"Invalid Media" Error Message Formatting FAT32 Partition

 Last reviewed: September 30, 1996
Article ID: Q155349
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows 95
  • Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2

SYMPTOMS

When you try to format a FAT32 file system partition larger than 8025 MB from within Windows 95, you may receive the following error message 

   Verifying <xxx.xx>M
   Invalid media or track 0 bad-disk unusable
   Format terminated
where <xxx.xx> is the size of the partition.

CAUSE

This error occurs if there is a non-DOS partition preceding the extended DOS partition and the primary DOS partition has been formatted using the real-mode FORMAT.EXE command.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, format the volume using the following steps:

  1. Click the Start button, click Shut Down, click Restart The Computer In MS-DOS Mode, and then click Yes.

  2. Type the following command and then press ENTER 

          format <drive>:

    where <drive> is the drive letter for the partition you want to format.

  3. When the partition is formatted, type "exit" (without quotation marks) to restart Windows 95.

KBCategory: kbtool kberrmsg
KBSubcategory: win95 diskmem
Additional reference words: 95

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Last reviewed: September 30, 1996
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