Cannot See Hard Disk Partitions Running FDISK in Windows

ID: Q139579

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

If you run the FDISK command at a command prompt from within Windows, you may not see any defined partitions on the hard disk.


CAUSE

This behavior can occur if both of the following conditions exist:


RESOLUTION

To work around this behavior, use either of the following methods below:

Method 1

Enable 32-bit protected-mode disk drivers. To do so, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.


  2. Double-click System.


  3. On the Troubleshooting tab, click the "Disable all 32-bit protected- mode disk drivers" check box to clear it.


  4. Click OK, and then click Close.


  5. Click Yes when you are prompted to restart your computer.


Method 2

Obtain an updated version of your computer's BIOS. To do so, contact the manufacturer of your computer.


MORE INFORMATION

If you run Setup with the protected-mode disk drivers disabled, you may receive an error message indicating that the boot drive could not be found.

Additional query words: 


Keywords          : kbenv kbtool win95 windrvr win98 windos 
Version           : 95
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: January 22, 1999