Always best to install operating systems on separate partitions. To do a
clean install, either boot the Windows NT install CD-Rom or setup disks.
When you get to the point, delete the existing NTFS and or other partitions
found. After you delete the partition(s) abort the install, then again
restart the pc booting the CD-Rom or setup disks to avoid unexpected drive
letter assignments with your new install.
Depending on your drive's geometry Windows NT supports a system partition
(the first primary active partition and where the files required to start
the OS reside (boot sector)) limited to 7.8gB NTFS or 4gB Fat16, while the
boot partition (where the OS is installed) is not limited in size. You wont
be able to create a system partition greater than 4gB with Windows NT Setup;
if you need a system partition 4gB - 7.8 gB, you'll need to use Partition
Magic or use another NT machine to create the first primary active
partition. The system and boot partition can be the same partition.
If you created one large system/ boot partition > 7.8 gB and installed the
OS, it may work, but the problem is if you defragment the drive or service
pack the install and the files ntdetect.com, ntldr, boot.ini, and
ntbootdd.sys end up being relocated to a point beyond the 7.8 gB barrier,
then the bootstrap process wont be able to find them and the OS wont start.
Once the OS is installed you can use Disk Administrator to partition and
format the rest of your drive. You'll need atapi.sys from SP4 or later for
Windows NT to be able to recognize a drive larger than ~ 8 gB. See the first
article for the link and instructions.
Installing Windows NT on a Large IDE Hard Disk
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q197667
Windows NT 4.0 Supports Maximum of 7.8-GB System Partition
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q224526
Boot Partition Created During Setup Limited to 4 Gigabytes
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q119497
Windows NT Partitioning Rules During Setup
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q138364
The Windows 2000 install is going to upgrade any existing NTFS file systems
when you install. So you'll need to have applied at least SP4 or later to
Windows NT (SP6A being to latest) After you have applied SP4 or later to
Windows NT to do a clean install, either boot the Windows 2000 install
CD-Rom or setup disks. The set of four install disks can be created from
your Windows 2000 CD-Rom; change to the \bootdisk directory on the CD-Rom
and execute makeboot.exe (from dos) or makebt32.exe (from 32 bit) and follow
the prompts and choose to install to the unallocated space.
--
Regards,
Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect
:
|I need to set up a server to be able to boot to Win2k Server or NT 4 for
| testing environment I want to set up. Disk space really isn't an issue,
but
| I have a 40GB HD that I wanted to put them both on, or I can pop another
| drive in the computer, if that would make things easier. I've heard that
| there's a way to do this, but I can't find a how-to.
| Thanks in advance-
|
|
