I tried what you said but it won't initilize my new hard drive. I checked
with help but it still won't initilize, I have to initilize before it can
be partitioned. I don't know what to do to fix this. Any suggestions?
Melissa:
Let me "flesh out" what Ghostrider is telling you. Here are the step-by-step
instructions to initialize, partition, and format your new hard drive...
As you apparently know, before the system will recognize a new hard drive,
it must be partitioned & formatted. You can easily do this within the XP
operating system by accessing the Disk Management utility - Start >
right-click My Computer > Manage > Computer Management > Disk Management.
But before accessing the DM utility, make sure you've correctly
connected/configured your new hard drive, i. e., it's been correctly
jumpered and the data (flat ribbon) cable is properly connected to the drive
and the appropriate motherboard's IDE connector. (I'm assuming that your new
HD is a PATA drive and not a SATA drive). Also ensure that the 4-pin power
plug (commonly known as a Molex plug) is securely fastened to your drive's
power connector. Review your connections to ensure that the drive is
correctly connected/configured/jumpered before you undertake the DM process
we're going to describe.
Assuming this is a brand-new drive, i.e., hasn't been previously
partitioned/formatted, you will most likely (but not always) get the
"Welcome to the Initialize and Convert Disk Wizard" dialog box. when you
access the Disk Management utility. Note that in the Disk Management window
your new HD will be shown probably as Disk 1, "Unknown" together with its
capacity in GB ("Unallocated") and "Not Initialized". (You'll see a small
red-circled icon with a small white bar in the middle of this icon).
(If the Wizard doesn't appear, just right-click (that's RIGHT-CLICK) on that
red-circled icon and select the "Initialize disk" option).
Step through the Wizard to initialize your disk. There are just a few
screens and the process is pretty straightforward. You shouldn't have any
trouble. Just remember that you SHOULD NOT select the option to convert your
disk to a "dynamic" disk. Again, DO NOT SELECT THAT OPTION.
Now you must partition and format your new drive. Again the process is
pretty straightforward. You start by right-clicking on the schematic of your
new disk - the area that shows the disk as "Unallocated", and select from
the sub-menu "New Partition". The "New Partition Wizard" will open and
you'll be stepping through that "Wizard".
On the "Select Partition Type" window that opens, select the option,
"Primary Partition". (Ghostrider has suggested creating an Extended
partition rather than a Primary one. In my view this is unnecessary in your
situation since I'm assuming you have no plans to create a number of
multiple partitions on that drive. Select the Primary Partition option).
The "Select Partition Size" window will open where the maximum size (in MB)
of your new HD will be shown. If you want only a single partition
encompassing the entire capacity of the drive, just accept the figure shown.
If, on the other hand, you want to create multiple partitions on the drive,
so indicate the size in MB for the first partition and you will have a
subsequent opportunity to create additional partitions on that drive.
The next dialog box will allow you to assign a drive letter to your new
drive. It is best to do so at this point (rather than selecting the "Do not
assign a drive letter..." option). Either accept the default letter shown,
or choose one to your liking.
Now you will come to the formatting process...
On the "Format Partition" dialog box that opens, you probably should accept
the defaults shown unless you have good reason to do otherwise. The default
settings will create an NTFS file system with the appropriate "allocation
unit size" (cluster size). The new drive will be given the label "New
Volume". You can change it if you want. It's not really important. (You can
always change that given name at a later date). There's an option to
"Perform a quick format". If you select that option the formatting process
will go very quickly, but it will not be as thorough a process as a regular
format in terms of the system examining the drive for defects. The downside
to a non-quick format is that it it's quite time-consuming depending upon
the size of your HD. In our own case, where secondary drives are involved
and we're working with a brand-new drive, and have no reason to suspect the
drive may be defective, we usually select the "quick format" option. But
many users feel otherwise and select a regular (non-quick) format. So if
time (at least at *this* time!) is not an important consideration for you,
do not select the quick format option.
After you get the "Completing the New Partition Wizard" window showing the
selections you have previously made, the formatting process will begin after
you click the "Finish" button. But before clicking that button, review your
selections to ensure they're the ones you want. You can always go back and
change one or more of your previously selected settings by clicking on the
"Back" button.
Again, if you've selected the "quick format" option, the formatting will go
very quickly. If not, it will take a considerable amount of time. As an
example, the last time I (non-quick) formatted a 120 GB disk, it took about
45 minutes.
If you run into any difficulties, remember that the Help file in Disk
Management is your friend.
Good luck.
Anna
