DOS Startup disk

Backing up your hard disk

Repartitioning your hard disk by using the Fdisk program

Formatting your hard disk

Restoring your backed-up files

Upgrading your system to MS-DOS 6.0 or 6.2

Warning: If you are using software such as Disk Manager, SpeedStor(R), Priam(R), or Everex to replace the BIOS in interactions between MS-DOS and the hard disk controller, do not repartition your hard disk with the MS-DOS Fdisk program. Instead, use the disk-partitioning program you originally used to partition your hard disk.

To determine whether you have one of these disk-partitioning programs on your computer, search for the following files: DMDRVR.BIN (Disk Manager), SSTOR.SYS (SpeedStor), HARDRIVE.SYS (Priam), and EVDISK.SYS (Everex). If you need help in repartitioning your hard disk or are unsure whether the BIOS is being replaced, contact the manufacturer of your original disk- partitioning software.

Creating a Startup Disk

Begin by creating an MS-DOS version 6.0 or 6.2 Startup disk. To do so:

Start your computer with your current version of MS-DOS.

Insert MS-DOS 6.0 or 6.2 Setup Disk 1 in drive A.

Type A:SETUP /F at the MS-DOS command prompt, press ENTER, and then follow the instructions on your screen.

Setup expands key MS-DOS files onto your floppy disk. You'll use this floppy disk with the expanded files to temporarily run MS-DOS version 6.0 or 6.2.

Backing Up Your Files

You should back up files on every partition and each logical drive of your hard disk.

Warning: Make sure you back up your files before using the Fdisk program. When you delete or modify a partition, all files on that partition are deleted.

Use the MS-DOS BACKUP command to back up all the files on your hard disk to a floppy disk by typing the following at the MS-DOS command prompt and pressing ENTER

backup <drive>:\*.* <floppy>: /s

where <drive> is your hard disk drive and <floppy> is your floppy disk drive. The /S switch specifies that every file in every directory will be backed up. For example, to back up every file in every directory on hard disk drive C onto disks in floppy disk drive A, type the following command and press ENTER:

backup c:\*.* a: /s

NOTE: Use the backup command to back up files on every partition and each logical drive of your hard disk.

You can use your current version of the MS-DOS BACKUP command because it should be compatible with the RESTORE command provided with MS-DOS 6.0 and 6.2. Because MS-DOS 6.0 and 6.2 include the full-screen version of Microsoft Backup for MS-DOS and Microsoft Backup for Windows, the MS-DOS command prompt version of BACKUP is not included with the product. However, the RESTORE command is still provided.

NOTE: Before using your current version of the backup command and repartitioning, you should back up a few files and use the restore command provided with MS-DOS 6 Upgrade or MS-DOS 6.2 Upgrade to restore the files. This should be done as a safety precaution to ensure you are not using an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) version of backup that is not compatible with the MS-DOS restore command.

If you do not want to use BACKUP and RESTORE, you can use a third- party backup program such as Fastback, Norton Utilities(R) Backup, PC Tools Backup, and so forth.

Repartitioning Your Hard Disk

Repartitioning your hard disk involves:

Deleting any non-DOS partitions

Deleting the logical drives in the extended DOS partition, if your system has any

Deleting the extended DOS partition, if your system has one

Deleting any primary DOS partitions

Creating a new primary DOS partition

Specifying the maximum disk size for the partition, and making the partition active

Before you repartition your hard disk, make sure you write down the volume label for each partition. You will need this information later. To find the volume label for your hard disk drive, type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt and press ENTER

vol <drive>:

where <drive> is your hard disk drive. For example, if you want to determine the volume label for drive C, type the following command:

vol c:

To repartition your hard disk:

If you are not already running MS-DOS 6.0 or 6.2, insert your Startup disk in drive A, and then restart your computer by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL.

If you have not already done so, insert the Startup disk (which you created using the procedure in the "Creating a Startup Disk" section) in drive A.

At the MS-DOS command prompt, type FDISK and press ENTER. The FDISK Options screen appears.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------
                          MS-DOS Version 6.2
                       Fixed Disk Setup Program
                (C)Copyright Microsoft Corp. 1983-1993

                             FDISK Options

    Current fixed disk drive: 1

    Choose one of the following:

    1. Create DOS partition or Logical DOS Drive
    2. Set active partition
    3. Delete partition or Logical DOS Drive
    4. Display partition information


    Enter choice: [1]

    Press ESC to exit FDISK
    -----------------------------------------------------------------

Press 3 to choose Delete Partition Or Logical DOS Drive, and then press ENTER. The Delete DOS Partition Or Logical DOS Drive screen appears.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------
               Delete DOS Partition or Logical DOS Drive

    Current fixed disk drive: 1

    Choose one of the following:

    1. Delete Primary DOS Partition
    2. Delete Extended DOS Partition
    3. Delete Logical DOS Drive(s) in the Extended DOS Partition
    4. Delete Non-DOS Partition

    Enter choice: [ ]

    Press ESC to return to FDISK Options
    -----------------------------------------------------------------

If any of your partitions were created with a third-party disk- partitioning utility or installation program, press 4 to choose Delete Non-DOS Partition, and then press ENTER. If all your partitions were created with MS-DOS, press ESC to return to the FDISK Options screen, then skip to step 10 of this procedure.

