Setup was unable to format the partition. the disk may be damaged.

[gonf]

Dear all

I have just got a new amd system yesterday and try to install windows with it.
when i try installing windows xp32 or 64 i'll get a msg

> setup was unable to format the partition. the disk may be damaged.
>
> make sure the drive is switched on and properly connected
> to your computer. if the disk is a scsi disk, make sure your scsi
> devices are properly terminated. consult your computer manual or
> scsi adapter documentation for more information
>
> you must select a different partition for windows xp.
> to continue, press enter.

after the " - format the partition using the ntfs file system (quick)" screen
i've try both quick and slow format and both will run to 100 % then it just jump to the
> setup was unable....
screen.

and i'll get a different msg when i try to install vista 32 black or vista 64.

> install windows
> windows setup could not reinitialize the deployment engine. to install windows,
> restart the installation.

after the

>where do you want to install windows?
>disk 0 partition 1

screen

i have 3 sata drive and 1 ide drive. i have try to install windows on each of them but end up with the same msg.
i have also trying to install the xp with only 1x 2gb ram but end up with same msg too.
i have try with another windows install cd/dvd to install the system but end up with the same msg.
i have try to change the ide cable or even the sata cable but didn't help.
i have try formatting all drive from the xp cd or vista cd from delete and create new partition and end up with same msg
i did when to bios and make sure i'm not on Raid mode.


here are my computer setting.

mobo - Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H Socket AM3 AMD 785G
cpu - AMD Phenom II X3 705e (65W) Triple-Core Socket AM3
ram - 2 x 2gb adata 1066 ddr2
cpu cooling - AVC ESP Cooler
hdd - 1 x 1tb sata, 1 x 250gb sata, 1 x 320 gb sata, and 1 x 40gb ide
psu - 550 W

thank you all for reading this and trying to help.

Josh

 

[blackhawk1928]

Well...first off your disk may very well be damaged. Its a possibility. What I would do is I would take out your drive, connect it as a slave drive to a different computer and format it there aswell as do a Check Disk. For reason your bootable CD OS is not doing well with it so lets first try to make another computer do the work for it. Connect it to the other PC, right click and select format and do a (FULL) format. Then do a check disk and then try to connect it back to your old PC and install OS. If this doesn't work then this leaves that either your CD is bad or your hard drive is bad

 

[gonf]

i try installing xp/vista with all 4 hdd. and try formatting it with both xp disk and vista disk. i try to install it with a 2nd set of xp/vista disk. but same msg still show up. "i use the xp disk to install my last computer about a few month ago and it still works"

the 250gb, 320gb stat and 40gb ide drive were old drive that i was useing before "they worked before i get the new computer" and the 1tb sata was a new hdd that i just got from the place.

thank for giving me more idea.

Josh

 

[gonf]

Thank you for all the help and i have just find out what was the wrong with the computer. It was the motherboard. after changing the motherboard every thing just start working and vista 32 black install like it always would.

Thanks for all the help every one. and hope if anyone that have the same problem now have another way of fixing it

Thank you all once more

Josh

 

[easyrotor]

I had this same problem when setting up my new Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P Rev 1.6. and a Western Digital 750GB SATA R3. After testing all gear and memory only to find it all good, this is what worked for me:

I took the drive and attached it to a working system and used the Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Computer Management/Storage/Disk Management tool that come with XP pro to delete the partition that XP setup made. Next I created a new partition with the tool. This all went easily with no errors.

After re-installing the drive in the new system, XP setup said it could not identify the partition the othe system had created. I deleted the partitiion and created a new partition, quick formatted it and this time it worked with no problem.

I don't know why this worked but the system is stable and working perfectly.

 

[runswindows95]

http://sourceforge.net/projects/gparted/files/gparted-live-stable/0.4.6-1/gparted-live-0.4.6-1.iso/download

I use Gparted myself to format and partition drives. It is way quicker than Windows. I partitioned and formatted a 1TB drive in less then 10 minutes. Plus, it's a live CD that you can use anywhere.

 

[easyrotor]

Thank you runswindows95. I downloaded a copy of Gparted and I guess it would have saved me a few hours of work had I had it to begin with.

As our English friends say: It works a treat.

Thanks again.

 

[Guest]

I was having the exact same problem. I was able to install Win98se with no problem but any time that I attempted to install Win2k or XP it would not install. I had fdisk'd it reformatted it and after about 8 hrs of messing with it , I changed my video card, no further problems. I was using a SIS 128 mb graphics card, changed to a Nvidia 32mb installed XP then changed the card. Works fine.

