Are you sure that you re-format c: in FAT 32 after deleting XP and before re-installing 98 se? If yes: I don't understand (but I don't know 98SE, only 98 and ME, although I do not the difference regarding your pb). If you did not re-format, you are still in NTFS, and that explains all. When you boot on a FAT32 system (DOS or Windows) you should not be able to read a NTFS partition. But on the contrary if you transfer files from NTFS to a DOS diskett (FAT), it will be read by any FAT or NTFS system, no pb. Hope that helps.