If you chose option 4, the Delete Non-DOS Partition screen appears.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------
                       Delete Non-DOS Partition

    Current fixed disk drive: 1

    Partition  Status  Type   Volume Label  Mbytes System Usage
    C: 1         A    PRI DOS                 23    FAT16  33%
       2              Non-DOS                 23           33%
       3              EXT DOS                 23           33%

    Total disk space is 69 Mbytes (1 Mbyte=1048576 bytes)

    WARNING! Data in the deleted Non-DOS Partition will be lost.
    What non-DOS partition do you want to delete..? [1]

    Press ESC to return to FDISK Options
    -----------------------------------------------------------------

Type the number of the partition you want to delete, and then press ENTER.

To confirm the deletion, press Y, and then press ENTER.

Press ESC to return to the FDISK Options screen.

Repeat steps 4 - 8 if you have any other partitions that were created with a third-party disk-partitioning utility or installation program.

The FDISK Options menu should now be on your screen. If you have a partition that was created with MS-DOS, press 3 to choose Delete Partition Or Logical DOS Drive and press ENTER.

If you chose option 3 on the FDISK Options screen, the Delete DOS Partition Or Logical DOS Drive screen appears.

If you have a logical drive, press 3 to choose Delete Logical DOS Drive(s) In The Extended DOS Partition and press ENTER. The Delete Logical DOS Drive(s) In The Extended DOS Partition screen appears. If you don't have any logical drives, skip to step 19.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------
       Delete Logical DOS Drive(s) in the Extended DOS Partition

    Drv  Volume  Label  Mbytes  System   Usage
    D:                    15     FAT12    65%
    E:                     8     FAT12    35%

    Total Extended DOS Partition size is 23 Mbytes (1 MByte=1048576
    bytes)

    WARNING! Data in a deleted Logical DOS Drive will be lost.
    What drive do you want to delete.........................? [ ]

    Press ESC to return to FDISK Options
    -----------------------------------------------------------------

Type the letter of the drive you want to delete and press ENTER.

Type the volume label if there is one and press ENTER.

To confirm the deletion, press Y and press ENTER.

If there are other logical drives you want to delete, repeat steps 12 - 14 above.

When all logical drives have been deleted, press ESC. An information screen appears.

Press ESC again to return to the FDISK Options screen.

Press 3 to choose Delete Partition Or Logical DOS Drive and press ENTER. The Delete DOS Partition Or Logical DOS Drive screen appears.

Press 2 to choose Delete Extended DOS Partition and press ENTER. The Delete Extended DOS Partition screen appears. If you don't have any extended DOS partitions, skip to step 21.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------
                     Delete Extended DOS Partition

    Current fixed disk drive: 1

    Partition  Status    Type    Volume Label  Mbytes  System  Usage
    C: 1          A     PRI DOS                  23     FAT16   33%
       2                EXT DOS                  23             33%

    Total disk space is 69 Mbytes (1 Mbyte=1048576 bytes)

    WARNING! Data in the deleted Extended DOS Partition will be lost.
    Do you wish to continue (Y/N)........................? [N]

    Press ESC to return to FDISK Options
    -----------------------------------------------------------------

To confirm that you want to delete the extended DOS partition, press Y and press ENTER.

Press ESC to return to the FDISK Options screen.

Press 3 to choose Delete Partition Or Logical DOS Drive and press ENTER. The Delete DOS Partition Or Logical DOS Drive screen appears.

Press 1 to choose Delete Primary DOS Partition and press ENTER. The Delete Primary DOS Partition screen appears.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------
                     Delete Primary DOS Partition

    Current fixed disk drive: 1

    Partition  Status    Type    Volume Label  Mbytes  System  Usage
    C: 1          A     PRI DOS                  23     FAT16   33%

    Total disk space is 69 Mbytes (1 Mbyte=1048576 bytes)

    WARNING! Data in the deleted Primary DOS Partition will be lost.
    What primary partition do you want to delete..? [1]
    Enter volume label...............................? [           ]

    Press ESC to return to FDISK Options
    -----------------------------------------------------------------

Press ENTER to delete your primary partition.

Type the volume label, if there is one, and press ENTER.

To confirm the deletion, press Y and press ENTER.

Press ESC to return to the FDISK Options screen.

Press ENTER to choose Create A DOS Partition Or Logical DOS Drive. The Create DOS Partition Or Logical DOS Drive screen appears.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------
               Create DOS Partition or Logical DOS Drive

    Current fixed disk drive: 1

    Choose one of the following:

    1. Create Primary DOS Partition
    2. Create Extended DOS Partition
    3. Create Logical DOS Drive(s) in the Extended DOS Partition

    Enter choice: [1]

    Press ESC to return to FDISK Options
    -----------------------------------------------------------------

Press ENTER to choose Create Primary DOS Partition. The Create Primary DOS Partition screen appears.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------
                     Create Primary DOS Partition

    Current fixed disk drive: 1

    Do you wish to use the maximum available size for a Primary DOS
    Partition and make the partition active (Y/N)..............?[Y]

    Press ESC to return to FDISK Options
    -----------------------------------------------------------------

Press ENTER to specify the maximum size for the partition and make the partition active.