 

[modhaffer]

I use HP Pavillion dv6000 laptop. When I tried to format the system partition during Windows XP 32-bit new installation, the screen "setup was unable to format the disk .... make sure...." kept appearing. Whenever I quit the setup and restarted the system, another trouble message said "Error to load system".

The solution was easy and easy enough. I applied some perfume spray containing alcohol on a soft-paper tissue (bath tissue) and rubbed the installation CD. When I tried to perform system partition formatting, it started easily, (much to my surprise).

If you face the same problem, first examine if your installation CD is damaged or in need of cleaning, especially if it was in your cupboard for a long time. Next , try to get a new(newly purchased) installation CD or try formatting your HDD in another computer. Do not risk thinking that it is the motherboard. It is too dangerous and it will cost you a fortune.


HP notebooks are a common source of trouble. When making a new installation, one has to download many drivers from HP.com. It is really bad experience for me. Next time I will not buy any HP notebook. No more headache!

 

[shahu_guddu15585]

I had this same problem when setting up my new Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P Rev 1.6. and a Western Digital 750GB SATA R3. After testing all gear and memory only to find it all good, this is what worked for me:

I took the drive and attached it to a working system and used the Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Computer Management/Storage/Disk Management tool that come with XP pro to delete the partition that XP setup made. Next I created a new partition with the tool. This all went easily with no errors.

After re-installing the drive in the new system, XP setup said it could not identify the partition the othe system had created. I deleted the partitiion and created a new partition, quick formatted it and this time it worked with no problem.

I don't know why this worked but the system is stable and working perfectly.

Thanks Easyroter
What a fantastic & simple logic that just formate to drive with other working System & NJOY


Reards
Shahu
9867239488
FMS ENGINEER

 

[paresh0802]

Dear all

I have just got a new amd system yesterday and try to install windows with it.
when i try installing windows xp32 or 64 i'll get a msg

> setup was unable to format the partition. the disk may be damaged.
>
> make sure the drive is switched on and properly connected
> to your computer. if the disk is a scsi disk, make sure your scsi
> devices are properly terminated. consult your computer manual or
> scsi adapter documentation for more information
>
> you must select a different partition for windows xp.
> to continue, press enter.

after the " - format the partition using the ntfs file system (quick)" screen
i've try both quick and slow format and both will run to 100 % then it just jump to the
> setup was unable....
screen.

and i'll get a different msg when i try to install vista 32 black or vista 64.

> install windows
> windows setup could not reinitialize the deployment engine. to install windows,
> restart the installation.

after the

>where do you want to install windows?
>disk 0 partition 1

screen

i have 3 sata drive and 1 ide drive. i have try to install windows on each of them but end up with the same msg.
i have also trying to install the xp with only 1x 2gb ram but end up with same msg too.
i have try with another windows install cd/dvd to install the system but end up with the same msg.
i have try to change the ide cable or even the sata cable but didn't help.
i have try formatting all drive from the xp cd or vista cd from delete and create new partition and end up with same msg
i did when to bios and make sure i'm not on Raid mode.


here are my computer setting.

mobo - Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H Socket AM3 AMD 785G
cpu - AMD Phenom II X3 705e (65W) Triple-Core Socket AM3
ram - 2 x 2gb adata 1066 ddr2
cpu cooling - AVC ESP Cooler
hdd - 1 x 1tb sata, 1 x 250gb sata, 1 x 320 gb sata, and 1 x 40gb ide
psu - 550 W

thank you all for reading this and trying to help.

Josh

 

[TheJokingTeen]

A quicker option (i think).

(DISCLAIMER: Although the chance of corrupting your pc by force shutting down are VERY VERY low (as in that a lot of people just do it everyday and not even know it's dangerous, which, with such a low chance, is completely understandable (i'm talking less than 0,01%), also becouse windows' disk repair is pretty good if something were to happen). It's not officially recommended you use this option, if you want to make sure nothing goes wrong, make a backup.)

At the start-up screen, when you see the windows 10 circle and/or your manufacturer's motherboard logo
(for me when i saw the HP logo), force your computer off by pressing the power on/off button and holding it about 5 seconds or until the screen goes black. Repeat this step until you see the logo, but with a message something like: "Scanning and repairing disk, this might take over 1 hour", without a buffering circle.

This means you triggered the disk repair utility on windows, which activates when your computer (thinks it) fails to boot.
It does this becouse windows is a overprotective mom, that doesn't want her child to wear a pullover, becouse she thinks she'll get stuck on a spike, and keep running until she chockes to death. But this can be taken advantage of, like in this case.