The Infamous "Disk Error" Problem

[Zaeyde]

Help!

I have a copy of Windows XP Pro with SP2.
Please note that it is a burned copy, but it is a legal copy.

I am experiencing the infamous disk error problem.
I have seen many topics on this, but none that have the solution.

Here's what happens.

I partition a 32 GB section of my hard drive via Boot Camp.
Put the installer disk in.
Reboots.
Begins installation.
I select the partition I wish to install on, which is the Boot Camp partition, and I AM NOT GIVEN THE OPTION TO FORMAT THE DRIVE.
I repeat,
I AM NOT GIVEN THE OPTION TO FORMAT THE DRIVE.

The computer will reboot, and will display, Disk Error, press any key to continue.

Well, this keyboard is missing the "any" key, because none of the other keys work at this point.
I am forced to press the power button to reboot the computer.
If I do, I wind up in a loop of installing, not having the option to format, and disk error.



So.
How do I fix this?
I am running leopard, and I have already erased the 32GB partition using disk utility.

 

[chscag]

Hi:

You really should have run the Boot Camp Assistant and selected "restore" in order to gain back the 32 Gb of space you allocated to XP. Using Disk Utility does not always restore the correct partition scheme for the Mac.

Boot Camp Assistant will create a partition size a bit different than what you expect. For example (and this may be your difficulty) if you should choose to create a 32 Gb partition formatted to FAT-32, it will actually be created somewhat larger - probably around 33 + Gb. However, since FAT-32 was selected, the partition can not be formatted and will not appear in the Windows installer. (FAT-32 limit is 32 Gb) If that's what you did, select a smaller size for the FAT-32 partition from the Boot Camp Assistant and try once more.

If you chose NTFS from the Boot Camp Assistant, the partition should have been created and should have been visible from the Windows installer. If it was not, your drive may have errors. Run Disk Utility by booting your Leopard install disk 1 and repair\verify the disk.

Regards.

 

[Zaeyde]

I used BCA to restore the disk.

I can select the drive to install on, but I do not get the option to format, which is the problem.