Setup was unable to format the partition. The disk may be damaged

sof2er · 05-21-2009, 04:22 AM

Hello, I recently bought a new PC (custom built off the site) and I'm having troubles already. (Since I still have warranty I'm not allowed to open the case)

The specs are as following:

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (2x 3.00GHz) 1333, 6mb
Power Supply - 450w PowerCool 80+
Motherboard Asus P5QL - P43 Chipset
Memory - 4gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800mhz CL5.0 (2x2gb)
Hard Drive 1 - 160gb SATA2 Hard Drive (WD 16000AAAJS)
20x Dual Layer DVDRW Drive (Lightscribe)
Graphics - 512mb Nvidia GeForce 9800GTX+

When I got the PC first thing I did was try to install Windows XP and when it gets to the formatting area I chose NFTS Quick and it gave the following error

"Setup was unable to format the partition. The disk may be damaged.

Make sure the drive is switched on and properly connected to your computer. If the disk is a SCSI disk, make sure your SCSI devices are properly terminated. Consult your computer manual or SCSI adapter documentation for more information..

You must select a different partition for Windows XP.
To continue, press ENTER"

I then tried the non-quick option and the same problem occurred. I then tried 2-3 different windows xp cd's all to the same error, then I tried the windows 7 installation which loads up fine at first, when I see my mouse pointer coming on screen from that point it takes about 5-10 minutes for the Windows 7 installation screen to come. When I press next after selecting the language options it says Windows is preparing to install or something and it takes another 5-10 minutes to the next screen (which is agreeing to terms and conditions). After agreeing to TOS I get normal/custom installation options, I chose custom and it went to formatting area now at this point when I try to format the drive it gives an error "Windows cannot format this partition" or "Windows cannot install on this hard disk".

I've tried using ultimateboot cd to partition and format a drive to FAT32, this worked perfectly and the installation started to copy files (winXP) after the reboot when normally the windows XP installation should continue it gives me a BSOD saying random things "Page file memory not paged in" (something like that) "IRQL less or not equal".

I've tried using LinuxMint cd which worked as a charm, no problems at all. I could see the hard disk in the PartitionEditer (Gparted or something) as Unallocated so I formatted it as NTFS and it worked fine on Linux itself I could store data on it and all. I now tried again hoping it would work in the winxp installation but now it says filetype is unknown (Probably because I formatted in Linux?). I tried installing Linux Mint directly aswell thinking it would work as the hard disk is functional in linux mint but the installation gave about 20-30 errors and then aborted.

Tried using WD Tools and they all cannot detect my hard disk, one says hard drive is not found and the other one says unknown. I can see the disk on linux and BIOS/winxp installation just fine.

BIOS is set to default (IDE etc etc).

I informed the ones I bought PC from, sended PC back got it back one week later and this time the XP installation went completely fine without problems. First reboot after installing some device drivers I got a bsod about paged in file memory not paged in. Rebooted again and this time it loaded up completely fine, now since I'd prefer win 7 I restarted PC again and tried installing win 7 again but this time the exact same occurrence setup is loading very slowly takes 5-10 minutes from one window to another. At the exact same stage (formatting) windows 7 gave the same errors again that it can't format the disk/use it. I restarted the pc again and this time it gave an error "Error cannot load operating system". Tried installing xp again and guess what

"Setup was unable to format the partition. The disk may be damaged.

Make sure the drive is switched on and properly connected to your computer. If the disk is a SCSI disk, make sure your SCSI devices are properly terminated. Consult your computer manual or SCSI adapter documentation for more information..

You must select a different partition for Windows XP.
To continue, press ENTER".

I'm completely OUT of idea's as I never ran against this problem ever. I've just mailed the company I bought from PC again, so I'll see what they can do meanwhile I'm wondering what component this can be related to?

I'm going to run a memtest tonight when I go to sleep to see if its faulty memory or not. (I do know that my memory is located in slot 1 and slot 3)

(When I sent my PC back I think they just replaced the hard disk and then sent it back over to me without testing it, so it's possibly not a hd related issue?)

Any help is appreciated,

thanks in advance.

Tumbleweed36 · 05-21-2009, 04:51 AM

Quite honestly, with a new unit under warranty, I would send it back and tell them it won't work. If you get too involved in this issue, they will begin to think it is your fault and not theirs. That is my opinion.

sof2er · 05-21-2009, 04:58 AM

Yeah I've mailed them, not going to touch anything but was just wondering where this problem could possibly be related to.

**raptor_pa** · 05-21-2009, 05:15 AM

Possibly driver support for your MoBos SATA port isn't included in Win 7 yet.

**Tyree** · 05-21-2009, 09:36 AM

I would tend to agree with raptor_pa. If XP loaded and is working properly the HDD is obviously OK.

sof2er · 05-21-2009, 09:48 AM

Ok little update, I just tried a Vista OEM cd from my laptop and it worked perfect, installed everything without any errors.

Windows Vista booted and started doing some oem-related installations and all and after that it rebooted and the "Startup Repair" screen kept coming and coming it automatically repaired and then rebooted again and then the Startup Repair came again (this looped all the time). Tried using the system restore from Startup Repair but it gave some error message aswell..

So I re-entered the vista oem cd and this time the installation just wouldnt work anymore it gave an error similiar to this "Cannot copy D:/vista/something/something to C:/".

