how to partition d drive & install xp
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How to partition and format a hard disk by using Windows XPSetup program
View products that this article applies to.
This article was previously published under Q313348
To continue receiving security updates for Windows, make sure you're runningWindows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3). For more information, refer to this Microsoftweb page: Support is ending for some versions of Windows
INTRODUCTION
This article describes how to partition (prepare) and format a hard disk before you install Windows XP using the
Windows XP Setup program. This article also contains things to consider before you partition or format your
hard disk, and links to resources that can help you troubleshoot if problems occur. This article is intended for
an advanced user.
You can use other methods to partition and format the hard disk before you install Windows XP, such as the
Fdisk and Format tools. For additional information about how to use Fdisk and Format to partition and format
your hard disk, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
255867 How to use the Fdisk tool and the Format tool to partition or to repartition a hard disk
If your computer is already running Windows XP, and you want to create partitions other than the System or
the Startup partitions, you can use the Windows XP Disk Management tools. For additional information about
how to use the Windows XP Disk Management tools to partition and format your hard disk, click the following
article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:309000 How to use Disk Management to configure basic disks in Windows XP
Back to the top
MORE INFORMATION
Before you partition and format the hard disk
Before you partition and format your hard disk, make sure that you do the following:
Prepare the hard disk according to the manufacturer's instructions
If you are using a SATA hard disk, skip this step and go to the "Determine the type of file system that you want
to use" section. If you are using an IDE hard disk, set the jumpers and the cabling according to the role of the
hard disk (for example, master or subordinate) and make any required BIOS (or CMOS) changes. To set the
jumpers and cabling, and make any required BIOS or CMOS changes, see the documentation that was included
with your hard disk and motherboard, or contact the manufacturers.
Determine the type of file system that you want to use
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313348#appliestohttp://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/help/end-support-windows-xp-sp2-windows-vista-without-service-packshttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/255867http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309000http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313348#tophttp://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/help/end-support-windows-xp-sp2-windows-vista-without-service-packshttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/255867http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309000http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313348#appliesto -
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You can use either the NTFS or FAT file systems. NTFS is the preferred file system to format the hard disk
unless you want to run an earlier version of Windows that cannot read NTFS partitions. For additional
information about the differences between the FAT and NTFS file systems, click the following article numbers to
view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
100108 Overview of FAT, HPFS, and NTFS file systems
310525 Description of the FAT32 file system in Windows XP
If the hard disk already contains data, back it up
Make sure that you back up all your important data before you continue. When you partition and format a hard
disk, all the data on that partition is permanently deleted. You can view current partition information without
deleting your data. For additional information about how to use the backup utility or the Files and Settings
Transfer Wizard, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
320820 How to use the Backup utility to back up files and folders in Windows XP Home Edition
309340 How to use Backup to restore files and folders on your computer in Windows XP
293118 How to use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard
306186 How to use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard from CD-ROM
306187 How to use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard Disk in Windows XP
If the hard disk has a drive overlay or a disk management program, make sure that it is
compatible
If your computer uses drive overlay software for large hard disk support, do not use the Windows XP Setup
program to partition or to format the drive until you have verified that Windows XP is compatible with the
software. If you have drive overlay software installed, contact the software manufacturer to find out whether it
is compatible with Windows XP. If you are not sure whether you have drive overlay software installed, contact
the manufacturer of your hard disk drive or motherboard.
If you have software that you want to reinstall, verify that you have the disks
Make sure that you have the original CDs or floppy disks so that you can reinstall the software programs after
you partition and format your drive. If you purchased an upgrade for a program, make sure that you have the
full version of the original program. Many upgrades for programs require a compliance check before you can
install the upgraded product. If you cannot find the original CDs or floppy disks, contact the software
manufacturer before you continue.
If you have updated device drivers for peripheral devices, back them up
If you have installed an updated device driver for your peripheral devices (for example, modems and printers),
make sure that you back up the new driver for the device to a location other than the drive that you want to
format and partition so that you can reinstall it after you install your operating system.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/100108http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310525http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320820http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309340http://support.microsoft.com/kb/293118http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306186http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306187http://support.microsoft.com/kb/100108http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310525http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320820http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309340http://support.microsoft.com/kb/293118http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306186http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306187 -
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Configure your computer to start from the CD or DVD drive
To start your computer from the Windows XP CD, your computer must be configured to start from the CD or
DVD drive. In some cases, you may have to modify your computer's BIOS settings to set this configuration. For
information about how to configure your computer to start from the CD or DVD drive, see the documentation
that is included with your computer, or contact the computer manufacturer.
