I’ve recently pulled a drive out of Windows Server 2003 and tried to use it in Windows XP.

When connected, it shows up as “Healthy (GPT Protective Partition)”. I can’t assign a drive letter to it, format it or even repartition it.

Firstly, if this had data on it, you’ll need to go back to Windows 2003 or use a Linux Boot CD to extract it.

If all you’re trying to do is format it for use in Windows XP, read on….

It’s a relatively simple task.

NOTE: This will erase all data on the drive!

Click on [Start] and select [Run].
Type in DISKPART and press the enter key or click [OK]. You should see a command prompt type window.

Type in “list disk” and press enter. You will see a list of the drives in the system.

Carefully decide which disk is the one causing problems and take a note of it’s name (eg: Disk 1).

Now type in “select Disk 1” (Or the disk you need to erase) and press enter. You should see something like “Disk 1 is now the selected disk”.

Finally, type in “clean” and press enter.

The drive will now be erased and you can parition it by right clicking [My Computer] and selecting [Manage].