Cannot Create Partition Greater than 1 GB during NT setup

• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5 and 3.51
• Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5 and 3.51
• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 4.0

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to install Windows NT on a computer with a some SCSI controllers, using two or more drives containing free space, Windows NT does not allow creation of partition sizes larger than 1 gigabyte (GB).

CAUSE

The text mode setup restricts Partition0 on the first disk to 1024 cylinders - if there are no partitions, partition0 is the free space on the drive, so the drive appears in the listing limited to 1024 cylinders non- translated.

WORKAROUND

If you create a partition during setup, reboot and delete it, the same check is not performed again, so the size of the partition (Partition0) is added onto the free disk space and you can make a partition that spans the whole drive up to 4GB or 1024 cylinders worth of data which ever is less.

-OR-

Using MS-DOS, create a partition using FDISK. During NT Setup, delete the partition created with MS-DOS. This will allow Windows NT Setup to create a system partition larger than 1 GB, but limited 4 GB or 1024 cylinders worth of data which ever is less.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT versions 3.5 3.51 and 4.0. We are researching this problem and will post new information here as it becomes available.