: I was wondering: how exactly does one format one's HD using OS X? Also, I'm
: running OS X with Classic; I'm thinking I'd only need to format X, but
: would I also need to format Classic?
Oh, how basic! Well, a lot depends on which Mac you have and how you intend to use it. I'm assuming you want to use it as a Mac and will want your hard drive formated as an HFS+ volume rather than UFS (Unix file system), which is OK for Darwin but not for Aqua. Formatting it to use OS 9 is another story and that depends entirely on the model you have, since newer Macs can't boot into OS 9 at all and, hence, you can't even install OS 9 on a newer machine from an OS 9 CD. Cheerful, what are you trying to do - reformat your hard drive, erasing everything that's on it now, and then install OS X for the first time, upgrade from OS 9 to OS X or reinstall OS X after reformatting your hard drive? The safest thing is to use the OS X installer to do it all. The installer leads you through the sequence and provides you the option of erasing your hard drive - which basically means it will reformat it for you. If it's just an upgrade, it will handle that for you, too. If you really just want to erase your hard drive and format it for OS X without actually installing it, insert the OS X installation disk and select Disk Utility from the Installer menu. You can use the disk utility to repair your disk's directory, to repair Unix permissions and to reformat the hard drive. You will need to use Disk Utility before installation if you want to partition your hard drive into more than one partition - if you need to ask how to do this, however, you probably shouldn't do it. Note that there is a checkbox for formatting for OS 9 at the same time as OS X in Disk Utility - this is done automatically by the installer otherwise. Also, make sure that journaling is turned on if you're using Panther - this is a good thing - it helps prevent directory corrucption from crashes. BTW, if you have a newer Mac that cannnot boot into OS 9, you can only install OS 9 by using the installer program on the original disks that came with the computer.
Hope this helps.
