Can't partition my 4tb HDD [Error 0x80042468]

[Miles Logan]

Hi everybody, i'd like to appologise if i violate any rule here, this is my first post on Tom's Hardware.

Before describing the issue, here's my configuration:
- ASUS Sabertooth X79 (BIOS 4701) with the newest drives
- 32GB Corsair XMS 1333mhz
- 2x GeForce GTX 780 Ti
- i7 4960x Extreme Edition
- EVGA Supernova P2 1200w
- 1x Western Digital Black 4TB HDD
- Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1 (i also tried installig the Windows 8.1 Pro x64, but got the same result)

Now to the issue ... since i assembled everything together, i've been trying to partition my HDD in two parts (one for the system and the other one for data), but everytime i format the computer i end up with only one partition with 2TB and the rest of the HDD remains unallocated ... and it doesn't matter what i do, i can't create a new partition with the unallocated space.

I've seen several posts on the internet and i tried everything ... i tried converting the HDD to GPT with diskpart, Intel Rapid Storage, etc., and couldn't do it ... with the Diskpart, it says it's been converted, but when i'm about to format, the result is the same as before.

I read that you need to boot through UEFI, but everytime i boot my computer, it never shows the option to boot through UEFI ... the icons for the HDD and Disc Drive never have that UEFI ribbon on top of their icons.

I disabled Secure Boot and still nothing ... no UEFI ribbon.

I'd like to know if anybody have a solution or at least point me in the right direction and tell me what the problem is.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Captain_WD]

Hey there Miles Logan and Welcome to Tom's Hardware Forum

Normally you would do this in Disk Management:
Delete all partitions, then right click on the "Disk #" box on the left side of the Disk Management Window > and select "Convert to GPT Disk". Then create the new partition using the Wizard.

It sound like this is what you did, but just be sure you deleted all existing partitions.

Normally when you install a brand new hard drive you will get a window opening that asks if you want to initialize the disk the first time you start Windows. It is here where you would normally choose to initialize it GPT. Did you get that?

Do you have a second drive (HDD or SSD) for your OS? (you did not list any)

Your MOBO is indeed UEFI so this shouldn't be the problem. Maybe you could try the other SATA ports? There are sometimes conflicts between the SATA controller and the drive itself.

There's a chance also that the drive is faulty. Do you have the opportunity to try it out in a different computer?

Keep me posted on how this is going,

Captain_WD.

 

[Miles Logan]

Hey there Miles Logan and Welcome to Tom's Hardware Forum

Normally you would do this in Disk Management:
Delete all partitions, then right click on the "Disk #" box on the left side of the Disk Management Window > and select "Convert to GPT Disk". Then create the new partition using the Wizard.

It sound like this is what you did, but just be sure you deleted all existing partitions.

Normally when you install a brand new hard drive you will get a window opening that asks if you want to initialize the disk the first time you start Windows. It is here where you would normally choose to initialize it GPT. Did you get that?

Do you have a second drive (HDD or SSD) for your OS? (you did not list any)

Your MOBO is indeed UEFI so this shouldn't be the problem. Maybe you could try the other SATA ports? There are sometimes conflicts between the SATA controller and the drive itself.

There's a chance also that the drive is faulty. Do you have the opportunity to try it out in a different computer?

Keep me posted on how this is going,

Captain_WD.

Thanks for the fast reply, Captain_WD.

You're right, i did try to do that on Disk Management but the option is never available to create a new partition and/or convert to GPT ... they are all gray.

I never got that message when i first booted the new rig ... i just booted up, inserted my Windows 7 DVD and installed the same way i always did.

About your question of multiple drives ... i want to use a single drive ... just the WD Black 4TB, that's why i bought a HDD with such a high capacity ... but i was thinking that having only one drive would be one of the factors i'm getting this error, so today i installed my old drive and i still couldn't get it to work.

I also tested the drive on my old machine, and it worked fine ... i can't use the entire capacity, but it's not faulty ... and i tried switching SATA ports on my new rig, but i got the same result as before.

One thing i noticed while reading several tutorials on the internet, is that it's very important to boot the DVD or USB with the UEFI ribbon on the BIOS screen ... here's an example of the ribbon i'm talking about (http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ASUS-EFI-01.jpg) ... no matter what i do, i can never get that UEFI tag showing on my HDD's icon ... and i'm almost 100% sure that's the reason i'm unable to convert my single drive to GPT, installl the Windows with two partitions. And as you already saw, my motherboard is UEFI, and is updated with the latest BIOS, so i'm not sure what else to do.

