DOCUMENT:Q197667 20-FEB-2002 [winnt] TITLE :Installing Windows NT on a Large IDE Hard Disk PRODUCT :Microsoft Windows NT PROD/VER::4.0,4.0a OPER/SYS: KEYWORDS: ====================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information in this article applies to: - Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 - Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 - Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0, Terminal Server Edition - Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server versions 4.0, 4.0a ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SYMPTOMS ======== During the installation of Microsoft Windows NT to an 8 gigabyte (GB) or larger IDE hard drive, the computer may stop responding (hang) during the format portion of setup. If the drive was previously formatted as file allocation table (FAT) and designated to be converted to NTFS file system (NTFS), the computer may hang during the conversion process. Other symptoms include the drive taking an extremely long time to format or Windows NT not recognizing the entire size of the drive. CAUSE ===== The Microsoft supplied generic IDE driver (Atapi.sys) may not be fully compatible with drives larger that 8GB. This issue only affects IDE-based drives 8 GB and larger. RESOLUTION ========== Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4 (SP4) has a new Atapi.sys file that allows the drive to be formatted during setup of Windows NT. SP4's Atapi.sys can also access space beyond 8GB on these IDE drives. The system partition (boot partition) is still limited to 7.8GB whether an updated version of the Atapi.sys file is installed or not. For more information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q114841 Windows NT Boot Process and Hard Disk Constraints NOTE: The system board basic input/output system (BIOS) must support and recognize drives larger than 8GB before Windows NT can access the entire drive. You can verify this ability by entering into the BIOS or contacting your system board manufacturer. If you are using Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, Server, or Terminal Server, follow these instructions: 1. Download the updated Atapi.sys from Microsoft's FTP server: ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-unsup-ed/fixes/nt40/atapi/ATAPI.EXE and copy the file to a blank floppy disk. Run Atapi.exe on the disk and the new Atapi.sys file is extracted to the disk. Label the disk "Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE Driver." 2. Restart from the three setup disks supplied with Windows NT Server. 3. When asked if you would like setup to detect your mass storage devices, press "S" so that detection is skipped and you specify a mass storage device. 4. When setup list devices found, which should list , press "S" again and insert the Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE Driver disk and press ENTER twice. 5. After setup reads the disk and list the Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE driver, press ENTER to accept the driver. 6. Setup now lists Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE Driver as an installed driver. If you have additional drivers for other mass storage devices, press S; if not, press ENTER to continue through setup. 7. Setup should continue through normally but, it prompts you to insert the disk labeled "Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE Driver Support Disk" at the copy phase after you have chosen or formatted a partition on a hard drive. If you are using Microsoft Small Business Server 4.0 or 4.0a, follow these instructions: 1. Download the updated ATAPI.SYS from Microsoft's FTP server: ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-unsup-ed/fixes/nt40/atapi/ATAPI.EXE and copy the file to a blank floppy disk. Run Atapi.exe on the disk and the new Atapi.sys file is extracted to the disk. Label the diskette "Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE Driver." 2. Copy an updated file to Small Business Server (SBS) disk 2. To do this, rename the file Winnt.sif to Winnt.bak on disk 2. Then copy the Winnt.sif from the I386 folder on SBS CD 1 to SBS disk 2. NOTE: If a set of NT setup disks have been created from the SBS CD1 I386 directory by running the command winnt /ox or winnt32 /ox, the file winnt.sif will not be included on SBS disk 2. In this case, copy winnt.sif file from the SBS CD 1 I386 directory to SBS Disk 2. It will not be necessary to rename an existing winnt.sif on the disk before doing so. 3. Restart from the modified SBS setup disks. When the computer is restarting off of disk 1 and the message "Setup is inspecting your hardware configuration..." is displayed, press F6 on the keyboard. NOTE: This is at a black screen and no visible indicators occur when you press F6. 4. When prompted, insert the modified disk 2 into the computer. 5. The next screen that appears prompts you to specify a mass storage drivers. To do that, press the S key and then arrow down to the listing of OTHER. Insert the Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE Driver disk and press ENTER twice. 6. After setup reads the disk and list the Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE driver, press ENTER to accept the driver. 7. Setup now lists "Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE Driver" as a installed driver. If you have any more drivers for other mass storage devices, press S; if not, press ENTER to continue through setup. NOTE: You are prompted to insert disks 2 and 3 several times, because you are using a modified version of Winnt.sif. Make sure you format or convert the partition to NTFS as SBS requires it. 8. Setup should continue through normally but it prompts you to insert the disk labeled "Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE Driver Support Disk" at the copy phase after you have chosen or formatted a partition on a hard drive. STATUS ====== Microsoft has confirmed this to be an issue in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. MORE INFORMATION ================ For related issues that this article addresses, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q177257 STOP 0x0000000A or Difficulty Recognizing IDE CD-ROM Drives Q183654 IBM DTTA-351010 10.1 GB Drive Capacity Is Inaccurate Additional query words: sbsfaqtop 8gb 10gb dell poweredge SBS45 sbsfaq large hdisk hard drive disk winnt atapi atapi.sys ide 0x0000007b INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE 0x7B ====================================================================== Keywords : Technology : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNTW400 kbWinNTW400search kbWinNT400search kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400 kbNTTermServ400 kbNTTermServSearch kbAudDeveloper kbSBServSearch kbSBServ400 kbSBServ400a Version : :4.0,4.0a Issue type : kbbug Solution Type : kbpending ============================================================================= THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. 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