How to install Windows NT 4.0 (only supports 8.4 GB w/o SP6) on a 60 GB hard drive?

[jarsoffart]

I'm trying to install Windows NT 4.0 on a 60 gigabyte hard drive and still retain all 60 gigabytes, but version 4.0 only supports 8.4.gigabytes. If I install Service Pack 6, I can use all 60 gigabytes, but that's after I already formatted the drive, making it impossible to go reformat it without loosing Service Pack 6 and its 60 gigabyte capability. How do I install Windows NT 4.0 while still taking advantage of the full 60 gigabyte capacity?

 

[Spyro]

Is that some kind of trick question or something? Seriously though, I ran into your problem and solved it. Go ahead and install windows nt 4 then after you've applied the service pack use fdisk to add another partition. As far as I know, thats the only way to do it. Worked for me .

 

[Willoughbyva]

If you could put the 60 gb drive as slave and install nt4 on another drive then install the service patch and format the 60 gig drive, then install nt4 on the 60gb drive. I think that will work, but I am not to sure.

 

[Spyro]

Originally posted by: Willoughbyva
If you could put the 60 gb drive as slave and install nt4 on another drive then install the service patch and format the 60 gig drive, then install nt4 on the 60gb drive. I think that will work, but I am not to sure.

 

[jarsoffart]

Originally posted by: Willoughbyva
If you could put the 60 gb drive as slave and install nt4 on another drive then install the service patch and format the 60 gig drive, then install nt4 on the 60gb drive. I think that will work, but I am not to sure.

According to your suggestion, Windows NT 4.0 can fully recognize 60 gigs, but it just can't format 60 gigs? Are you sure that's the limitation Windows NT 4.0 has? Thanks for the help!

 

[Codewiz]

another option is install NT4 and all the service packs. After that is done use a partition resizing tool to resize the partition. Something like Partition Magic.

OR

Install NT4 on a small hard drive and install all the service packs and ghost the drive contents to the 60gig drive. It will resize the partition to use the entire drive.

 

[Spyro]

Originally posted by: CodewizInstall NT4 on a small hard drive and install all the service packs and ghost the drive contents to the 60gig drive. It will resize the partition to use the entire drive.

Now that is a pretty neat idea

 

[jarsoffart]

Originally posted by: Codewiz
another option is install NT4 and all the service packs. After that is done use a partition resizing tool to resize the partition. Something like Partition Magic.

OR

Install NT4 on a small hard drive and install all the service packs and ghost the drive contents to the 60gig drive. It will resize the partition to use the entire drive.

Is there a program besides Norton Ghost that ghosts drives? Will the MaxBlast software that came with my 60 gig hard drive do that function? This sounds like an intelligent idea.

 

[Willoughbyva]

I haven't tried it and I haven't gotten Mandrake yet, but they claim that it can resize ntfs partitions. I hope to get it within the next week or so, but if you have broadband you could try it. Just install it on the 60gb drive with the service pack and see if it will work.

 

[Willoughbyva]

I was reffering to mandrake 9.1

 

[Spyro]

Originally posted by: Willoughbyva
I haven't tried it and I haven't gotten Mandrake yet, but they claim that it can resize ntfs partitions. I hope to get it within the next week or so, but if you have broadband you could try it. Just install it on the 60gb drive with the service pack and see if it will work.

No matter what the version: Don't You Believe It

 

[Nothinman]

NT 4 can't boot from partitions past the 1024th cylindar, no matter what SP is installed. So even if you get the partition the full 60G you've just set a time bomb, at some random time in the future you'll reboot and the system won't come back up and to get it to boot you'll need to get all the system files back infront of the 1024th cylinder (with pqmagic, defrag in another machine, etc).

 

[jarsoffart]

Originally posted by: Nothinman
NT 4 can't boot from partitions past the 1024th cylindar, no matter what SP is installed. So even if you get the partition the full 60G you've just set a time bomb, at some random time in the future you'll reboot and the system won't come back up and to get it to boot you'll need to get all the system files back infront of the 1024th cylinder (with pqmagic, defrag in another machine, etc).

