Microsoft KB Archive/142914

= Error Reading Magneto Optical Drives in Windows NT =

Article ID: 142914

Article Last Modified on 11/1/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.5
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51

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This article was previously published under Q142914





SYMPTOMS
When you attempt to access a magneto optical drive in Windows NT, the following error message appears:

The drive cannot find the sector required.

The drive is recognized during the boot sequence; however, Windows NT is not able to determine the file structure of the media when accessing the drive.



CAUSE
This problem occurs if the magneto optical drive has been formatted using the Adaptec EZ-SCSI or CorelSCSI format utilities in DOS.



WORKAROUND
To work around this problem, do one of the following:


 * Install the magneto optical drive on another computer running Windows 95 or Windows for Workgroups 3.11. Then create a network share for the drive. In Windows NT, connect to the network share and access the drive.

-or-
 * Back up the contents of magneto optical drive and format the drive using Windows NT Disk Administrator. Restore the drive.



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT versions 3.5 and 3.51. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.



MORE INFORMATION
In Windows NT, removable drives are recommended to use one partition. This means that sector zero on the drive must be a Master Boot Record (MBR). In DOS, removable drives can be formatted this way or as a floppy drive (this means that sector zero contains a BIOS Parameter Block for the file system). The Adaptec EZ-SCSI and CorelSCSCI utilities format the removable drives as floppies. Windows NT currently does not support this format.

Additional query words: prodnt fat ntfs

Keywords: KB142914

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