04-25-2010
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Re: Installation issues
Comments inline...
"theog" <guest@unknown-email.com> wrote:
[OP asked for help because of problems when attempting to install 64-bit
Vista on a disk containing a corrupt 32-bit installation]
> Try a full clean & full format.
> 1) Boot DVD.
> 2) Press Shift+F10 (for command prompt)
Use the SHIFT+F10 invocation at the partition selection dialog. You could
do it earlier but waiting for the dialog to appear ensures that you can
repeat the process and get predictable results.
> Type in command line
> DISKPART
A word of warning: Microsoft wrote DISKPART to issue no "ARE YOU SURE?"
requests for confirmation of commands before executing them.
> LIST DISK
> SELECT DISK # (win HD)
Probably disk 0, but not always. Note that disk numbers start at zero while
partiton numbers start at one.
> CLEAN ALL
BE CAREFUL! If you have a brand-name computer as opposed to one that was
built from individual components (by the OP or a screwdriver shop) there may
be a "diagnostic partition" on the disk (no drive letter assigned) that
contains hardware test programs and maybe a recovery image. The CLEAN
command will destroy this partition.
The diagnostic partition is NOT required to run any OS, but it can be very
useful in chasing down hardware problems.
You can see the partitions on the currently-selected disk by entering the
command:
LIST PART
If there's only one partition use the CLEAN command; if more than one
partition is present, select the one containing the C-disk:
SELECT PARTITION #
and destroy it:
DELETE PARTITION
If you use the CLEAN command the ALL option should not be necessary. Its
function is to overwrite every sector on the disk with zeros; that's good
for security but should be unnecessary for typical installations.
> CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY
> SELECT PARTITION 1
If you use the CLEAN command this causes no harm, but the SELECT command
isn't necessary. The CREATE command automatically selects the new
partition. If you have more than one partition on the disk and used the
DELETE PARTITION command, your C-disk may have a different partition number.
Just skip this command.
> ACTIVE
> FORMAT=NTFS
Use something like
FORMAT FS=NTFS
If you're confident of the condition of the disk you can speed things up by
adding the QUICK option. It's not necessary but I would also recommend
assigning a label to the disk, so you might use:
FORMAT FS=NTFS LABEL=VISTA_C QUICK
In most situations NTFS is the default file system, although for
documentation purposes I recommend using the "FS=NTFS" parameter in the
FORMAT command.
> ASSIGN
As a safety net I would instead use
ASSIGN LETTER=C
which for most situations would have the same effect. Explicitly demanding
the use of the letter "C" ensures that the system will use that letter for
the system disk. Conflicts typically arise when you are installing to a
disk that wasn't formatted when you booted the Microsoft DVD; rebooting the
DVD and repeating the DISKPART commands will usually fix this problem.
> EXIT
(exits DISKPART)
> EXIT
(exits the command prompt and returns to the partition selection dialog of
the setup program)
Press F5 to refresh the information on the partition list (the C-disk should
show a difference of 0.1 GB between total size and free space). Make sure
that the C-disk is selected and click NEXT to start the installation.
Joe Morris
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