Member Avatar for buddyb

I just installed XP Ro with Srvc Pk 2. I'm running an Asus board with an AMD 1.92 Gig processor and I'm sporting 512 megs of DDR Ram.

Everything is working great with (two exceptions, to be addressed in another thread) one exception. The computer's Bios sees the drive, and in Computer Mgmt, the drive section sees it as well. When I try to assign a letter I can't, it is greyed out. It gives me the option to delete the partition, but I can't afford to lose all the info; and that may not solve the problem anyway. I can also change to Dynamic Drive if I want, but I'm not familiar with that and don't know what it does; and don't know if that even will solve the problem.

I hope someone here has some kind of an answer. I'm at a loss.
:sad: BuddyB

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Following ’s report and ’s warning about dynamic disks, the safest approach is to troubleshoot without converting the disk. Common causes when Disk Management shows a partition but won’t let you assign a drive letter are: a hidden/incorrect partition type (partition type ID set to a hidden NTFS), a partition-table inconsistency, or a Windows mount-point/registry conflict. Back up or image the drive first before making changes.

Try assigning the letter with DiskPart (runs from an elevated command prompt). Typical session:

diskpart
list volume
select volume N    (replace N with the number for the target volume)
assign letter=E    (pick an unused letter)

If the volume does not appear in list volume, use list disk and list partition after selecting the disk to locate the partition and then assign to it. DiskPart will fail with an explanatory message if Windows cannot mount the filesystem.

If DiskPart fails, inspect the partition type with a non-destructive tool (for example, TestDisk or a Linux live CD with GParted). If the partition type code is a hidden NTFS type (common values used by some utilities), change it back to the standard NTFS code (0x07). Do this only after imaging the drive; changing partition type can make data inaccessible if done incorrectly.

Other advanced options: check the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices for stale \DosDevices entries (export the key first and be cautious — deleting the wrong entries can remap drive letters system-wide). If the disk was a dynamic disk on the previous machine it might show as "Foreign" and require import; do not convert a basic disk to dynamic without a verified backup. After a successful mount, if file access is denied, take ownership as Administrator or reset NTFS permissions.

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Member Avatar for DMR

- Is this a partition that existed before the XP install, or did you create it during the install process?

- How is the partition formatted (FAT32, NTFS,etc.)?

- What exactly is on the partition?

If the partition is currently reported in Disk Manager as "Basic", don't muck with the "Dynamic Drive" option; it won't help.

Member Avatar for buddyb

Here's the story :). It used to be my primary drive in the old computer. I was running 2000 Pro and it is NTFS, so the partition was already there when I set up the new computer with XP Pro, Srvc Pk 2. BIOS sees it and it's visible in Disk Mgr., but it won't let me assign a letter to it. I did remember to set it to slave as well. So, right now it's a bone of contention.
Thanks, BuddyB

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