What's best way to remove an OS build?

[Dazzer]

What is the best way to remove an OS build? They are not on the c-drive. So hopefully it wouldn't damage the Boot.ini if I just formatted the drives. But is that the best way. And do I have to delete their entry in the Boot.ini by hand?

By the way is harddrive(1)partition(1) in map equivalent to rdisk(1)partition(1) in the boot.ini.

How do you get map in dos? As I seem to only be able to get it through the repair console on the 2000 disc.

D

[Statica]

The best way to remove an OS build is to edit the boot.ini first to remove the entry for the OS you don't want .. then rebooting to verify that all is well; finally formatting or partitioning out the space occupied by the other OS install.

The way the boot.ini is laid out essentially depends on the type of controller you are using. For example the Multi() syntax uses INT-13 support for ATA and some SCSI controllers and disks.. it follows the paramaters:
multi(a)disk(b)rdisk(cpartition(d)
where
a: is the controller # (starting from 0)
b: is always 0
c: is the c-th drive attached to the controller (starting from 0)
d: is the d-th partition on the drive starting from 1

If your system using scsi() then from other above, b represents the drive number attached to the specific controller and c represents the scsi logical unit number of the disk having the boot partition.

You can use diskpart to check the partitions from within a repair console.

[Dazzer]

Thanks, much appreciated. Can the repair consul be activated from dos to get diskpart?

D

[Statica]

I dont understand your question .. but you cannot use a DOS bootdisk as a repair console .. you must use the Windows 2000 CD to start the repair console as described here: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=301645 Some additional links to help you: What can I do with the Windows 2000 Recovery Console and What are the recovery console commands?

Cheers

[Dazzer]

Sorry, what I mean is can I use MAP or diskpart without going via the repair consul, but just from DOS or find the same info in the admin tools in 2000?

D

[Statica]

If your OS is working, then you can perform the same steps from within a command line interface. I'm assuming that's what you're asking, the word "DOS" in your queries is throwing me off. The command line interface or Command Prompt is not DOS, it is

Originally Posted by From windows help .. do a search for the term Command Shell Overview (the same holds true for Win2k) The command shell is a separate software program that provides direct communication between the user and the operating system. The non-graphical command shell user interface provides the environment in which you run character-based applications and utilities. The command shell executes programs and displays their output on the screen by using individual characters similar to the MS-DOS command interpreter Command.com. The Windows XP command shell uses the command interpreter Cmd.exe, which loads applications and directs the flow of information between applications, to translate user input into a form that the operating system understands.

DOS is an entirely different operating system.
Again, if your query is related to using an MSDOS bootdisk to boot up your system, then the answer is likely no - you will not be able to perform the same changes to your boot.ini because of any or all of the following:
a) your FS may be NTFS, unreadable by DOS
b) diskpart and other commands are not there in DOS
c) your partitioning schema may prevent fdisk from showing you disk information accurately
Anyways, its highly recommended that you edit your boot.ini from either within your OS, or if unbootable through a repair console.

[Dazzer]

Sorry the command line used to be called the DOS prompt.

I mean in cmd.exe, when I ask can you find the information on disk partitions in cmd.exe or in 2000 admin? Obviously so I can find the necessary rpart and partition etc info for boo.ini.

Darryl