AST RESEARCH, INC.       INFORMATIONAL BULLETIN # 0006       6-26-96 



TITLE: Windows NT Setup Error


SUMMARY

   A disk READ error may occur when trying to re-install Microsoft 
   Windows NT, version 3.51, on a computer that already has Windows NT 
   installed on the primary boot partition, and is formatted as an NT 
   File System (NTFS). 

   This issue affects all systems running Windows NT 3.51 regardless of
   manufacturer.


NOTES

   When attempting to re-install Windows NT, version 3.51 with NTFS 
   onto an existing NTFS partition,  a hard disk READ error may occur,
   rebooting at the point where install files have been copied from 
   the CD-ROM. 

   Windows NT actually reformats the partition as a File Allocation 
   Table (FAT) file system, copies the files from the CD-ROM, then 
   tries to reboot the system into the Graphical User Interface (GUI).  
   At this point, the system either hangs or displays the following 
   error message:

      DISK READ ERROR HAS OCCURRED.

   The format function does not correctly remove all the existing 
   NTFS data structures, or does not build the FAT data structures 
   correctly.

   To prevent this situation from occurring, perform the following 
   steps:

   1. When prompted, choose to delete the existing partition and 
      create a new partition.

   2. Choose to format as an NTFS partition.  Windows NT then installs
      correctly.


TAN N/A

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