this disk does not contain a Windows XP compatible partition

[K. Kazemi]

whenever i try to install windows XP pro, i get this
message "this disk does not contain a Windows XP
compatible partition"

now i tried several methods of solving this, the last
thing i tried, was to get a win 98 boot disc, run fdisk,
create a FAT32 partition, format it, then install XP pro,
but that still did not work because the install still
shows me the same message, just with a fat32 partition
instead of a ntfs.
if anyone knows how to solve this problem, please email me
at (e-mail address removed)
any help whatsever, would greatly be appreciated, thanks

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi,

Download and run a drive diagnostic tool from the web site of the drive
manufacturer. It will tell you the state of the drive, it may be failing.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone

 

[D.Currie]

If you ever installed ez-bios or a similar utility and you're trying to
install by booting from the CD, that could be the problem.

Or, if you used an old version of partition magic, that might cause
problems.

But why are you bothering to partition and format anyway? XP will do that
for you.

 

[JS]

If your motherboard is an Abit KG7 or variant of that line, and you're
installing on a RAID drive, you can only have one drive on the IDE port
(example: 1 CD-ROM drive on the primary IDE and nothing else). Otherwise
you will get the error you described. It's a bit of a bios bug in the
Abit boards. If it's not an Abit board, then ignore this reply.

Regards,
JS

 

[tdl]

If your motherboard is an Abit KG7 or variant of that line, and you're
installing on a RAID drive, you can only have one drive on the IDE port
(example: 1 CD-ROM drive on the primary IDE and nothing else). Otherwise
you will get the error you described. It's a bit of a bios bug in the
Abit boards. If it's not an Abit board, then ignore this reply.

Regards,
JS

One of my pc encounters the same problem as the thread starter. I have tried many suggestions such as setting the partition as active or using fdisk. The problem still persists.
The Mobo is Asus P4V8X-X, 1 IDE Hardisk, 1 IDE DVDRW and a Sata Hardisk.

I need to install windows in Sata because my IDE Hardisk so noisy.
However, Windows installation setup always display the error.
Never thought that actually it was actually Bios bug, that occured to my Asus mobo.
I pulled out my IDE Hardisk and the installation went smoothly.

So, if it's not an Abit board, it's still relevant. Thanks for the info.

 

[Pickendi]

I had the same problem, had been tearing my hair out in complete frustration. For over 6 hours I tried to do all sorts of things with no luck. What i ended up doing was unplugging my IDE drive, leaving only my sata drive in. After i rebooted with the cd in the drive, the windows install worked as it normally should.

Give that a go and best of luck.