Err Msg: Hard Drive Partition... w/Quantum 540 MB IDE Drive

 Last reviewed: April 10, 1997
Article ID: Q122381

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 3.5
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server version 3.5

SYMPTOMS

When you upgrade or install Windows NT version 3.5 on a Dell Dimension XPS P60 PCI computer with a Quantum 540 megabyte (MB) IDE hard disk drive, the following error message may appear: 

   Hard drive partition containing the free space selected for
   installation is not accessible to the computer's startup program.

CAUSE

This problem occurs if the hard disk drive does not support Logical Block Addressing (LBA) mode. LBA is supported on Quantum IDE hard disk drives with the BIOS revision starting with the letters EC.

WORKAROUND

To correct this problem:

  1. Verify the BIOS revision of the hard disk drive starting with the letters EC. Call Dell Technical Support at (800) 624-9896 for more information.

  2. Back up all contents on the hard disk drive. Go to the system CMOS configuration and change the hard disk drive information from AUTO to 1024 cylinders, 16 heads and 63 sectors.

  3. Repartition the hard disk drive.

The third-party products discussed here are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.

Additional query words: prodnt hd 3rdparty
Keywords : kb3rdparty nthw kbfasttip
Version : 3.5
Platform : WinNT
Issue type : kberrmsg

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Last reviewed: April 10, 1997
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