Windows NT Hardrive Format Over 4 GB

[behapamo]

Does anyone have some ideas on how to partition and format<br>Windows NT 4.0 hard drives to over 4.0 GB ? I have just installed a 15 GB hard drive but Windows NT will only allow<br>me to format up to a max of 4.0 GB per partition. I have <br>Windows NT 4.0 service pack 4.0 installed.<br><br>Thanks.

 

[fenris]

I know that it can be done, but I am unsure as how to do it. We got this one dell machine that had 2 partitions, 1 4 gb fat32 and 1 16 gb NTFS I don't know how they did it. I also managed to format a 6gb partition as NTFS. I would like to know how to format a partiton bigger then 4GB.<br><br><br> <p> fenris<br><a href=mailto:fenris@hotmail.com>fenris@hotmail.com</a><br><a href= > </a><br>

 

[voland]

Formatted under FAT16 drives cannot be larger than 4Gb. The problem is that during NT install even if you decide to use NTFS the setup will pre-format drive w/FAT and then convert it to NTFS - thus you can't get past 4Gb during system install.<br><br>After the system is installed you can extend any partition past 4Gb by going to Disk Administrator (Start - Programs - Administrative Tools - Disk Administrator), selecting a partition and unpartitioned space (hold CTRL key down), and then selecting Extend Volume Set from the Partition menu.<br><br>The problem is - it's not applicable to boot or system partition!!!<br><br>That's the simplest solution. You can also use Partition Magic, though I'm not sure it can extend boot/system partitions.<br><br>As far as I know, the only possible way to extend the boot/system partition is using Unattended install; the following lines should be added to install file under the [unattended] section: <br><br>FileSystem = convertNTFS<br>ExtendOemPartition = 1, NoWait<br><br>Regards!<br><br><br>

 

[MasterRacker]

The boot partition on NT can be up to nearly 8GB (I use 8000MB)&nbsp;&nbsp;If you boot from the CD itself, you can format up to that size.&nbsp;&nbsp;After NT and the SP are installed, you can use the Disk Administrator to make the rest of the disk a single data partion of whatever space you have left.&nbsp;&nbsp;I recommend using two partitions to separate your OS from your data files.<br><br>Go back a few months in the Desktop Software&gt;Microsoft NT Workstation forum and you will see a couple of long threads about this issue. <p> Jeff<br><a href=mailto: masterracker@hotmail.com> masterracker@hotmail.com</a><br><a href= > </a><br> Of all the things I've lost in life, I miss my mind the most ...

 

[dxd]

You will need a SP4 or later ATAPI.SYS if you want NT to work successfully with your large hard drive during install.<br>here is the ATAPI hot-fix link&gt;<br><A HREF="ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-unsup-ed/fixes/nt40/atapi/ATAPI.EXE" TARGET="_new">ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-unsup-ed/fixes/nt40/atapi/ATAPI.EXE</A><br><br>If you want to extend it after the fact you will need a 3rd party product.....or choose to create a volume set as discussed above. I would agree with MasterRacker in that you should create at least two partitions...that way you can move the pagefile of the boot partition.<br><br>If starting from scratch you can try::::<br>Fdisk and system format a FAT16 partition(2gb) and copy the I386 folder from the CD. Replace the original ATAPI file with the one from SP4 or later. Modify the UNATTEND.TXT file as indicated by VOLAND. Boot to the C drive, change to the I386 directory run &quot;WINNT /B /u:unattend.txt /s:c:\i386&quot;. The drive will then get converted to NTFS and extend to the maximum supported size(7.8gb).<br><br><br>dxd<br>