Re: NTFS Format failed on SATA drive

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

From: Roger Parr (news_at_lowton.demon.co.uk)
Date: 05/15/04 

Date: Sat, 15 May 2004 16:28:02 GMT

>"Roger Parr" <news@lowton.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:uP3IYvCsuhpAFwmu@blueyonder.co.uk...
Resequenced to bottom posting for clarity for others!
>> In message <40a626ec@news.greennet.net>, Dr Grumpy
>> <drgrumpy.nospam@members.v21.co.uk> writes
>> >I've installed a new 160Gb SATA drive on a Sil3112 controller card.
>> >
>> >The drive is seen okay and size correct. In disk management I can create
>> >partitions
>> >but when formatting as NTFS, I get "Format failed to complete
>successfully"
>> >when doing both a quick and long format (long goes to 100% before failed
>> >message) volume is labelled with letter and healthy, but unusuable.
>> >Curiously I am able to create FAT32 formatted partitions. I have had the
>> >same result with drives from two manufacturers, both are recorded as okay
>by
>> >dos-based drive testing programs.
>> >
>> You don't say how you were trying to format (Partition Magic?) or which
>> service pack you are on, but have you installed the 48bit LBA support
>> from Microsoft - from memory this is needed for drives over 128GB. I
>> haven't got a URL handy, but searching the MS support web-site should
>> soon find it.
>>
>> HTH
>> --
>> Roger
>
>
In message <40a65233@news.greennet.net>, Dr Grumpy
<drgrumpy.nospam@members.v21.co.uk> writes
>Apologies for not giving enough details:
>
>Using Win 2000 SP4,
>I have added EnableBigLba = 1 to the registry key:
>[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\atapi\Parameters]
>but this would not seem to be an issue as the first drive I tried was 120Gb,
>with exactly the same symptoms.
>
>I am creating partitions and formatting in Disk Management in the Windows
>Computer Management console, have also tried to format from the command
>prompt and from explorer.
>I have also tried putting the controller card in a different PCI slot.
>
>It would seem to me that if the drive is seen correctly and I can create
>partitions and I can format as FAT32, then this suggests that the hardware
>is working/interacting okay (? or does it), so this leaves me to think it is
>something specific about NTFS - when doing a long format it fails after 100%
>presumably when a final something is written to the disk.
>
>Thanks, Steve
>
>PS My system:
>ABIT KT7A v1.2, AMD 1.2 Ghz Athlon
>Memory 2 x 256 Mb PC 133 Memory
>Sound Creative Soundblaster PCI128
>Graphics Matrox Millenium G550 G55+MDHA32DD
>HDD1 IBM Deskstar 60GXP 20 Gb 7200 rpm (ATA 100)
>HDD2 IBM 20Gb 5400 rpm (ATA 100)
>DVD-RW LG GSA-4081B DVD Re-writer (IDE)
>Generic 1.4 Mb Floppy Disk Drive
>Controller Adaptec AHA-2940AU Ultra SCSI Host Adapter
>Iomega ZIP 100 Insider (SCSI)
>CD-RW Yamaha CRW2100S-VK (SCSI)
>HaupPage HaupPage TV Tuner Card
>Hayes Accura 5670GB External Speakerphone Modem
>InnoVISION EIO DM-8301H SATA Controller card
>HDD3 Hitachi Deskstar 160Gb SATA (the problem drive)
>
Steve,
About the only suggestion I have left is that your BIOS may need to be
upgraded. A quick trawl of the news groups shows that at some point
(about 2003??) Abit released BIOS upgrades which supported disks of
160Gb. I may be jumping to a wrong conclusion, but the fact that your
other drives are 20GB each suggests it may be an "old" system. A check
of the Abit web-site should reveal the latest BIOS - and probably some
history.
Quite why it "works" for FAT, I have no idea, but maybe it is only
giving the illusion of working - I would be very cautious about using
the new drive until you have got to the bottom of this problem.

Regards, 

-- 
Roger

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