Why is Format greyed out in WinXP 'Manage' ?

[Maguch]

I'm using WinXP, Why is Format and Delete Partition greyed out in Manage>Disk Management? I want to reformat a second physical data only SATA drive. Is it because it's a SATA drive vs IDE drive? I understand there are many formatting tools out there, in fact I have Acronis Disk Director suite 10 and it can't even see the drive.

 

[linney]

Is the drive you wish to format, the same one that is running the loaded version of Windows or any files that are in use by Windows?

[SOLVED] Hard Drive Format Greyed Out

http://www.techsupportforum.com/mic...8430-solved-hard-drive-format-greyed-out.html

See if there other posts on Google which help you?

http://www.google.com/search?q=format+disk+management+grey+OR+dimmed+xp&rls=com.microsoft:

 

[BadBigBen]

I have Acronis Disk Director suite 10 and it can't even see the drive.

is the drive seen in the BIOS setup, but also could be due to missing SATA support on Acronis?

run diagnostic tools on that drive, they can be found at the respective manufacturers website...



Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[Maguch]

Here's some amplifying info: the mobd is Intel DG965WH and the only options in the BIOS (just flashed it Sat afternoon)are IDE, RAID & AHCI- which I understand is only for Vista (?). The drive I'm trying to format w/XP has no OpSyst on it, only b/u data. Since the only option to use on my HD is RAID (I'm loosing my love for my Intel mobd)I wonder if it infact sees parts of an OPsystem in what amounts to the array. I am NOT intending to use RAID.

 

[tlcscousin]

When looking in Disk Management does the drive show with a drive letter assigned?
If the drive shows in Disk Management when you right click the listed drive what options are available?

 

[Maguch]

BigBadBen- sorry but I was a little unclear (or incomplete?)- Actually Acronis will see 1 of the 2 physical drives- it can see the one with C: and D: It does not see the E: drive. I *think* this may be due to the fact that when I formatted the E drive I had to find another way- I ended up using 'The Ultimate Boot Disk for Windows' and maybe Acronis can't read it? I really want to understand why Disk Management in XP won't let me format.

 

[linney]

Have a look at the end of these threads, see the various Bios settings which may be available to you.

Installing WinXP Pro with SP2 on a SATA HD
thread779-1352505: Installing WinXP Pro with SP2 on a SATA HD

Error Message:Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in you
thread779-972802: Error Message:Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in you

Cannot install Windows XP - Please Help
thread779-1363689: Cannot install Windows XP - Please Help

 

[Freestone]

Did you try Acronis in Safe Mode?

I suspect that the disk signature or partition type is not one XP recognizes. Command-line utility diskpart may reveal something.

Start, Run..., diskpart
select disk 1
detail disk
list partition
select partition 1
detail partition

The above should select the second physical drive in your system and assumes only one partition on this drive. The detail disk and detail partition should reveal something that isn't shown in Disk Management.

 

[BadBigBen]

In the BIOS make sure that the following settings are set:

[b]Advanced > Drive Configuration Menu
[u]BIOS Setting                            Options[/u][/b]

Configure SATA as…                    IDE

Extended IDE Drive                      AUTO

Intel® RAID Technology                  DISABLED

Legacy IDE Channels                     SATA P0/P1, PATA Pri 

Onboard Chip SATA                       IDE Controller

SATA AHCI Mode                          DISABLED

[b]Advanced > Peripheral Configuration Menu
[u]BIOS Setting                            Options[/u][/b]
[COLOR=red]if these are not available (missing) do not worry about it...[/color]

Secondary SATA Controller Mode          IDE

Secondary SATA Controller               ENABLED

also you may have to activate the drive in the Drive Manager, and create a partition before you can FORMAT it...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[Maguch]

I'm not clear on why I would change my config to IDE mode when that interface works between 2.1MB/Sec and 8.3MB/sec and SATA works up to 133MB/sec. Maybe I'm missing something. I did even try IDE & it didn't see the HDs. After reading chap 4 in:

http://downloadmirror.intel.com/17059/eng/readme.txt,

I'm beginning to think I should have loaded my op-system with the drive in AHCI mode. The drive was set to RAID by default when I built it, I used F6 and put in my floppy when I loaded XP. I dont really understand AHCI mode- I guess it uses another controller? Can I switch from RAID to AHCI w/o re-installing my op-system? Could the fact that my disks are in RAID mode vs AHCI be preventing me from seeing 'Format' or 'Mark Partition as Active' or 'Delete Partition' while in Manage?

 

[linney]

Have a look at "Badbigben's" last couple of posts in the linked thread, see if that is of help.

XP wont install
thread779-1510030

 

[BadBigBen]

I'm not clear on why I would change my config to IDE mode when that interface works between 2.1MB/Sec and 8.3MB/sec and SATA works up to 133MB/sec.

Ok, for clarity, when SATA controllers are in IDE mode, there is no speed difference, the only things that are not available are the NCQ (Native Command Queuing) and RAID functionality...

Now, since your system was installed in the RAID mode, this could be the reason why the HDD is not behaving as it should...

Can I switch from RAID to AHCI w/o re-installing my op-system?

Possible, but not quaranteed to work, as both are different drivers for the hardware...

This talks about activating AHCI mode after having installed XP through IDE compatibility, but should also work for RAID install...

HOWTO: enable AHCI mode after installing Windows

http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?t=444831

I did even try IDE & it didn't see the HDs.

The BIOS change is NOT instantaneous, you have to SAVE&EXIT first, then go back into the BIOS to see if the change functioned... Windows XP should load with either the settings in IDE mode, or the original setting you used (RAID)...

my thoughts, on this, is to move to IDE setting, that way adding single drives should pose no problems... AHCI may be the way to go, but this would involve either REGISTRY hacking or INF file tweaking, or a REPAIR INSTALL with the correct AHCI driver (doing a REPAIR install will keep all user data, the OS system files and drivers are reset, which means you'd need to reinstall all HOTFIXES & UPDATES after the SP level of the install media)...


Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."