Make sure your Startup disk is in drive A and press any key.

Formatting Your Hard Disk

You cannot use your hard disk until you format it.

To format your hard disk:

Make sure you are running MS-DOS 6.0 or 6.2 from your Startup disk.

Type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt and press ENTER
format <drive>: /s
where <drive> is your hard disk drive. For example, if your hard disk drive is drive C, type the following command:
format c: /s

Press Y and press ENTER to proceed with formatting.

Once formatting is complete, type a volume label if you want one and press ENTER.

Restoring Your Files

Now you can restore the files you backed up previously. If you used a third-party program such as Fastback to back up your files, use the same program to restore your files. If you used the MS-DOS BACKUP command, use the MS-DOS RESTORE command to restore them.

To restore your files using the MS-DOS RESTORE command:

Insert the Startup disk in drive A.

Type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt and press ENTER
restore <drive1>: <drive2>:\*.* /s
where< drive1> specifies the drive on which the backed-up files are stored and <drive2> is your hard disk drive. For example, if you insert your backup disk in drive A and your hard disk drive is drive C, type the following command:
restore a: c:\*.* /s
The /S switch restores every file in every subdirectory you backed up.

Insert your Startup disk if you are prompted with the following message:

Insert disk with \COMMAND.COM in drive A

Repeat steps 2 and 3 if you have other backup disks. For example, you might have a set of backup disks for drive D.

Upgrading to MS-DOS 6.0 or MS-DOS 6.2

Now you can upgrade your system to MS-DOS version 6.0 or 6.2. To upgrade:

Insert Setup Disk 1 in drive A.

At the MS-DOS command prompt, type A:SETUP and press ENTER.

Continue following the instructions on the screen to install MS-DOS.

NOTE: Before you restart your system, make sure drive A is empty.

Optionally Repartitioning Your Hard Disk

If you don't need to repartition your hard disk in order to install MS- DOS version 6.0 or 6.2, follow the steps outlined here. You have two choices when optionally repartitioning your hard disk:

Use your current version of the MS-DOS BACKUP and RESTORE commands to back up your hard disk when preparing to partition.

First install MS-DOS version 6.0 or 6.2 in order to use the Microsoft Backup program (MSBACKUP) when preparing to partition.

While this option requires that you install MS-DOS twice (once before and once after you partition), using the Microsoft Backup program provides you with many more options when backing up your data.

To partition your hard disk by using MS-DOS version 6.0 or 6.2:

Insert Setup Disk 1 (the first of your installation disks) in drive A.

At the MS-DOS command prompt, type A:SETUP, press ENTER, and then follow the instructions in the first few screens. At the screen that begins with "The following programs can be installed on your computer," note the default setting for "Backup." This setting will be either Windows Only or MS-DOS Only.

If you have Microsoft Windows installed on your personal computer, change the Backup setting to include MS-DOS. You can choose either the Backup: MS-DOS Only option or the Backup: Windows And MS-DOS option.

Continue following the instructions to install MS-DOS.

Before you restart your system, make sure drive A is empty.

Insert Setup Disk 1 (the first of your installation disks) in drive A.

To create a startup floppy disk called Startup, type A:SETUP /F at the MS-DOS command prompt and press ENTER. Follow the instructions on the screen.

Run the Microsoft Backup program by typing MSBACKUP at the MS-DOS command prompt and pressing ENTER. Create full backups of all the partitions on your hard disk.

At the MS-DOS command prompt, type FDISK and press ENTER. This initiates the procedure to partition your hard disk. Refer to "Using Fdisk to Configure Your Hard Disk" in Chapter 8 of the Microsoft MS-DOS 6 "User's Guide".

Insert the Startup disk (which you created in step 7) in drive A and format all of your partitions. When formatting your hard disk drive, use the /S switch (this transfers system files to your hard disk drive, making it the startup drive). For example, type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt and press ENTER
format <drive>: /s
where <drive> is your hard disk drive. For example, if your hard disk drive is drive C, type the following command:
format c: /s

Install MS-DOS on your newly partitioned hard disk. Be sure to install the MS-DOS version of the Microsoft Backup program.

Run Microsoft Backup to restore your data by typing MSBACKUP at the MS-DOS command prompt and pressing ENTER. If you used the MS-DOS Backup program to back up your data, use the MS-DOS RESTORE command to restore it.

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center. Click the file name below to download the file:

Pd0771.exe

For more information about how to download files from the Microsoft Download Center, please visit the Download Center at the following Web address

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.asp

and then click How to use the Microsoft Download Center.

Additional query words:

Keywords : msdos
Version : MS-DOS:6.0,6.2,6.21
Platform : MS-DOS
Issue type : kbinfo