Formatting and partitioning the drive

ST9655 Family Installation Guide, Rev. A

Caution. Formatting or partitioning a drive that contains data destroys that data. Make sure all data has been safely backed up before repartitioning or reformatting a drive that contains data. Seagate Technology assumes no liability for lost data.

Low-level formatting

Seagate ATA Interface drives are low-level formatted at the factory and do not require additional low-level formatting before use.

Note. If you are installing only a single drive in your computer, you can use the DOS program SETUP.EXE (supplied with DOS 5.0 and above) to partition and format the drive. See your DOS manual for details. After you successfully run SETUP.EXE, your drive will be ready to use, and you can skip the partitioning and formatting steps below.

Partitioning

The partitioning process subdivides a single disc drive into partitions that behave as separate logical drives (labeled C, D, E, etc.). You can also set up the entire disc as a single partition.

1.Restart your computer. Boot up the computer using a diskette that contains DOS system files.

2.Run the FDISK program. Insert a DOS program diskette containing the FDISK program into your diskette drive. At the DOS prompt, type fdisk and press ENTER. Then follow the directions on the screen to create one or more partitions. See your DOS manual for details. If you are partitioning a drive that will be used to boot the computer, make sure that the primary partition is marked active.