Preparing Advanced Format hard drives for Microsoft Windows installations on HP Business Notebook PCs and desktop PCs - White Paper

You should first install the image and then run the Paragon Partition Alignment Tool to ensure partitions are

aligned.

Note: If you are downgrading your PC to Windows XP or Windows Vista, you are impacted since these

OSs are not Advanced Format-aware.

Before beginning the re-imaging, ensure that partitions on your Advanced Format drive are aligned (see

Validating partition alignment).

To optimize performance with Windows 7 or WinPE, apply Microsoft Knowledge Base article 982018.

Important tips

This section provides important tips regarding the set-up and use of Advanced Format drives. More

information is provided on the following topics:

 Encrypting drives

 Installing Windows Vista (prior to SP1), Windows XP or Windows 2000 images

 Creating a 1 MB-aligned partition

 Extending the partition during a Windows XP image deployment

 Aligning drives in a RAID configuration

 Using third-party deployment tool

 Replacing a drive on a Windows 2000 platform

 Enhancing performance with many small writes (as with ImageX)

Encrypting drives

Important

Always back up all your data before manipulating any drive to avoid data

loss.

Before you encrypt an Advanced Format drive, you should run the Paragon

Partition Alignment Tool on this drive. If your drive is misaligned, before

proceeding, you should decrypt, align and re-encrypt the drive using the

instructions provided with your encryption software.

Installing Windows Vista (prior to SP1), Windows XP or Windows 2000

images

If you are planning to install Windows Vista (prior to SP1), Windows XP or Windows 2000 on an

Advanced Format drive, you should first install the image and then run the Paragon Partition

Alignment Tool to ensure partitions are aligned.