New PC build - Windows 8.1 won't recognize NTFS Hard Drive

[dexterity83]

Hardware in question:

Primary HDD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda ST31000528AS (7200RPM)
Secondary HDD: 3TB Western Digital WD Green WD30EZRX


I've been spending the last month attempting to build my first gaming PC. I'm finally at a place where the PC turns on and wants me to install Windows. So I've decided to take the secondary hard drive from my old PC (3TB) and make it my primary (and only) hard drive in my new PC, which I was told by many many PC enthusiasts that I would be able to do no problem.

The problem is: Windows 8.1 says the hard drive is not compatible, and must be formatted to NTFS. So I re-hooked the hard drive up to my old PC and attempted to convert it. But it turns out it's already formatted to NTFS! So if it's already properly formatted, why does Windows 8.1 say it's not the correct format? Do I need to erase everything on the hard drive and start from scratch? Because that is exactly what I was hoping to avoid!

One thing I noticed is that there is in fact a partition: one is 2TB, and the other is 740-or-so GB. But I don't know how to check if the partitions are formatted differently, if say the 2TB portion is NTFS and that's what I'm seeing, and maybe the rest of it is a different format. If there's a way to find out, please help me.


An alternative to all this would be to use the primary hard drive of my old PC (1TB) and simply UPGRADE to Windows 8.1. But to do that, it wants me to restore that hard drive to "Factory Defaults", which means I lose everything on it. But since the secondary hard drive works off the primary, what will happen to it if I restore the primary to factory defaults and then install Windows 8.1 onto it? Will the 3TB hard drive no longer be compatible with it? Will I have a 3TB hard drive loaded with files than I can no longer access?

I'd appreciate any help with this.

Also, if anyone thinks an EXTERNAL hard drive is a good idea for a situation like this, I'd appreciate if someone could recommend a good 4 or 5TB one.

Thanks!

 

[andy_Man]

A windows fresh install deletes everything from the partition you use. You don't want to use a partition that has data on it.(You will lose it) I say partition because you can partition off a section(of free space) off your 3TB drive and install windows on that partition.

You don't need to pre-format the empty space to ntfs, windows install will do it for you. I personally used g-parted (It's a linux boot tool), with gparted you can create partitions. In your case I would section off like 200GB of the 3TB drive, this would give me an empty 200GB partition to install windows on. Then I have about 200GB for programs, and you use the rest of the drive for media.

 

[gilbadon]

Format it within the new computer. Insert it, press the windows key, then search for "create partition" or "format hard disk".

Open up the windows hard disk partition wizard and re partition the hard drive.

This may not work and sorry if it does not, but this is the process I go through to install a brand new drive. I am not sure if it works with an already used drive.

 

[dexterity83]

Can I press the Windows key before it takes me to the "Install Windows 8.1" screen?

Also, if I were to completely format (erase) my secondary hard drive and then put it in the new PC, would it recognize it as a brand new hard drive?

 

[gilbadon]

Oh sorry I am confused. Lets clear a few things up.

What I thought you said:

You have windows 8.1 installed onto new computer 1TB drive.

You are migrating old hard drive from other computer 3TB.

Old hard drove from other computer is not being detected.

 

[dexterity83]

No. Just want the 3TB hard drive as the primary and only hard drive for this new PC. Trying to install Windows 8.1 on it but it says it's not compatible even though it should be (NTFS).

Everything important on it is backed up, so if I have to erase everything to do a clean install, I'm willing. But I don't want to erase everything if Windows is still going to say it's not compatible, because that'd be such a waste.

 

[gilbadon]

Windows should be able to format it for you. When you go through the install process, go through the advanced process and format the drive within windows installation.

 

[dexterity83]

It won't let me. The option is greyed out.

 

[gilbadon]

It may be legacy hardware. In bios, do you have legacy+UEFI turned on or just UEFI?

 

[dexterity83]

Windows should be able to format it for you. When you go through the install process, go through the advanced process and format the drive within windows installation.

I created a 200GB partition using my old PC, but when I put the hard drive back in my new PC, the partition wasn't there, and it was incompatible once again.

 

[dexterity83]

gilbadon said:
It may be legacy hardware. In bios, do you have legacy+UEFI turned on or just UEFI?

No legacy. Just UEFI.

 

[gilbadon]

Turn on legacy. You will need to make sure windows 8 mode is turned off in order for this to work. The drive is legacy hardware and will not be recognized while bios is in that setting.