i need to install drivers but i cant format my floppy disk

Many complete systems are supplied nowadays with 2.5Gb drives as standard, but it's not unknown for them to be delivered with a single partition, which Windows will only see as 2Gb. Unless you do this, a 4Gb EIDE drive will simply appear as a 2Gb one.

For historical reasons (see 'Going For The Big One'), DOS and Windows cannot see a single drive larger than 2Gb unless it's first been partitioned into two or more separate areas (more on this later). As anyone who's attempted to install a larger drive than 2Gb will know, there's plenty of fun to be had working round the quirks of the modern PC. Effectively, you are starting from scratch, since your new drive will be completely blank, and of course you will no longer have Windows 95 to hold your hand with a nice graphical point‑and‑click environment.Ī further complication arises if your new drive is a big one. If you remove the old drive and replace it with the new one, it can be a bit mind‑boggling to switch on your machine for the first time, only to discover that your PC doesn't even recognise that you have a hard disk connected. Although you can retain the old one for additional storage, you'll get a far more significant improvement in system performance if you use the new faster drive to boot up and run your main system files. The complications start if you decide to buy a faster or bigger hard disk to replace your existing drive. Also, if you opt for a removable drive, you may find it easier to keep tabs on several different projects at any one time.

A separate fast hard drive dedicated to music data can easily be defragmented on a regular basis, and you can back it up without all the rigmarole of having to choose the appropriate set of data from among a sea of application and system files. Martin Walker talks you through the hard part.Īdding a second hard disk to your PC is normally a fairly easy operation and for anyone indulging in hard disk recording it can make day‑to‑day operations a lot easier.

Huge disk drives are becoming the norm for PC musicians, but there's more to installing them than plugging in and turning on.

I need to install drivers but i cant format my floppy disk