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Can't Create NTFS Partition

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19 replies

by douglasb

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I have a gateway P4 machine that was running so slowly it was useless. I tried to reinstall the o/s and software from recovery cd's. It will create the fat32 recovery partition, no problem. But then it hangs, assuming it can't create the NTFS partition to install XP. I tried installing Windows 98, no problem. Tried installing just the XP o/s, same problem, loads the drivers etc but then hangs, again assuming at the creation of the NTFS partition. I have reset the CMOS and set the BIOS to defaults, tried a new hard drive, same problem.

19 replies

by dmiles

Converting an existing FAT or FAT32 volume to NTFS is relatively easy and WILL retain the data which resides on the drive.

Caution! As with any major disk operation you should always back up the entire drive before you start. Norton Ghost is a particularly good tool for imaging drives and is also capable of writing backups to CD Writers.

To convert an existing drive in Windows NT/2000 or XP, you need to issue the CONVERT command from a Command Prompt. Type the following command at the cursor and press [Enter]...

convert drive_letter: /fs:ntfs

*'drive_letter' = the letter of the drive you wish to convert.

If the drive can be converted you will be asked for confirmation and the process will begin, however if you want to convert the boot or system drive then Windows will ask you if you want to schedule the conversion at the next startup. This is because a drive cannot be converted if files are open and in use, therefore the only way for Windows to successfully convert the drive is to do it at startup before any files are locked or used.

Once the system has been rebooted, Windows will carry out the disk conversion after performing a scan on the drive to check for errors (See Windows XP example).

by sgt_shultz

well i think you are barking up right tree thinking it is disk related but i betcha it is hd controller *driver* giving problem. do you have some other evidence is ntfs related? if this all original equip should be something about it on gw website. you say it examines system, copies files then won't go past Starting Windows phase? see if this is you:
Windows XP Does Not Respond at "Setup Is Starting Windows XP" Message
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310760

by douglasb

I forgot to mention, and this may be critical, the drive is a Western Digital SATA drive. I don't know if being a serial drive has anything to do with it. I have tried the drive on the other controller without luck.

by cg it

humm you don't mention if an array is required to be created with your SATA drive and that boot SCSI or Boot other option in you BIOS was selected and that you installed the 3rd party mass storage device [SATA] drivers when XP asked if you have any [ press F6].

It's possible that the problem is simply Windows can't find the SATA drive because the SATA is seen as a SCSI type of drive. Typically the BIOS and Windows looks for a floppy, a CD Rom or an IDE drive to boot to.

by cg it

if your motherboard has a SATA array setup before boot, setup the SATA array with your drive. Then when you install Windows press F6 when is asks for mass storage device drives and install the SATA controller drivers. Once windows copies setup files and then reboot, go into the BIOS and change the boot order to boot SCSI or Boot other devies in lieu of boot HDD-0 [IDE drive]

by douglasb

SATA drive is setup and recognized by BIOS. The recovery cd's from Gateway should take care of the drivers, but don't.

by curtis

What you need to do is catch the Windows XP Install where it says "Press F6 to load a Third Party SCSI or Raid Controller" and it will prompt you for a floppy. The floppy (or cd) that came with your motherboard will have the SATA Drivers on it. Point the Install to the directory where those drivers are and things will begin loading. I had the same problem with my SATA only install.

Hope this helps

by douglasb

I would think the Gateway install cd's would set up the SATA drivers, but maybe not. I'll give this a shot, manually installing the drivers.

by borginva

I built a new PC with SATA drive and formatted the drive as NTFS with the XP SP2 slipstream CD I made and installed the OS with no problem.
You may want to try formatting as FAT32 and then doing a full scandisk in DOS mode (since XP needs to reboot into DOS mode to do a proper one anyway). It is possible an error is on the drive.
Also, my BIOS did not see the SATA drive until after I loaded the new motherboard drivers, but that was after my install of XP.
Hope this helps.

by prompt1

insert bootable cd with xp select first boot device cd rom it will ask u make new partition fat or ntfs.select which one u need.

by douglasb

Thanks to everyone for their help, although nothing worked. I contacted Gateway with all this information and was advised to "send it in" for a minimum $85 charge plus shipping. Would a hardware problem prevent the NTFS partition from being created? I notice when I install WIN98se it can't find the primary and secondary controller drivers.

by shiv_paul

you can install xp in fat32
then you use commnd CONVERT VOL_LABEL: /FS:NTFSit is possible because of built in partitioning and formatting feature of xp
regards
shiv_paul

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