Is there a trick to make that UEFI tag show up on my HDD's icon??? If i can get that to show up and boot through my Windows through UEFI, i'm certain the problem will be solved.

Thanks again for the quick reply.

 

[Paul NZ]

The BIOS will have the UEFI option in it, which needs to be enabled. Its not an option to boot into.


This even tho its a 3 GB may explain why the rest is unallocated

 

[Miles Logan]

The BIOS will have the UEFI option in it, which needs to be enabled. Its not an option to boot into.


This even tho its a 3 GB may explain why the rest is unallocated

Thanks for the reply, Paul.

How do i enable the UEFI boot??? Like i said, i saw on various sites the UEFI ribbon on top of the HDD's icons, but mine never show.

Great article you linked, but it doesn't explain how to use the +2TB HDD as a primary drive ... the problem i'm having is the same the article describes at first (https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/idgau.storage/dimg/m_img_55213.jpg), but the problem is that the article never tells you how to solve this and use the +2TB drive as a primary and/or single drive ... and that's what i want, a single 4TB drive partitioned into two, one for the system and the other one for my data.

 

[Paul NZ]

Does this have a UEFI BIOS?? If it does, it should have a legacy/UEFI option

But if its on legacy, dont change it it may not boot

 

[Miles Logan]

Does this have a UEFI BIOS?? If it does, it should have a legacy/UEFI option

But if its on legacy, dont change it it may not boot

Yes it does have a UEFI BIOS ... Captain_WD also confirmed that for me on the first answer to my post.

I just can't find this option ... i looked around the BIOS (EZ Mode, it's great to browse through the options now, since you can use the mouse and the interface is way better than before), but i couldn't find something to change the boot option ... i messes around a few things that i thought it had something to do with it, but like you said, i couldn't boot anymore ... i kept getting this message that Windows was unable to boot, and it would direct me to the BIOS screen ... i restored the optimized default settings, and i was able to boot again, but still no UEFI boot.

 

[Paul NZ]

Look in the manual, UEFI mode will be in it somewhere. I would say its not on it now. Press F7 in the BIOS. There should an advanced menu

 

[Miles Logan]

Look in the manual, UEFI mode will be in it somewhere. I would say its not on it now. Press F7 in the BIOS. There should an advanced menu

Thanks again for the reply.

That was one of the first things i did when i encountered this issue ... the manual only states that the motherboard supports UEFI, and nothing more ... at the Advanced Menu, i found a lot of things that i couldn't understand ... i saw UEFI on several of them, and i enabled UEFI on everything there, but i got the error you said i would: i couldn't boot anymore, it would redirect me to the BIOS screen again.

I don't know if it helps, but the location of where i found these settings that i think it had something to do with UEFI, was at the Advanced Menu at something called CSM .. there was a few things about Legacy, UEFI, etc., so i enabled everything with UEFI on it ... and i couldn't boot anymore, it wuld direct me to the BIOS screen, and still with no UEFI tag on my HDD's icon.

 

[Paul NZ]

If you've installed something on this already, AHCI should be enabled for win 7 or 8 since they'll install generic sata drivers.

If its on IDE when you install Windows, you cant change it after. It'll crash.

From what Ive read UEFI and secureboot can be enabled in the BIOS before you install Win8 x64.

If its 32 bit both arent fully compatible with 32 bit. In 7 x64 AHCI and UEFI should be enabled

Some BIOs'es may also have legacy and UEFI mode. I think legacy is the normal format i: MBR format.. If the BIOS is on this when you do a clean install, (I dont think) the partition that setup createS, will be EFI.

If you change from legacy to UEFI after you install Windows (I dont think) it'll boot because it'll be looking for this GPT / EFI partition. Which isnt there

On the new build here anyway, my boot disk is bootmanager : / name of the SSD - Which is the Samsung Evo 250 GB SSD.

Do any of the bootdisks in your BIOS have bootmanager at the front of it?

CSM I think can be used for 32 bit. Since as above it isnt fully compatible with UEFI or secureboot (but I dont think 32 bit supports secureboot at all)

 

[Miles Logan]

If you've installed something on this already, AHCI should be enabled for win 7 or 8 since they'll install generic sata drivers.

If its on IDE when you install Windows, you cant change it after. It'll crash.

From what Ive read UEFI and secureboot can be enabled in the BIOS before you install Win8 x64.

If its 32 bit both arent fully compatible with 32 bit. In 7 x64 AHCI and UEFI should be enabled

Some BIOs'es may also have legacy and UEFI mode. I think legacy is the normal format i: MBR format.. If the BIOS is on this when you do a clean install, (I dont think) the partition that setup createS, will be EFI.

