Diskpart commands

[aonaich]

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to reformat and reinstall everything on my HP tc4200 tablet
PC and I'm having problems using DiskPart. According to DiskPart, I
have 75GB free on my disk, and I want to partition it into three, each
with 25GB. If I type "create partition primary" without any parameters
immediately after "There are no partitions on this disk to show.", I'll
get "DiskPart succeeded in creating the specified partition", but I'll
be left with:

Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt
-------- ------ ---- ---- --- ---
Disk 0 Online 75GB 0GB

Is that why I can't create any other partitions after that?

So I tried to add in parameters:

X:\i386\system32>diskpart

Microsoft DiskPart version 5.1.3565

Copyright (C) 1999-2003 Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: XXXXXX-XXX

DISKPART>list disk

Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt
-------- ------ ---- ---- --- ---
Disk 0 Online 75GB 75GB

DISKPART>select disk 0

Disk 0 is now the selected disk.

DISKPART>list partition

There are no partitions on this disk to show.

DISKPART>create partition primary [offset=360] [noerr]

The arguments you specified for this command are not valid.


I am totally stumped. This is my first time trying to use DiskPart, so
I'm not too surprised at that, but I was wondering what I am doing
wrong. I've been trying to follow this page:
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...docs/en-us/dm_create_partitions.mspx?mfr=true
and the others listed with it.

Would appreciate any help at all, thanks so very much!

 

[aonaich]

Oh by the way, in case anyone suggests PM 8.0 or something like that, I
think it won't really help now as my hard drive's competely wiped out
already LOL so I can't install it anyway. I already ran the OEM DVD,
which quick reformatted everything. If there's really no way to
partition my hard drive now as it is using DiskPart due to some weird
reason unique to my case, then I'll guess I'll have to just install the
OS in just one partition first and then get PM 8.0, but I'm hoping not
to have to do that just yet.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

XP's DiskPart utility is capable of only partitioning a hard drive that is empty
or has "unallocated" free space.
For example, if you were to install a new second drive, DiskPart can be
used to partition and format it. DiskPart cannot segregate current files from
free space, therefore, only a sophisticated third-party partitioning program,
such as Partition Magic 8 , can be used with a drive that already has Windows XP
installed.

The only way you can create, delete, resize or merge existing partitions,
and not harm your existing Windows installation, is to purchase and use
a third-party partitioning program such as Partition Magic 8.
http://www.symantec.com/partitionmagic/

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

---------------------------------------------------------------------------­----------------

:

| Hi everyone,
|
| I'm trying to reformat and reinstall everything on my HP tc4200 tablet
| PC and I'm having problems using DiskPart. According to DiskPart, I
| have 75GB free on my disk, and I want to partition it into three, each
| with 25GB. If I type "create partition primary" without any parameters
| immediately after "There are no partitions on this disk to show.", I'll
| get "DiskPart succeeded in creating the specified partition", but I'll
| be left with:
|
| Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt
| -------- ------ ---- ---- --- ---
| Disk 0 Online 75GB 0GB
|
| Is that why I can't create any other partitions after that?
|
| So I tried to add in parameters:
|
| X:\i386\system32>diskpart
|
| Microsoft DiskPart version 5.1.3565
|
| Copyright (C) 1999-2003 Microsoft Corporation.
| On computer: XXXXXX-XXX
|
| DISKPART>list disk
|
| Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt
| -------- ------ ---- ---- --- ---
| Disk 0 Online 75GB 75GB
|
| DISKPART>select disk 0
|
| Disk 0 is now the selected disk.
|
| DISKPART>list partition
|
| There are no partitions on this disk to show.
|
| DISKPART>create partition primary [offset=360] [noerr]
|
| The arguments you specified for this command are not valid.
|
|
| I am totally stumped. This is my first time trying to use DiskPart, so
| I'm not too surprised at that, but I was wondering what I am doing
| wrong. I've been trying to follow this page:
| http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...docs/en-us/dm_create_partitions.mspx?mfr=true
| and the others listed with it.
|
| Would appreciate any help at all, thanks so very much!
|

 

[aonaich]

Hi Carey,

I don't get it, my hard drive has already been quick reformatted, there
shouldn't be anything in it already right? I mean, it says 75GB free
out of 75GB? Um it should be a 80GB hard drive but I don't know where
the other 5GB has gone to, is that being used by Windows? Or has HP
kind of done some permanent "partition" thing there to keep whatever
stuff of theirs?

Sorry I'm asking so much, it's just that I'm totally new to doing this
on a HP tc4200. I've never had any problems reformatting, partitioning
and clean installing on my Dell Inspiron 600m.

 

[Kerry Brown]

If it's formatted then the space is allocated. Unallocated space is space
that is not allocated to a partition. You'll have to delete the 75 GB
partition then create the three 25 GB partitions. I'm not familiar with that
model but most HP pc's do have a hidden partition iwth restore/diagnostic
stuff on it. I'd assume that was the other 5 GB.

 

[aonaich]

Hi Kerry,

Yeah that's what I did, I deleted whatever partitions I could find and
then I double-checked to make sure of that:

Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt
-------- ------ ---- ---- --- ---
Disk 0 Online 75GB 75GB

DISKPART>select disk 0

Disk 0 is now the selected disk.

DISKPART>list partition

There are no partitions on this disk to show.

