Microsoft KB Archive/309534

= Error Message When You Try to Install Windows Me: Scandisk Encountered a Data Error While Reading the FAT Entry for Cluster  =

Article ID: 309534

Article Last Modified on 1/31/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
 * Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
 * Microsoft Windows 98 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q309534



SYMPTOMS
When you attempt to install Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) to a newly formatted hard disk on your computer, you may receive the following error message:

Error: Scandisk encountered a data error while reading the FAT entry for cluster. This error prevents scandisk from fixing this drive.



CAUSE
This behavior can occur if a file allocation table (FAT) entry is located on a bad cluster on the hard disk.



RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, use either of the following methods.

Method 1: Use Scandisk
 Start the computer by using a bootable disk that also contains the program Scandisk.exe. At the MS-DOS prompt, type the following command

scandisk /surface

and then press ENTER.

This corrects the cluster error on the hard disk. When Scandisk is complete, proceed with the installation of Windows Me.

Method 2: Reformat the Hard Disk
 Start the computer by using a bootable disk that also contains the program Format.com. At the MS-DOS prompt, type the following command

format : /c

where drive is the letter assigned to the hard disk, and then press ENTER.

This re-creates the file allocation table (FAT) while skipping the bad clusters on the hard disk.</li></ol>

Keywords: kberrmsg kbprb kbsetup KB309534

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