If you change from legacy to UEFI after you install Windows (I dont think) it'll boot because it'll be looking for this GPT / EFI partition. Which isnt there

On the new build here anyway, my boot disk is bootmanager : / name of the SSD - Which is the Samsung Evo 250 GB SSD.

Do any of the bootdisks in your BIOS have bootmanager at the front of it?

CSM I think can be used for 32 bit. Since as above it isnt fully compatible with UEFI or secureboot (but I dont think 32 bit supports secureboot at all)

Thanks again for super fast reply!!!

I'm a bit new to high-end PCs ... how do i check this AHCI and IDE things you mentioned??? Sorry about my ignorance

It's weird 'cause when i changed those things at the CSM tab, i changed to UEFI everything i saw, and it wouldn't boot ... i read that AHCI is the newest and it should be enabled, but how do i check that, and if it isn't enabled, how do i enable it???

The bootmanager you mentioned, i didn't see any of it on my icons ... to be honest, i wouldn't know what to look for ... how do i check if the boot disk (i only have one, the WD Black) has the bootmanager in front of it???

Sorry about all the questions, but as you can see, my knowledge is extremely limited.

 

[Paul NZ]

AHCI is used for SATA drives, IDE can be used but AHCI I think makes the hard drive/s faster

And AHCI enables the features of the hdd / SSD (ie: NCQ, hotswapping (this is swapping hdd's while the system is running for example).

IDE mode wont enable these features. If you tried to hotswap using IDE mode it'd probably kill the data on the hdd

It looks like the AHCI option maybe under advanced menu / sata configuration. I'm just reading the manual for your mobo

Not too sure if theres is an UEFI or where it is. Only UEFI thing I see is on the exit menu

 

[Miles Logan]

AHCI is used for SATA drives, IDE can be used but AHCI I think makes the hard drive/s faster

And AHCI enables the features of the hdd / SSD (ie: NCQ, hotswapping (this is swapping hdd's while the system is running for example).

IDE mode wont enable these features. If you tried to hotswap using IDE mode it'd probably kill the data on the hdd

It looks like the AHCI option maybe under advanced menu / sata configuration. I'm just reading the manual for your mobo

Not too sure if theres is an UEFI or where it is. Only UEFI thing I see is on the exit menu

Thanks again for the reply and for taking your time to explain those things for me.

Could the AHCI have something to do with the fact i'm not being able to UEFI boot my Windows 7 DVD??? Maybe it only UEFI boot if the AHCI is enabled, i don't know, i'm just guessing here.

The BIOS part of my mobo's manual is awful ... explains only the pure basic, you have to look for solutions and tips on the internet ... but there is an UEFI ... here's a video i found of someone with the same mobo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGG884JJ19k).

 

[Paul NZ]

UEFI should be by itself.

AHCI and UEFI are in different places on mine. But my mobo isnt the same as yours. I had to go though the BIOS for whatever option. The manual doesnt show a lot.

When this is enabled I'm pretty sure this is what creates the GPT partition on a hdd.

And this has to be enabled if the hdd you've got is over 2.2 TB. In your case it is. To create and support GPT partitions.

If this is disabled, (I would say)

1. It wont create the EFI partition in setup, and

2. You wont be able to format all of that hdd).

Since if you format a hdd normally, it's MBR, which only supports up to 2.2 TB

So in your case, you would lose nearly 2 GB of space. Thats what you're having probs with. MBR and GPT

What you posted in the first post

The icons for the HDD and Disc Drive never have that UEFI ribbon on top of their icons. <- this what ribbon?

On mine it doesnt say anything about UEFI either. The only thing that says EFI is in disk management.

The partition Win8 created. It doesn't say anything about EFI or UEFI on C in disk management. Not even a ribbon

If you look in disk management are one of the partitions an EFI partition?

 

[Miles Logan]

UEFI should be by itself.

AHCI and UEFI are in different places on mine. But my mobo isnt the same as yours. I had to go though the BIOS for whatever option. The manual doesnt show a lot.

When this is enabled I'm pretty sure this is what creates the GPT partition on a hdd.

And this has to be enabled if the hdd you've got is over 2.2 TB. In your case it is. To create and support GPT partitions.

If this is disabled, (I would say)

1. It wont create the EFI partition in setup, and

2. You wont be able to format all of that hdd).

Since if you format a hdd normally, it's MBR, which only supports up to 2.2 TB

So in your case, you would lose nearly 2 GB of space. Thats what you're having probs with. MBR and GPT

What you posted in the first post

The icons for the HDD and Disc Drive never have that UEFI ribbon on top of their icons. <- this what ribbon?

