alrighty then, here is the deal........

[deep_sky]

i have the following hard drive setup:

first hard drive (master on primary channel)
c:\ -win98 partition (never boot to it anymore)
d:\ -apps
e:\ -small junk partition that has nothing in it

second hard drive (master on secondary channel)
f:/more apps, mp3s, win2k apps as well
g:/win2k partition

Now, what I want to know is this:
If I format the c: partition to get rid of 98 completely, will I toast my win2k install? I installed win2k thru 98 (complete install not an upgrade), and was wondering if by deleting the c: partition would I then delete my boot sector and freak out win2k....

I was also contemplating moving all my date off of the first drive and completely reformatting the first hard drive, then moving my mp3s onto it, make it the master on secondary channel and move my second hard drive to the primary channel. Is this also possible....I do not want to have to reinstall my OS just yet.

Thanks in advance.....

[Moe]

I would first create a W2k rescue disk (can be done in the backup accessory). Then, preserve the files as cyclone2 advised. If for some reason you are unable to boot into w2k, boot off the W2k CD, and perform a repair of the system. This should restore the files necessary for booting.

[codybear]

Good luck and please post the results because many are wondering the same thing and want to be rid of 98 but it appears that win2k and 98 are too closely intertwined to delete 98 and so no one so far to my knowledge has attempted to try it...

I have deleted many files from 98 so it is totally unusable and unbootable but thats ok I just wanted to save disk space but have found that most programs are dependent on the c drive for whatever reason no matter where they are installed....only reason I can figure is because by default the computer looks to c first for everything and also the registry appears to also be interdependent on both OS's....I can find nothing online pertaining to this and have been waiting for some brave sole to lead the way....my win 2k is running way to sweet to begin again and go through the tedious process of all the upgrades and downloads and tweaking....please post your results

[codybear]

Good luck and please post the results because many are wondering the same thing and want to be rid of 98 but it appears that win2k and 98 are too closely intertwined to delete 98 and so no one so far to my knowledge has attempted to try it...

I have deleted many files from 98 so it is totally unusable and unbootable but thats ok I just wanted to save disk space but have found that most programs are dependent on the c drive for whatever reason no matter where they are installed....only reason I can figure is because by default the computer looks to c first for everything and also the registry appears to also be interdependent on both OS's....I can find nothing online pertaining to this and have been waiting for some brave sole to lead the way....my win 2k is running way to sweet to begin again and go through the tedious process of all the upgrades and downloads and tweaking....please post your results

and did I say good luck

sorry for the double...

[This message has been edited by codybear (edited 06-28-2000).]

[cyclone2]

Yes you will toast your Win 2k install because you wont be able to get into it. It needs boot.ini info and ntfslr or something and maybe a couple other files in C:
to load, also if your win2k is set up as ntfs then it wont be recognised in dos. If you format that drive make sure you save needed files to disk then replace them and edit boot.ini as necessary. (boot.ini is hidden file)
others may have other ideas

[deep_sky]

sorry i have taken so long to get to this. i too have a good running win2k install and i am at a time when i cannot afford to spend the time potentially rebuilding a system. i am going to trash this system at the end of the summer anyhow so i am gonna do what you guys suggested then instead of now. perhaps someone else will do it before then but if they dont, i will be sure to let you all know what happens when i try it.

[cyclone2]

Rather than formatting c: the easy way to do it is to go into Win 2000 and delete Win98 and any other files you want Just leave the base files in C:, then edit boot.ini to be rid of Win98 in bootup then your drive is ready for use by 2000. The only thing I havn't tried is to convert it to NTFS(dont know if it will boot)