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Q124910: Using Ontrack Disk Manager to Support Large IDE Drives

Article: Q124910
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): 3.50
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 08-AUG-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 3.5 
- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 3.5 
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SUMMARY
=======

This article describes using Ontrack Disk Manager on an MS-DOS system to
partition and format a large (more than 540 megabytes [MB]) IDE hard disk drive.
A large IDE hard disk drive usually requires a system BIOS or controller that
supports more than 1024 cylinders. For general information on installing Windows
NT on large IDE hard disk drives, please see the following article in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q124307: Installing Windows NT on Large IDE Disk Drives

NOTE: To use Ontrack Disk Manager with Windows NT version 3.5, you need to obtain
an updated driver from Microsoft Product Support Services.

This updated driver (ATDISK.SYS) is included with the latest U.S. Service Pack
for Windows NT version 3.5. For information on obtaining the Service Pack, query
on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

  S E R V P A C K

MORE INFORMATION
================

Installing the Updated Driver
-----------------------------

Once you obtain the updated driver, if you are installing it on a system already
running Windows NT version 3.5, follow the installation instructions included
with the updated driver or Service Pack.

If you are attempting to install Windows NT version 3.5 on a drive that has been
formatted with Ontrack Disk Manager, installation of the updated driver is
complicated and depends upon whether you are installing from a CD-ROM or from
floppy disk.

CD-ROM Installation
-------------------

Installing from a CD-ROM onto a disk formatted with Ontrack Disk Manager requires
that you boot the system under MS-DOS and access the CD-ROM. After booting under
MS-DOS, start installation from the \I386 directory on the CD-ROM using the
WINNT.EXE command. Allow the Windows NT Setup program to create three boot disks
and copy files to the temporary directory, $WIN_NT$.~LS. You may also use the
WINNT /B mode of Setup, which does not require the three boot floppy disks but
does require more free space on your boot partition. After the file copy is
finished, Setup asks you to reboot the system with the boot floppy disk in drive
A; do not do this. Instead, reboot to MS-DOS and do the following:

1. Replace the ATDISK.SYS file on Setup Disk 3 with the updated file. If you
  used the /b option on Windows NT, replace ATDISK.SYS in the $WIN_NT$.~BT
  directory instead.

  NOTE: If your copy of ATDISK.SYS is compressed (ends with .SY_ instead of
  .SYS) you will need to decompress it, using the expand command, before
  replacing the copy on the installation disks.

2. Replace the ATDISK.SYS file in the directory $WIN_NT$.~LS with the updated
  file.

3. Reboot the system and when Disk Manager gives you the option of starting from
  a boot floppy disk, select this option and boot from Setup Disk 1.

This should allow you to set up Windows NT version 3.5 on a drive formatted with
Ontrack Disk Manager.

Floppy Disk Installation
------------------------

Floppy installation on an Ontrack Disk Manager-formatted drive requires that you
install Windows NT on to a FAT partition. You can convert the partition to NTFS
after Setup is complete. To set up, follow these steps:

1. Make a disk copy of Setup Disk 3.

2. Replace ATDISK.SYS on the disk copy with the updated ATDISK.SYS file.

  NOTE: If your copy of ATDISK.SYS is compressed (ends with .SY_ instead of
  .SYS) you will need to decompress it, using the expand command, before
  replacing the copy on the installation disks.

3. Reboot the system and when Disk Manager gives you the option of starting from
  a boot floppy disk, select this option and boot from the Setup boot disk.

4. When you reach the first reboot (at Disk 9) do not allow Setup to continue;
  instead reboot to MS-DOS (either using a bootable MS-DOS floppy disk or
  interrupting the boot menu before it loads Setup) and replace ATDISK.SYS in
  <WINNT>\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS with the updated file, and then reboot and
  allow Setup to finish.

After you finish installing Windows NT version 3.5, you can convert your
partitions from FAT to NTFS if you want. You may experience an extra delay in
booting after you convert your boot partition to NTFS; however, other than this
delay, there are no problems with converting to NTFS.

Ontrack Disk Manager is manufactured by a vendor independent of Microsoft; we
make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or
reliability.

Additional query words: prodnt howto hrdwr

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Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNT350search kbWinNTW350 kbWinNTW350search kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS350 kbWinNTS350search
Version           : 3.50

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