What about partitioning the drive with one partition spanning the first 1024 cylinders and installing the OS on that partition and just installing anything else on the other parts of the drives? How would I do this?

 

[lowtech1]

Windows NT 4.0 Supports Maximum of 7.8-GB System Partition

How to fix Windows NT 4.0's 7.8 GB System Partition limitation -- Let you have a theory of up to 2TB for NT4 boot partition.

Good luck!

 

[Nothinman]

Install the OS like normal, creating the 8.4G drive. Afterwards create a new partition out of the rest of the free space in Disk Management, then install stuff there.

 

[Spyro]

Originally posted by: Nothinman
Install the OS like normal, creating the 8.4G drive. Afterwards create a new partition out of the rest of the free space in Disk Management, then install stuff there.

I'd already suggested that.

 

[spamsk8r]

Originally posted by: Nothinman
Install the OS like normal, creating the 8.4G drive. Afterwards create a new partition out of the rest of the free space in Disk Management, then install stuff there.

That's what I would do. That's what I do for my Win2k install anyway, create a 4 gig partition for the OS and utils and stuff, and then format the rest of the space to hold data, that way I don't lose any data when I reinstall the OS (which I do more often than I probably should )

 

[Superwormy]

Just keep the OS on a diff partition than everything else, safter that way anyway. That way when NT crashes irrepairably ( cause Windows always does this ) you can just format the C:\ drive ( the 8.4gb one ) and still have all your data on D:\

Once you install latest service pack you can format the rest of the partition as one huge partition. It just doesn't like it when you do it on the boot drive, adn doesn't like it when you try to have a bigger than 8.4 gb drive at install time.

 

[Spyro]

Originally posted by: Superwormy
Just keep the OS on a diff partition than everything else, safter that way anyway. That way when NT crashes irrepairably ( cause Windows always does this )

Odd, I've never had any version of windows crash irrepairably.........

 

[Slaughter]

Here's an idea, create your own slipstreamed copy of NT4 w/SP6 and install from that. Can't be too different from 2ks or XP's process.

 

[Nothinman]

Here's an idea, create your own slipstreamed copy of NT4 w/SP6 and install from that. Can't be too different from 2ks or XP's process

The NT 4 SPs don't have the slipstream option, you'd have to do it all manually. And even then it would be pointless because even with SP6 you need to have the OS below the 1024th cylinder or it won't boot.

 

[Wallysaurus]

jarsoffart,
As Nothinman has said, the boot partition (the partition that contains the system flies) has to be below the 1024th cylinder, or put another way, in the first 7.8 Gb of the hard drive.

 

[calpha]

The last time I worked for a big company.....they issued all of us laptops, and the laptops were running NT4 Sp6a (not that that matters) and all the machines that were given out at the time I joined were 20Gb HDs......with one partition.

I worked there for 12 months, and my machine did not crash ONCE. So, whatever they did it worked pretty well there (to those that are saying it can't be done reliably).....

How to do it. Sorry dunno. Good luck though

 

[Nothinman]

worked there for 12 months, and my machine did not crash ONCE. So, whatever they did it worked pretty well there (to those that are saying it can't be done reliably).....

It can't be done reliably. But it only causes problems if you install/remove software because every time you do you take the chance of moving a system file past the 1024th cylinder mark and rendering the box unbootable. It's a roll of the dice.

 

[NogginBoink]

Originally posted by: calpha
The last time I worked for a big company.....they issued all of us laptops, and the laptops were running NT4 Sp6a (not that that matters) and all the machines that were given out at the time I joined were 20Gb HDs......with one partition.

I worked there for 12 months, and my machine did not crash ONCE. So, whatever they did it worked pretty well there (to those that are saying it can't be done reliably).....

How to do it. Sorry dunno. Good luck though

You got lucky.

Nothinman is right.

Don't do this.

The machine will eventually get to an unbootable state.

Once it gets there, there's *NO* solution other than starting over and wiping the hard drive.