Err Msg During Setup: DISK READ ERROR OCCURED

 Last reviewed: August 2, 1996
Article ID: Q152517
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5 and 3.51
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5 and 3.51

SYMPTOMS

If you have Windows NT installed on the first primary partition formatted as NTFS, and you chose to reformat the partition as NTFS during Setup to start with a clean partition, the Windows NT setup program will reformat the partition as FAT, copy files from the CD-ROM, and then try to reboot the computer in GUI mode to continue the installation. At this point the computer will either stop responding or display the following error message: 

   DISK READ ERROR OCCURED.
If you boot from an MS-DOS disk and run scandisk C: you will encounter the following: 

   The media descriptor byte is invalid.
   FAT copies are not the same.
   Many crosslinked files.
   All directory entries were invalid.
Trying to repair the partition does not resolve the corruption, nor does it allow the installation to resume.

CAUSE

Windows NT always reformats the partition you want to install on using the FAT file system, then performs a conversion to NTFS on the final re-boot after Windows NT is finished setting up. When you choose to reformat the system boot partition as NTFS, Setup is inadvertently writing the 16 sector NTFS boot area over the top of the freshly formatted FAT drive after the file copying portion of text mode setup is complete.

WORKAROUND

  • During Setup, choose to delete the Primary NTFS Boot partition , then re-create the partition and choose to format it NTFS.

OR
  • Select the FAT file system to set up Windows NT on. After Windows NT is set up, perform a manual conversion to NTFS as follows: 

          convert c: /fs:ntfs

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT versions 3.50 and 3.51 We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

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Last reviewed: August 2, 1996
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