HDD partitioning and XP install problems

I have just made a mess of my system after trying to set up a multi boot system with Windows ME/XPpro/2000pro.
To start i wanted to have 3 partitions on my single 40GB hard drive for each OS using Fdisk. I think i'm doing something wrong here. This is what i did :
Primary partition 30GB
Ext Partition 8 GB
logical 4 GB
" 4 GB
After rebooting i was able to format drive C: and D: BUT not drive E: (error message: "unable to format the specified drive"). Why is this so, i have tryed several times to format the drive.
After installing windows Me, only drive C: and D: showed up in My computer window.
Secondly I decided to go ahead with only Win ME and XP but after only one attept to install XP the installation failed after it's first reboot with a error message to the effect:
Windows have haulted the installation in an effort to prevent damage to your hardware.......
Now i'm getting an error message "error reading fix disk" whenever
i try to run fdisk in n effort to start over. How can i get by these problems?
== MEAD ==

1. RE: HDD partitioning and XP install problems
lbyard Jun-28-02 01:35 PM
In response to message 0

After reading http://duxcw.com/digest/guides/hd/rules.htm, I'd suggest cleaning the drive and starting over. There was a post a few days ago with a link to utility that does that. I haven't tried it yet. Larry

2. RE: HDD partitioning and XP install problems
mead123 Jun-28-02 05:33 PM
In response to message 1

LAST EDITED ON Jun-28-02 AT 05:38 PM (EDT)

Yes i want to start over but i don't know how. For some reason when i try to run fdisk i get an error message:
"error reading fixed disk!"
Secondly how do i return the default boot up OS to Windows me. The system always boot into Windows 2000 and displays the same error message:
STOP: 0x00007b......
Inaccessable booot device. If this is the first time you have seen this error screen restart your computer. If the screen.... .

Please help i don't know what to do next!
btw the link in the above post is bad!
== Mead ==

3. RE: HDD partitioning and XP install problems
Zeno Jun-29-02 08:22 PM
In response to message 2

Yeah, what a mess. I can sympathize.
Obviously, the first strategy is to get all the existing partitions off the HD. Sometimes the WINme FDISK can't do it all. You may need to run the WINXP seup program or the WIN2K setup program to remove NTSF partitions. Try removing NTSF partitions with WIN2K setup first.
Then try removing FAT 16/32 partitions with WINme FDISK.
Here's another suggestion you may not like. Consider dumping WIN ME, unless you're studying for a certification or something like that. WIN ME is a can of worms and a broken OS. For my money, if you really need a good OS that will run backward compatible DOS software, WIN98SE is far better than WIN ME. And even XP pro does a pretty good job of running old DOS games, etc.
just a thought...best wishes...

4. RE: HDD partitioning and XP install problems
Zeno Jun-30-02 12:27 PM
In response to message 3

Afterthought...(forethought would be better.)
Actually, you don't need to mess with WIN ME FDISK at all to clean the FAT partitions. Setup for WIN2K or XP Pro will easily clean them all...choose the new install option.
It's been awhile since I've had to do this. Best wishes...