2.If MS-DOS does not start, you need to check whether the disk has been partitioned. To do this, place the MS-DOS Startup diskette in drive A and hold down the Ctrl key and Alt key and press Del to start MS-DOS.

3.Press Enter twice to accept the date and time prompts. Then type FDISK and press Enter. Press 4 and Enter to select the Display Partition Information option. If the hard disk is partitioned, the screen displays a table of information about the partition(s); go on to step 4 to see if the disk is formatted. If the hard disk is not partitioned, the screen displays the following message:

N o p a r t i t i o n s d e f i n e d .

Press ESC to exit the FDISK program. If no partitions exist, follow the instructions in this chapter to partition and then format the disk.

4.Type C : and press Enter to log onto the hard disk. Type DIR and press Enter to display a list of the files and directories on the hard disk.

If DIR is successful (it lists the files and directories in the current directory), the hard disk is formatted. If necessary, go on to “Copying the Remaining Files to the Hard Disk,” in this chapter for information on using the COPY command to copy your MS-DOS system and reference files to the hard disk. Be aware that you should copy the files on all your MS-DOS diskettes to the hard disk.

If DIR is not successful (it does not display a list of files and directories or you get an error message), the hard disk needs to be formatted. You must format each partition on your hard disk separately. Go back to step 3 and use FDISK to discover how many partitions are on your hard disk, and then go on to “Formatting the Primary Partition” and “Formatting the Extended Partition” in this chapter for instructions on formatting your hard disk.

Preparing a Hard Disk for Use 3-3