05-21-2009, 04:22 AM	#1 (permalink)
sof2er Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 4 OS: Windows XP SP3	Setup was unable to format the partition. The disk may be damaged Hello, I recently bought a new PC (custom built off the site) and I'm having troubles already. (Since I still have warranty I'm not allowed to open the case) The specs are as following: CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (2x 3.00GHz) 1333, 6mb Power Supply - 450w PowerCool 80+ Motherboard Asus P5QL - P43 Chipset Memory - 4gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800mhz CL5.0 (2x2gb) Hard Drive 1 - 160gb SATA2 Hard Drive (WD 16000AAAJS) 20x Dual Layer DVDRW Drive (Lightscribe) Graphics - 512mb Nvidia GeForce 9800GTX+ When I got the PC first thing I did was try to install Windows XP and when it gets to the formatting area I chose NFTS Quick and it gave the following error "Setup was unable to format the partition. The disk may be damaged. Make sure the drive is switched on and properly connected to your computer. If the disk is a SCSI disk, make sure your SCSI devices are properly terminated. Consult your computer manual or SCSI adapter documentation for more information.. You must select a different partition for Windows XP. To continue, press ENTER" I then tried the non-quick option and the same problem occurred. I then tried 2-3 different windows xp cd's all to the same error, then I tried the windows 7 installation which loads up fine at first, when I see my mouse pointer coming on screen from that point it takes about 5-10 minutes for the Windows 7 installation screen to come. When I press next after selecting the language options it says Windows is preparing to install or something and it takes another 5-10 minutes to the next screen (which is agreeing to terms and conditions). After agreeing to TOS I get normal/custom installation options, I chose custom and it went to formatting area now at this point when I try to format the drive it gives an error "Windows cannot format this partition" or "Windows cannot install on this hard disk". I've tried using ultimateboot cd to partition and format a drive to FAT32, this worked perfectly and the installation started to copy files (winXP) after the reboot when normally the windows XP installation should continue it gives me a BSOD saying random things "Page file memory not paged in" (something like that) "IRQL less or not equal". I've tried using LinuxMint cd which worked as a charm, no problems at all. I could see the hard disk in the PartitionEditer (Gparted or something) as Unallocated so I formatted it as NTFS and it worked fine on Linux itself I could store data on it and all. I now tried again hoping it would work in the winxp installation but now it says filetype is unknown (Probably because I formatted in Linux?). I tried installing Linux Mint directly aswell thinking it would work as the hard disk is functional in linux mint but the installation gave about 20-30 errors and then aborted. Tried using WD Tools and they all cannot detect my hard disk, one says hard drive is not found and the other one says unknown. I can see the disk on linux and BIOS/winxp installation just fine. BIOS is set to default (IDE etc etc). I informed the ones I bought PC from, sended PC back got it back one week later and this time the XP installation went completely fine without problems. First reboot after installing some device drivers I got a bsod about paged in file memory not paged in. Rebooted again and this time it loaded up completely fine, now since I'd prefer win 7 I restarted PC again and tried installing win 7 again but this time the exact same occurrence setup is loading very slowly takes 5-10 minutes from one window to another. At the exact same stage (formatting) windows 7 gave the same errors again that it can't format the disk/use it. I restarted the pc again and this time it gave an error "Error cannot load operating system". Tried installing xp again and guess what "Setup was unable to format the partition. The disk may be damaged. Make sure the drive is switched on and properly connected to your computer. If the disk is a SCSI disk, make sure your SCSI devices are properly terminated. Consult your computer manual or SCSI adapter documentation for more information.. You must select a different partition for Windows XP. To continue, press ENTER". I'm completely OUT of idea's as I never ran against this problem ever. I've just mailed the company I bought from PC again, so I'll see what they can do meanwhile I'm wondering what component this can be related to? I'm going to run a memtest tonight when I go to sleep to see if its faulty memory or not. (I do know that my memory is located in slot 1 and slot 3) (When I sent my PC back I think they just replaced the hard disk and then sent it back over to me without testing it, so it's possibly not a hd related issue?) Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance. Last edited by sof2er; 05-21-2009 at 04:30 AM.

05-21-2009, 04:51 AM	#2 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 19,600 OS: XP Professional	Re: Setup was unable to format the partition. The disk may be damaged Quite honestly, with a new unit under warranty, I would send it back and tell them it won't work. If you get too involved in this issue, they will begin to think it is your fault and not theirs. That is my opinion. __________________ ---------- I don't receive email notifications of replies to subscribed threads. (Internet provider policy) Therefore, if I don't respond to your post within 24 hours, please send me a reminder PM and include the link to your thread.

05-21-2009, 04:58 AM	#3 (permalink)
sof2er Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 4 OS: Windows XP SP3	Re: Setup was unable to format the partition. The disk may be damaged Yeah I've mailed them, not going to touch anything but was just wondering where this problem could possibly be related to.

05-21-2009, 05:15 AM	#4 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,712 OS: XP	Re: Setup was unable to format the partition. The disk may be damaged Possibly driver support for your MoBos SATA port isn't included in Win 7 yet. __________________

05-21-2009, 09:36 AM	#5 (permalink)
Tyree Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 5,327 OS: XP Pro-7RC-Mandriva My System	Re: Setup was unable to format the partition. The disk may be damaged I would tend to agree with raptor_pa. If XP loaded and is working properly the HDD is obviously OK. __________________ Posting your PC specs will help us to help you quicker and more efficiently.

05-21-2009, 09:48 AM	#6 (permalink)
sof2er Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 4 OS: Windows XP SP3	Re: Setup was unable to format the partition. The disk may be damaged Ok little update, I just tried a Vista OEM cd from my laptop and it worked perfect, installed everything without any errors. Windows Vista booted and started doing some oem-related installations and all and after that it rebooted and the "Startup Repair" screen kept coming and coming it automatically repaired and then rebooted again and then the Startup Repair came again (this looped all the time). Tried using the system restore from Startup Repair but it gave some error message aswell.. So I re-entered the vista oem cd and this time the installation just wouldnt work anymore it gave an error similiar to this "Cannot copy D:/vista/something/something to C:/".