Big Harddisc with NT 4.0 SP6
Ho...@molli.com
konrad bartels) wrote:
>Hello,
>
>i have problems with my new ide-hdd (13GB) and NT4.0.
>NT doesn't recognize my disc properly. I tried all
>settings for the hdd in the bios setup with no success.
>The bios recognizes the size of the disc when I use
>large or auto mode.
>I read in several hints on the web, newsgroups, that it
>is a problem of the nt drivers, sp >= 4 will
>fix the problem, but not on my computer. I installed
>SP6 without success of recognizing the partions of
>the hdd correctly. With Linux I have no problems
>to use the hdd, it is correctly recognized.
>
>Is it possible that NT has problems to get the correct
>hdd size from the bios ? I have an T2P4, is there
>any other person that has the same problems ?
>
>Please help, I need the disc space urgently under NT.
Hi,
this is part of the readme from microsofts atapi.sys driver file under
Unsupported on thier ftp site
YMPTOMS
========
During the installation of 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 FAT and
designated to be converted to 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 8 GB. 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 8 GB on these IDE drives.
NOTE: The system board BIOS must support and recognize drives larger
than 8
GB 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.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
diskette
and the new Atapi.sys file will be extracted to the diskette. Label
the
disk "Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE Driver."
2. Boot 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 <none>, 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 will now list 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 will prompt 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.
Installing the driver manually seems to resolve the large disk issue
but it depends on bios support etc. Hope this helps
Regards,
Rudi