Solved 3TB GPT disk NTFS-UEFI Partitions are not in the recommended order

[mammothdrake]

I'm trying to install Windows 7 Home Premium on a UEFI system with a 3TB HDD and I am unable to get the partitions to format properly so I do not get an error in Windows preinstall environment saying the partitions are not in the recommended order. This is the third time I've scrapped the install and wiped the disk after I had everything incl all drivers and updates loaded and testing the system. Upon startup I noticed on the windows start up screen a steady white cursor in upper left of screen (DOS looking but not flashing) and it seemed to hang on that screen awhile so I knew something was not quite right and thought it had something with choosing to ignore the out of recommended order partition message I got in WinPE.

I'm using diskpart, starting with a clean disk, when I "convert gpt" it automatically creates a 128MB MSR partition (I believe this is the "protective MBR" for gpt disks but again when I'm in the windows preinstall environment it will say the partitions are not in the recommended order. Do I just ignore this message and continue to install the OS on the primary partition? Is this protective MBR causing the the steady white (DOS looking) cursor on the windows startup page?


Here are my commands in diskpart
C:\> Diskpart DISKPART> list disk DISKPART> select disk 0 DISKPART> clean DISKPART> convert gpt DISKPART> create partition efi size=100 DISKPART> assign letter=s DISKPART>format quick fs=FAT32 DISKPART>create partition msr size=128 DISKPART> create partition primary DISKPART>assign letter=c DISKPART> select part 1 DISKPART> format fs=ntfs label="System" DISKPART> list volume

Here is what I'm getting in Diskpart

Partition ### Type Size Offset
Partition 1 Reserved 128 MB 17KB
Partition 2 System 200MB 129 MB
Partition 2 Reserved 128MB 329 MB
Partition 4 Primary 2794GB 457 MB

Help me Obi Wan......

• System Manufacturer/Model Numbercustom buildOSWindows 7 Home Premium 64bitCPUi7-2600k, 3.40 GHzMotherboardAsus P8P67 B3 RevisionMemoryCorsair XMS3 DDR3 16GBGraphics Card(s)NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX570 1.2GB GDDR5Sound CardInternal RealtekMonitor(s) DisplaysHDMI 22" LCD + hp 50" PLASMA TVHard DrivesSeagate Barracuda XT 3TB SATA ST330005N1A1AS-RK
  LG SUPER MULTI BLUE INTERNAL BD-ROM/DVD REWRITERPSUCOOLER MASTER GX 650WCaseRAIDMAX BLACKSTORM

 

[Golden]

Hi,

Was the disk already partitoned before you attempted to create the GPT? GPT disk can only be created on RAW (unpartitioned) disks.

Using GPT Drives

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Golden

 

[mammothdrake]

yes, it is a brand-new HDD.... it was however formatted once to Mac file format but then wiped to zero using Seatools. I then followed the diskpart commands as i posted above and the protective msr appeared.

After you format and/or partition a HDD, can you effectively turn it back to factory RAW again or do you only get one shot to make a proper gpt?

Thank you for your insight...

 

[Golden]

Hi,

Try this :

1. In DISKPART, select the disk.
2. Type create primary partition

After it finishes, type

list volume

That disk should now show as RAW.

This link might also be useful:

HOW TO: Use the Diskpart.efi Utility to Create a GUID Partition Table Partition on a Raw Disk in Windows

Regards,
Golden

 

[mammothdrake]

bummer! I followed your advise and first cleaned the disk then I create partition primary and list volume. which did show the volume in focus and it was RAW however then I tried to "convert gpt" and I got a Virtual Disk Service Error: "The specified disk is not convertible. CDROMs and DVDs are examples of disks that are not convertable"

I guess is back to clean and square one...

Oh, I also followed that link and none of the commands worked with that either because I must "Convert GPT" first, then that automatically creates that protective msr as partition 1 before I can create the efi partition which then becomes partition 2 and as you know the efi partition should be part 1, then msr, then primary...

Do you think that this hdd is destined for my DVR and I have to go buy another new 3TB HDD? Hopefully not and I can figure out how to make this one work..

 

[theog]

Try Cleaning the HD Drive, using the CLEAN command (no need to use CLEAN ALL) in Step One in this tutorial:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/91339-ssd-hdd-optimize-windows-reinstallation.html
Do not partition or format.
than Reboot PC & Follow this tutorial to install Windows.
How to install Windows 64 bit on a uEFI BIOS:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...e-firmware-interface-install-windows-7-a.html

For uEFT BIOS setup:
ASUS Sabertooth P67 Motherboard EFI BIOS - YouTube

 

[mammothdrake]

Thank you very much to "theog" and "golden".... Both of you were of great help and allowed me to push through the rest of my troubleshooting/learning process..

What finally did it for me was to just let go of the idea that I had to format and partition the drive before install (keep in mind, that I was connecting to the HDD that is mounted in the new rig via an eSata to Sata cable from my laptop and powered by a separate power-source that came with a USB to IDE/SATA adapter). After doing a clean in diskpart, I just connected the HDD to the MB via 6GB/s SATA Cable and Power to PSU, popped in the Windows7 install disk, set my BIOS to boot to the UEFI disk drive and let Windows preinstallation environment take me to the "Where do you want to install windows screen". I clicked on "Disk 0 Unallocated Drive" then the "Next Button" and off it went... After install completed and it restarted I opened the cmd prompt and ran diskpart to check... "list disk", "select disk 0" then "list partition" and everything was there just as it should be... what a relief..

I had scoured all the forums and Windows Tech Forum too, but just could not find that much information out there on the subject, it was all Windows XP and Server 2008 stuff which is where I got the idea that I had to format and partition before running installation. I hope this helps others out there running into the same problem I was...

One other thing that I did before this last install attempt (because I tried it two other times with no success and needed to be sure there was no other hiccups) was I cleared the CMOS on the MB and I removed all the RAM as well for 5 mins just to be sure I was getting a fresh start on the install, it was just like I took it out of the box that first time... If I only knew then what I know now!

Thank you both again for your quick responses and your suggestions.... very much appreciated.

Best Regards,
Mammoth Drake

 

[theog]

Well done, you are welcome.

 

[Golden]

Great news. Glad to hear its sorted