That's when I tried to create a 25 GB partition using the following
line:

DISKPART>create partition primary [offset=360] [noerr]

But what I kept getting was:

The arguments you specified for this command are not valid.

Is there something wrong with the command I used?

 

[Enkidu]

Hi Carey,

I don't get it, my hard drive has already been quick reformatted, there
shouldn't be anything in it already right? I mean, it says 75GB free
out of 75GB? Um it should be a 80GB hard drive but I don't know where
the other 5GB has gone to, is that being used by Windows? Or has HP
kind of done some permanent "partition" thing there to keep whatever
stuff of theirs?

To disk drive manufacturers a Megabyte is 1000^3 or 1,000,000,000 bytes.
Operating systems count in 1024 byte blocks so 1 OS Mb is 1024^3 or
1,073,741,824 bytes. 80 (manufacturers) Gb are then 74.50 (OS) Gb.

On a disk drive you must first make a partition, then format it. You
have refomatted the partition but it still exists on the disk.

Cheers,

Cliff

 

[aonaich]

Hi Cliff,

"On a disk drive you must first make a partition, then format it. You
have refomatted the partition but it still exists on the disk."

Oh now I'm confused (not that I wasn't before but...)... So what does
it mean when DiskPart tells me:

Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt
-------- ------ ---- ---- --- ---
Disk 0 Online 75GB 75GB

DISKPART>select disk 0

Disk 0 is now the selected disk.

DISKPART>list partition

There are no partitions on this disk to show.

So is there or is there not a partition on Disk 0? LOL maybe I should
just go ahead and reinstall everything on this one partition that is or
is not there and just get PM 8.0 after all. However I just want to get
to the bottom of this mess first so please bear with me and thank you
to all who've taken the time out to reply!!

 

[Kerry Brown]

Leave out the brackets. In the documentation the brackets mean the parameter
is optional. It should look like this:

DISKPART>create partition primary size=25600 offset=360 noerr

Unless you know for sure you need offset=360 I would leave that out as well
and let diskpart deal with the offset.

 

[aonaich]

Hi Kerry,

AHHH YESSS *bounces all over the room in joy*

I just have one final question (I hope) and that's about the offsets.
This is what I have now:

DISKPART> list disk

Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt
-------- ---------- ------- ------- --- ---
* Disk 0 Online 75 GB 0 B

DISKPART> list partition

Partition ### Type Size Offset
------------- ---------------- ------- -------
Partition 1 Primary 25 GB 32 KB
Partition 2 Primary 25 GB 25 GB
Partition 3 Primary 25 GB 50 GB

Um, are the offset values supposed to get bigger like this? I think
it's responsible for the fact that when I tried to create the third and
final partition with size=25600, it wouldn't allow me (DiskPart was
unable to create the specified partition). I could only make the third
partition if I specified the size as 25103.

So is this normal? Or is there something else I can do to make all
three of my partitions at size 25600?

Thanks a lot again!!!

 

[Enkidu]

Hi Cliff,

"On a disk drive you must first make a partition, then format it. You
have refomatted the partition but it still exists on the disk."

Oh now I'm confused (not that I wasn't before but...)... So what does
it mean when DiskPart tells me:

Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt -------- ------ ----
---- --- --- Disk 0 Online 75GB 75GB

DISKPART>select disk 0

Disk 0 is now the selected disk.

DISKPART>list partition

There are no partitions on this disk to show.

So is there or is there not a partition on Disk 0? LOL maybe I should
just go ahead and reinstall everything on this one partition that is
or is not there and just get PM 8.0 after all. However I just want to
get to the bottom of this mess first so please bear with me and thank
you to all who've taken the time out to reply!!

Yes, you are correct. According to Diskpart there is no partition on the
disk. You must have deleted the partition at some stage. You probably
said that and I missed it!

Cheers,

Cliff

 

[Kerry Brown]

Looks normal.

 

[Gil Baron]

there
shouldn't be anything in it already right? I mean, it says 75GB free
out of 75GB? Um it should be a 80GB hard drive but I don't know where

It na be the difference nthe way spce is defined.
For Some a gig is a gig is a gig or 10**9 decimal the way it ough to Always beIMHO.
For others it uses stupid hex translation wher it is actulky based on power ofsixteenand is about 1,024 times bigger.
75*1.024=76.8 so tht is not it but some space is reserved for indxing ad etc. and that may account for all or part of this.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

If you are using the HP Recovery CD for Windows XP,
that HP CD is customized and will not permit you to
partition your drive as you would like. It will create
just one (1) partition and reinstall Windows XP on it,
just like it was originally installed at the HP factory.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

---------------------------------------------------------------------------­----------------

:

| Hi Cliff,
|
| "On a disk drive you must first make a partition, then format it. You
| have refomatted the partition but it still exists on the disk."
|
| Oh now I'm confused (not that I wasn't before but...)... So what does
| it mean when DiskPart tells me:
|
| Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt
| -------- ------ ---- ---- --- ---
| Disk 0 Online 75GB 75GB
|
| DISKPART>select disk 0
|
| Disk 0 is now the selected disk.
|
| DISKPART>list partition
|
| There are no partitions on this disk to show.
|
| So is there or is there not a partition on Disk 0? LOL maybe I should
| just go ahead and reinstall everything on this one partition that is or
| is not there and just get PM 8.0 after all. However I just want to get
| to the bottom of this mess first so please bear with me and thank you
| to all who've taken the time out to reply!!
|