HP Pro 6305 Installation Manual

Also see for 6305: Operator's manual Installation guide

Contents

Preparing Advanced Format hard drivesfor Microsoft Windows installations on HPBusiness Notebook PCs, Workstations,and Desktop PCsTechnical white paperTable of contentsExecutive summary............................................................................................................................... 2Identifying an Advanced Format drive .................................................................................................... 2What does the Advanced Format drive mean to you? .............................................................................. 3Partition alignment ........................................................................................................................... 3Performance optimization.................................................................................................................. 4Important tips ...................................................................................................................................... 6Encrypting drives ............................................................................................................................. 6Installing Windows Vista (prior to SP1) or Windows XP images ............................................................. 6Avoiding a potential error associated with a Windows Vista deployment ............................................... 7Creating a 1 MB-aligned partition ...................................................................................................... 7Extending the partition during a Windows XP image deployment .......................................................... 9Aligning drives in a RAID configuration ............................................................................................ 10Using third-party deployment tools ................................................................................................... 10Enhancing performance with many small writes (as with ImageX) ........................................................ 10Validating partition alignment ............................................................................................................. 10Using the Unattended Advanced Format Hard Disk Information Tool .................................................... 11Using DiskExt................................................................................................................................. 11Using WMIC ................................................................................................................................. 12Using DiskPart ............................................................................................................................... 12Sample validation .......................................................................................................................... 13Summary of HP Advanced Format tools ................................................................................................ 14Frequently asked questions ................................................................................................................. 16Appendix A: Technical background ..................................................................................................... 18Partition alignment ......................................................................................................................... 18Why alignment helps...................................................................................................................... 19Appendix B: Procedure for installing KB982018 into WinPE 3.0 ............................................................ 20For more information .......................................................................................................................... 21