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How do I install on a disk larger than 8GB?
John Savill
March 15, 2000
4 Min Read
A. The Microsoft supplied generic IDE driver (Atapi.sys) may not befully compatible with drives larger that 8 GB. This issue only affectsIDE-based drives 8 GB and larger however Service Pack 4 includes an updatedATAPI.SYS allowing access to disks greater than 8GB.
Windows 2000 will support (bootable) partitions larger than 8GB provided thebooting controllers BIOS supports EXT INT-13 BIOS calls.
The system board BIOS must support and recognize drives larger than 8 GBbefore Windows NT can access the entire drive. You can verify this ability byentering into the BIOS or contacting your system board manufacturer. To use theSP4 ATAPI.EXE under NT 4.0 perform the following:
Download the updated Atapi.sys from Microsoft's FTP server,ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-unsup-ed/fixes/nt40/atapi/ATAPI.EXEand copy the file to a blank floppy disk.
Run Atapi.exe on the diskette and the new Atapi.sys file will be extractedto the diskette. Label the disk "ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE Driver." orsomething along those lines
Boot from the three setup disks supplied with Windows NT Server as pernormal.
When asked if you would like setup to detect your mass storage devices,press S so that detection is skipped and you specify a mass storage device.
When setup list devices found, which should list none, press S again andinsert the Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE Driver disk and press ENTERtwice. After setup reads the disk and list the Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4IDE driver, press ENTER to accept the driver.
Setup will now list Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE Driver as aninstalled driver. If you have additional drivers for other mass storagedevices, press S, if not, press ENTER to continue through setup.
Setup should continue as per normal but it may prompt you to insert thedisk labeled "Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE Driver Support Disk"at the copy phase after you have chosen or formatted a partition on a harddrive.
If you are using Microsoft Small Business Server 4.0 or 4.0a, follow theseinstructions:
Download the updated ATAPI.SYS from Microsoft's FTP serverftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-unsup-ed/fixes/nt40/atapi/ATAPI.EXEand copy the file to a blank floppy disk.
Run Atapi.exe on the disk and the new Atapi.sys file will be extracted tothe disk. Label the diskette "ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE Driver."
Copy an updated file to Small Business Server (SBS) disk 2. To do this,rename the file Winnt.sif to Winnt.bak on disk 2. Then copy the Winnt.sif fromthe I386 folder on SBS CD 1 to SBS disk 2.
Boot from the modified SBS setup disks.
When the computer is booting off of disk 1 and the message "Setup isinspecting your hardware configuration..." is displayed, press F6 on thekeyboard. NOTE: This is at a black screen and no visible indicators occur whenyou press F6.
When prompted, insert the modified disk 2 into the computer. The nextscreen that appears will prompt you to specify a mass storage drivers. To dothat, press the S key and then arrow down to the listing of OTHER.
Insert the Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE Driver disk and press ENTERtwice.
After setup reads the disk and list the Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDEdriver, press ENTER to accept the driver.
Setup will now list "Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE Driver"as a installed driver. If you have any more drivers for other mass storagedevices, press S; if not, press ENTER to continue through setup. NOTE: Becausewe are using a modified version of Winnt.sif, you will be prompted to insertdisks 2 and 3 several times.
Make sure you format or convert the partition to NTFS as SBS requires it.
Setup should continue through normally but it will prompt you to insert thedisk labeled "Microsoft ATAPI Service Pack 4 IDE Driver Support Disk"at the copy phase after you have chosen or formatted a partition on a harddrive.
Running ATAPI.EXE creates the files below:
atapi.sys
Disk1
oemsetup.inf
readme.txt
txtsetup.oem
The NT 4.0 SP4 atapi.sys file is neither necessary nor supported for WindowsTerminal Server Edition. If you try to use it, you may get a message to theeffect that you don't have the necessary component installed. As long as youstick to the 2GB/8GB install limits, this extension is not necessary.
Apparently, Microsoft refuses to support booting NT from any partition biggerthan 8 GB for SCSI. The newer Adaptec 2940U2W cards are set up so that NT cannotbe booted if the partition is larger than 8 GB, but unfortunately the olderAdaptec cards still allow this largely undocumented "mistake" tooccur.
Do not use Partition Magic prior to version 3.03 on a big disk; it doesn'tunderstand the new INT 13 extensions and it can destroy your hard drive.
NOTE: I've been informed that with the "ASUS P3B"Motherboard-series you can't use this solution, it simply won't boot with IDEfrom that motherboard-series.
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