On mine it doesnt say anything about UEFI either. The only thing that says EFI is in disk management.

The partition Win8 created. It doesn't say anything about EFI or UEFI on C in disk management. Not even a ribbon

If you look in disk management are one of the partitions an EFI partition?

Thanks again for the reply, Paul.

The "ribbon" i mentioned is this one = http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ASUS-EFI-01.jpg ... the first two icons have some sort of blue ribbon or tag, with UEFI written on it ... mine doesn't show that, and the BIOS interface it's the exact same as the picture.

On the Disk Management, the partition with the system says MBR, and the other is the unallocated space. And i can't convert to GPT any of the partitions through Disk Management. And if i convert on diskpart, i can't install Windows on the drive because i'm unable to UEFI boot the Windows DVD/USB stick.

 

[Paul NZ]

Oh right I thought you meant the ribbon was in windows not the BIOS. Dont think mine has it either. Only thing on mine is the bootdisk / the SSD says bootmanager/name of SSD.

And the only way I know UEFI is enabled here is this EFI partition in disk management, and BIOS Mode in System Information says UEFI

Like this http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/29504-bios-mode-see-if-windows-boot-uefi-legacy-mode.html

If it doesnt show this or an EFI partition in disk management, UEFI is disabled in the BIOS

 

[Miles Logan]

Oh right I thought you meant the ribbon was in windows not the BIOS. Dont think mine has it either. Only thing on mine is the bootdisk / the SSD says bootmanager/name of SSD.

And the only way I know UEFI is enabled here is this EFI partition in disk management, and BIOS Mode in System Information says UEFI

Like this http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/29504-bios-mode-see-if-windows-boot-uefi-legacy-mode.html

If it doesnt show this or an EFI partition in disk management, UEFI is disabled in the BIOS

Thanks again for the reply.

Mine doesn't show absolutely anything regarding UEFI ... when i insert the disk or the DVD, it doesn't show anything related to UEFI in the boot menu ... i'm sure it's disabled, but the problem is that i don't know how to enable.

Tomorrow i'll look into the BIOS once more and try to find something regarding the AHCI we discussed and pray for a miracle ... i honestly don't know what else to do here, i'm out of options ... tried everything i could think of and found on the internet, and still no progress.

 

[Paul NZ]

UEFI isn't in the boot menu, It's not a bootable device. its an option in the BIOS.

It SHOULD be in the menu / advanced menu somewhere. If you can find legacy mode or similar UEFI mode will be somewhere near it

But if youre going to enable AHCI and UEFI, you'll have to reinstall windows after.

But if you can get the GPT format option now format it. If nothing is on it now. It MAY make it easier once you enable UEFI and AHCI in the BIOS

 

[Miles Logan]

UEFI isn't in the boot menu, It's not a bootable device. its an option in the BIOS.

It SHOULD be in the menu / advanced menu somewhere. If you can find legacy mode or similar UEFI mode will be somewhere near it

But if youre going to enable AHCI and UEFI, you'll have to reinstall windows after.

But if you can get the GPT format option now format it. If nothing is on it now. It MAY make it easier once you enable UEFI and AHCI in the BIOS

I already re-formated my PC at least five times ... lol ... a few more won't be a problem, if i can get this sorted out ... thanks again for all the replies ... i'll post the results as soon as i test everything we discussed.

 

[Paul NZ]

The boot menu on yours if you put a DVD in does it give you an UEFI : DVD option?

Read the last post http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/304426-30-sabertooth-install-windows

 

[Miles Logan]

Solved it.

The problem was that i wasn't using a FAT32 USB flash drive to boot ... i checked everything on the BIOS (AHCI, UEFI enabled, etc.) and it was all good to go ... after reading several tutorials, i came accross this link (http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds), which details every bit of information you need to install Windows 7 and/or Windows 8 ... and i saw the descripition on how to create a bootable USB device, and saw the FAT32 thing ... all my flash drives were NTFS, that's why i wasn't able to UEFI boot, and in order to UEFI boot, the flash drive MUST BE formated as FAT32.

As soon as i formated as FAT32, copied all the Windows files to it and tried to boot it, the UEFI ribbon showed up on one of the icons (sayins it's Windows Boot Manager, like you said Paul) ... and by booting through this drive with the UEFI ribbon on it, i was able to convert the HDD to GPT, install Windows 8.1 creating 2 partitions and using all 4TB of my HDD.

Now that this is solved, i'd like to thank Captain_WD and especially you, Paul, for taking your time to help me with this issue. God bless you!!!

 

[Paul NZ]

Excellent Miles...