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fmdj
Contributor
Contributor
‎07-03-2009 05:56 AM

Partition alignment and sector size -> windows wont boot

Hi there,

I have created an vmdk file with a partition offset of 64k as described in the whitepapers. Then I formated the disk with ntfs and a sector size of 32k. But when I try to install windows server 2003, it stops after the first reboot with a disk error. I found out when formating the disk with a standard ntfs sector size of 512b the installation works very well. Also mbrscan shows me aligned=Yes. Why is it recommened to use a 32k sector size? Works a 512b sector size as well oder is there any problem with 512b?

Thx

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4 Replies
fmdj
Contributor
Contributor
‎07-06-2009 01:45 AM

nobody?

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jintoa
VMware Employee
VMware Employee
‎07-06-2009 02:49 AM

Please specify which white paper you have checked.

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fmdj
Contributor
Contributor
‎07-06-2009 03:21 AM

I used this one: https://www.vmware.com/pdf/esx3_partition_align.pdf

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jintoa
VMware Employee
VMware Employee
‎07-07-2009 01:45 AM

Please read the DOC carefully, in page 3 it says

Instructions for Guest File System Alignment

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Note: Aligning the boot disk in the virtual machine is neither recommended nor required.

Align only the data disks in the virtual machine.

Signature: Disclaimer: My postings are my own and don’t necessarily represent VMware’s positions, strategies or opinions. If you found this information useful, please consider awarding points for "Correct" or "Helpful". Thanx!