2

I bought a brand new machine and I wanted to install Windows 8.1 on a single 4TB HDD. I want to partition the drive using the following layout:

  1. Drive 0 Partition 1: System Reserved - whatever the default size is, 350MB
  2. Drive 0 Partition 2: for Windows - 240GB
  3. Drive 0 Partition 3: for storage - 4TB minus 350MB minus 240GB

I cannot accomplish this. First of all, Windows Setup has split my HDD into two "Unallocated Spaces". Secondly, even if I go with this (which is not what I want nor find acceptable), it cannot format the second "Unallocated Space (1678GB)" and it shows the error

We couldn't create a new partition [Error: 0x80042468].

Then I tried taking the advice playing with DISKPART, but I got lost with MBRs and GPTs and UEFI, and I just CAN'T make my "Unallocated Spaces" become one unallocated space. Right now, I am stuck with:

  1. Drive 0 Partition 1: System Reserved - 350MB
  2. Drive 0 Partition 2: Primary - 234.8GB
  3. Drive 0 Unallocated Space - 1812.9GB
  4. Drive 0 Unallocated Space - 1678GB <- this one is not even possible to format

So, could anyone please help me start from scratch and explain the steps to accomplish what I intended in the first place? Thank you!

Boris
  • 234

1 Answers1

1

@Bill, you're right. The problem was related to the fact that when I prepared my USB drive for Windows installation, I didn't make the UEFI compatible partition. I couldn't do it even if I wanted to, because I used Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool which doesn't support this. So now, I used Rufus instead, changed the UEFI/BIOS settings so that it boots from UEFI partition and the installation was a breeze. Installer made those partitions it needed, like system reserved and recovery, I set the size of what will later become a C: drive and was able to use the rest for my second partition. Thanks man, you led the way!

Boris
  • 234