Microsoft KB Archive/932601

= The Recovery Console may not show the existing Windows installation after you run the Winnt32.exe process to set up Windows Server 2003 on a 64-bit Itanium-based computer =

Article ID: 932601

Article Last Modified on 3/15/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition for Itanium-Based Systems

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SYMPTOMS
When you run the Winnt32.exe process to set up Microsoft Windows Server 2003 on a 64-bit Itanium-based computer, the Recovery Console may not show the existing Windows installation. The primary hard disk may be represented by question marks (??) instead of by a drive letter (C).

Note This problem occurs when you run the Winnt32.exe process from a network drive or from a hard disk drive.



CAUSE
This problem may occur because the GPT_BASIC_DATA_ATTRIBUTE_NO_DRIVE_LETTER attribute is set to 0x8000000000000000 in the 64-bit attribution that is contained in the GUID partition table (GPT).



RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, remove the nodefaultdriveletter attribute from the affected volume. To do this, use one of the following methods, as appropriate for your situation.

Method 1: For an existing Windows installation
If Windows is already installed, follow these steps:
 * 1) Start the computer by using the Windows Server 2003 SP1 Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) for Itanium-based systems installation disc.
 * 2) At a command prompt, type diskpart, and then press ENTER.
 * 3) Type select volume , and then press ENTER to select the particular volume that you want to modify. For example, type select volume 3.
 * 4) Type attributes volume clear nodefaultdriveletter, and then press ENTER.
 * 5) Type exit, and then press ENTER to exit the diskpart tool.

Method 2: For a new Windows installation
If you are performing a clean installation of Windows, you can remove the attribute when you configure the volume. To do this, follow these steps.

Important These steps remove all the data from the volume that you select.  Start the computer by using the Windows Server 2003 SP1 Windows PE for Itanium-based systems installation disc. Type the following commands at the command prompt to initialize the hard disk. Press ENTER after each command.

Note These commands initialize the hard disk according to the instructions in the OEM Pre-installation Kit (OPK).

diskpart.exe

select disk 0

clean

convert GPT

create partition EFI size=512

assign letter z

create partition MSR size=128

create partition primary size=20000

assign letter c

exit

 Follow the steps in the &quot;Method 1: For an existing Windows installation&quot; section to remove the nodefaultdriveletter attribute from the volume. Format the Extended Firmware Interface (EFI) and the main partition. To do this, type the following commands at the command prompt. Press ENTER after each command.

format z: /fs:FAT32 /q

format c: /fs:NTFS /q

 Start the installation process from the operating system image on drive D. To do this, type the following command at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.

winnt32.exe /tempdrive:c

 Exit Windows PE.</li> Restart the computer, and then continue the installation process.</li> When you are prompted to select the drive for the OS, select drive C (the drive that you formatted in step 4).</li> Restart the computer after the operating system is installed.</li> Start the computer by using the Windows Server 2003 SP1 Windows PE for Itanium-based systems installation disc, and then start Recovery Console.</li></ol>

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Steps to reproduce this problem
<ol> Start Windows Server 2003 by using Windows PE.</li> Type the following commands at the command prompt. Press ENTER after each command.

diskpart.exe

select disk 0

clean

convert GPT

create partition EFI size=512

assign letter z

create partition MSR size=128

create partition primary size=20000

assign letter c

exit

</li> Format the EFI and the main partition. To do this, type the following commands at the command prompt. Press ENTER after each command.

format z: /fs:FAT32 /q

format c: /fs:NTFS /q

</li> Run Winnt32.exe Setup. To do this, type the following command at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.



</li></ol>

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