Linux Dummies 9th

Chapter 2: Prepping Your Computer for Linux
29
Figure 2-3:
Disk
Management
information
as seen
in the
Windows
XP
Computer
Management
tool.
Peeking at your partitions in Windows 98
Even though Microsoft no longer supports Windows 9x, an old computer
that’s running Windows 98 can make a good Linux box. Unfortunately,
Windows 98 doesn’t provide a graphical tool. Instead, Win98 uses FDISK, a
command-line tool that indicates the partitions on your hard drive.
Be very careful in FDISK. You can wipe out your data if you make any changes
with it. When you’re exiting the program, be sure not to save any changes.
To find out the details about a computer’s hard drive in Windows 98, follow
these steps:
1. Open an MS-DOS prompt window by choosing Start➪Programs➪
MS-DOS Prompt.
2. Type FDISK and press Enter.
In Windows 98, you can enter FDISK in uppercase, lowercase, or any
mixed case you like as long as you spell FDISK correctly!
You’re very likely prompted to display large “disk” (drive) information —
“large” is relative to what was a big hard drive at the time of Windows 98,
which means a drive larger than 512MB. If you don’t see the prompt, skip
to Step 4, and the FDISK menu options will be similar to Figure 2-4.