Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!van-bc!oneb!kmcvay From: kmcvay@oneb Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.misc Subject: Re: Help :: Dos HD Partitions Message-ID: Date: 17 Oct 90 08:02:13 GMT References: <7023.27199600@vax1.tcd.ie> Sender: bbs@oneb.UUCP Organization: 1B Systems Management Limited, Nanaimo, B.C. Lines: 28 jagrogan@vax1.tcd.ie writes: > Can anyone out there tell me if it's possible (under Dos 3.3 or 4.01) > to format an 80Meg Hard Disk without having to partition it? > If not, then could I get away with a no more than 2 partitions or > do they all have to be 32Meg partitions and then one of whatever is > left over? > I have a Dell 210 with a 40Meg HD and want to put in a connor > 80Meg HD. Would I need to get a new controller card for the new disk? > I don't know if the existing card HD is RLL, SCSI, ESDI or whatever. MS-DOS 4.01 permits you to use the entire disk as one partition, but I don't know what the size limit is off-hand. I have a 110-meg partition which, with one exception, has been trouble-free. The exception? Once I had >48MB on the disk, none of the optimizers available could handle the partition. With the release, however, of Golden Bow's VOPT v3.0, that problem was solved, and I can now maintain the disk efficiently on a daily basis The disk runs on a dos gateway, and contains 500 subdirectories and about 13,500 files (newsgroup articles)) I've been installing MS-DOS 4.01 for a year or so, and have always set up the disks (<150MB) with a single partition, although how you want to set things up is a subjective matter. Earlier versions of MS-DOS required special device drivers (DiskManager, etc.) to create partitions >32 megs, although I seem to recall 3.3 would permit you to do this via fdisk extended partitions...