Master Boot Record Not Written to Mirrored Shadow Partition (117131)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server 3.1
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51
This article was previously published under Q117131 SYMPTOMS
After you make the previously shadowed partition of a mirrored system
partition into the primary partition, when you restart your computer, it
stops responding (hangs). Only the initial system and peripheral BIOS
startup text is displayed on the monitor.
CAUSE
Windisk is the utility that manages disk partitioning in Windows NT
Server. When it establishes a mirrored partition on a previously unused
disk, it does not check for the existence of valid boot code in the Master
Boot Record. At startup, the system BIOS of an Intel 80x86-based computer
expects the Master Boot Record to contain executable code which is
responsible for locating and passing control to the boot sector on the
active partition. When this code is not present, the processor attempts to
execute random memory and the computer hangs.
NOTE: If the disk used to hold the shadow of the mirrored system partition
was previously partitioned, either by Windows NT Server, MS-DOS, or any
other operating system which uses the same partitioning scheme, the
Master Boot Record will already contain valid boot code and the system will
boot successfully when started from the former shadow partition. Only when
the secondary disk was not previously partitioned will this result in your
computer hanging.
WORKAROUND
Through the use of a Windows NT "boot floppy", the operating system can
still be initialized. For information on how to create such a floppy, see
pages 161 and 162 of the "Windows NT Advanced Server Concepts and Planning
Guide," or see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: 119467
TITLE : Creating a Boot Disk for an NTFS or FAT Partition
It is possible to initialize the boot code in the Master Boot Record by
using WINDISK.EXE to modify the disk partition structure. When you
manually make and format a primary partition Windisk.exe will initialize
the master Boot Records boot code.
STATUSMicrosoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.
| Modification Type: | Major | Last Reviewed: | 11/20/2003 |
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| Keywords: | kbother KB117131 |
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