it means that MS-DOS can’t “find” the hard disk drive. This is either because the drive controller board has been incorrectly set up, or more likely, the hard disk drive has not yet been partitioned.

If the computer correctly executed the C: command, but failed to display a directory, it probably means that the hard disk has been partitioned, but not yet formatted. The next sections describe how to partition and format your hard disk system.

Changing Your SETUP

Before you can partition and format your hard disk, you have to let your computer know that you have one. This is done with the SETUP program. Once you have determined that your hard disk is “clean,” that is to say neither partitioned nor formatted, you should enter the SETUP program.

Note

If you are not familiar with the SETUP program, take a moment to review the information in Chapter 2, “Running the Setup Program”

Turn your computer on. When you see the following message,

Press <DEL> if you want to run SETUP/EXTD-SET

Press < DEL > key. Move the cursor to the RUN SETUP option and press Enter. The system displays the Setup Menu. For now, look at the information on the left side of the screen.

6-4 Using Your Hard Disk