If you have a computer that cannot start from the CD or DVD drive and you need to start your computer from
the startup disk, make sure that you have the floppy setup disks so that you can run the Setup program from
the floppy disk drive.
Note You can obtain Windows XP Setup boot disks from Microsoft, but only by download. We provide the Setup
boot disks so that you can run the Setup program on computers that cannot use a bootable CD-ROM. If you can
start your computer from a CD-ROM or from a network-based installation, we strongly recommend that you use
those installation methods instead. Future products will no longer support installation by using the Setup boot
disks.
Back to the top
How to partition and format the hard disk using the Windows XP Setup program
You can use the Windows XP Setup program to partition and format the hard disk. To do this, use the following
steps:
Step 1: Partition the hard disk
a. Insert the Windows XP CD into your CD or DVD drive, or insert the first Windows XP Setup disk into the
floppy disk drive, and then restart the computer to start the Windows XP Setup program.
Note If you are using the Windows XP Setup disks, insert each additional disk when you are prompted, and
then press ENTER to continue after you insert each disk.
b. If you are prompted, select any options that are required to start
the computer from the CD or DVD drive.
c. If your hard disk controller requires a third-party original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) driver, press F6 to specify the driver. For more
information about how to use F6 to supply a third-party OEM device
driver while the Windows Setup program is running, click the
following article number to view the article in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313348#top -
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314859 Limited OEM driver support is available with F6 during
Windows XP Setup
d. At the Welcome to Setup page, press ENTER.
Note If you are using the Setup disks (six bootable disks), the setup
prompts you to insert the Windows XP CD.
e. Press F8 to accept the Windows XP Licensing Agreement.
f. If an existing Windows XP installation is detected, you are prompted
to repair it. To bypass the repair, press ESC.
g. All existing partitions and non-partitioned spaces are listed for each
physical hard disk. Use the ARROW keys to select an existing
partition, or create a new partition by selecting the non-partitioned
space where you want to create a new partition. You can also press
C to create a new partition using non-partitioned space.
Note If you want to create a partition where one or more partitions
already exist, you must first delete the existing partition or
partitions, and then create the new partition. You can press D to
delete an existing partition, and then press L (or press ENTER, and
then press L if it is the System partition) to confirm that you want to
delete the partition. Repeat this step for each existing partition that
you want to include in the new partition. When all the partitions are
deleted, select the remaining non-partitioned space, and then press
C to create the new partition.
h. To create the partition with the maximum size, press ENTER. To
specify the partition size, type the size in megabytes (MB) for the
new partition, and then press ENTER.
i. If you want to create additional partitions, repeat steps g. and h.
j. To format the partition and install Windows XP, go to step 2.
If you do not want to install Windows XP, press F3 two times to exit
the Windows Setup program, and then do not follow the remaining
steps in this article.
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To format the partition without installing Windows XP, use a
different utility.
Step 2: Format the hard disk and install Windows XP
a. Use the ARROW keys to select the partition where you want to install Windows XP, and then press
ENTER.
b. Select the format option that you want to use to format the
partition. You can select from the following options:
o Format the partition by using the NTFS file
system (Quick)
o Format the partition by using the FAT file
system (Quick)
o Format the partition by using the NTFS file
system
o Format the partition by using the FAT file
system
o Leave the current file system intact (no
changes)
Notes
o If the selected partition is a new partition, the
option to leave the current file system intact is not
available.
o If the selected partition is larger than 32 gigabytes
(GB), the FAT file system option is not available.
o If the selected partition is larger than 2 GB, the
Windows Setup program uses the FAT32 file system (you
must press ENTER to confirm).
o
If the partition is smaller than 2 GB, the Windows
Setup program uses the FAT16 file system.
o If you deleted and created a new System partition,
but you are installing Windows XP on a different partition,
you are prompted to select a file system for both the
System and Startup partitions.
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c. Press ENTER.
d. After the Windows Setup program formats the partition, follow the
instructions that appear on the screen to install Windows XP. After
the Windows Setup program is finished and you have restarted the
computer, you can use the Disk Management tools in Windows XP
to create or format more partitions. For additional information
about how to use the Windows XP Disk Management tools to
partition and format your hard disk, click the following article
number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
309000 How to use Disk Management to configure basic disks in
Windows XP
Back to the top
Additional notes
Before you can install an operating system such as Windows XP, you must first create a primary partition on
the first physical hard disk (Disk 0) on your computer. Then, you can format a file system on that partition to
create what is called the System partition.
Or, you can create a separate partition for the operating system on any physical hard disk. This is known as the
Startup partition. The System partition on Disk 0 can also be used as a Startup partition.
Back to the top
TROUBLESHOOTING
For additional information about how to troubleshoot partition problems in Windows XP, click the following
article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
316505 Windows XP does not recognize all available disk space
310359 Cannot view NTFS logical drive after using Fdisk
310561 Maximum partition size using the FAT16 file system in Windows XP
314097 How to use Convert.exe to convert a partition to the NTFS file system
301340 During Setup you are unable to format a partition with a File Allocation Table format
307844 How to change drive letter assignments in Windows XP
315224 How to remove the Linux LILO Boot Manager
Back to the top
REFERENCES
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309000http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316505http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310359http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310561http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314097http://support.microsoft.com/kb/301340http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307844http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315224http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313348#tophttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/313348#tophttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/313348#tophttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/309000http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316505http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310359http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310561http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314097http://support.microsoft.com/kb/301340http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307844http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315224 -
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For additional information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge
Base:
314470 Definition of System partition and Boot partition
314878 The default cluster size for the NTFS and FAT file systems
310525 Description of the FAT32 file system in Windows XP
314081 The purpose of the Boot.ini file in Windows XP
For additional information about how to create and manage partitions in Windows XP, click the following article
number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
307654 How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XP
Limited OEM driver support is available with F6 duringWindows XP and Windows Server 2003 setup
View products that this article applies to.
This article was previously published under Q314859
Expand all| Collapse all
SUMMARY
When you are installing Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Windows Server 2003 on a new computer or on a
computer that has the latest SCSI or IDE controller technology, you may have to use an OEM device driver to
support, for example, a new mass storage controller, to continue with the installation. The symptoms that you
have to install an OEM device driver include the following:
The computer may keep restarting and never start the GUI
installation after the text mode Setup is finished.
The Setup program may stop, and you may receive an error
message if the Setup program does not correctly detect the
controller.
If you are booting from the installation floppy disks or CD-
ROM disc, you receive the following error message:
Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your system
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If you are upgrading by using the Winnt32.exe file, or if you are
performing a new installation by using the Winnt.exe file, you
receive the following Stop error:
Stop 0x0000007B Inaccessible_boot_device
This behavior may also occur after you update the firmware or the BIOS of a supported SCSI controller if the
update causes incompatibility with the SCSI driver that is included with Windows.
MORE INFORMATION
During the text-mode phase of the setup process, Windows pauses briefly and prompts you to press F6. This
option is displayed in the status line and lets you use an OEM mass storage controller driver. The F6 option is
provided strictly as a means to install OEM drivers for mass storage controllers only. This is required to let the
installation of the operating system continue. Microsoft does not support using F6 to install any device driver
other than mass storage controller drivers.
Note Mass storage controller drivers can be loaded only from floppy disks by using the F6 key. The F6 key
cannot be used to load drivers that are stored on USB flash drives, on USB hard disks, or on other external
storage devices.
Use of an OEM driver is limited to installing a driver that is not natively supported or that does not match a
driver that is included with Windows. If you use a newer version of an OEM driver, and this new OEM driver has
the same name or Plug and Play Identifier as a driver that is included with Windows, the Setup program ignores
the new OEM driver and uses the driver that is included with Windows. Therefore, you receive the error
message that is quoted in the Summary.
If you press F6 when you are prompted, you receive a screen that requires you to have the appropriate driver
on a floppy disk and to insert the disk into the floppy disk drive to load the driver.
Windows XP Setup boot disks are available only by download from Microsoft. The Setup boot disks are available
so that you can run the Setup program on computers that do not support a bootable CD-ROM. For additional
information about how to obtain and use the Setup boot disks, click the following article number to view the
article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
310994 How to obtain Windows XP Setup boot disks
Note The Windows Server 2003 family does not include Setup boot floppy disks.
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If you require an updated OEM driver to support an existing controller that is natively supported by Windows
but is not detected during setup, you must replace the Windows driver for the controller with the new OEM
driver. You can find the Windows driver for the controller on one of the six Windows Setup boot disks or in the
temporary installation folder ($WIN_NT$.~BT). This replacement allows Windows to use the updated OEM
driver during text-mode setup, but you must copy the same updated OEM driver to the System32\Drivers
folder of the final Windows installation before the installation continues into graphics-mode setup.
Note that if you choose to format the partition in the NTFS file system during setup, you cannot copy the newer
OEM driver into the System32\Drivers folder after text-mode setup finishes. This is because the Windows Setup
program formats the partition as NTFS before copying files. To work around this limitation, install Windows into
a file allocation table (FAT) partition that is less than 2 GB in size or into a FAT32 partition that is less than 32
GB in size. Doing this allows access by using a startup disk from Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows
Millennium Edition (Me). After Windows is installed, use the following command to convert the FAT or FAT32partition to NTFS:
convert c: /fs:ntfs