Reference number: CH000283

Windows  setup: Compressed volume or disk-cache utility error.

Issue:

When attempting to run setup you receive the following error: "Setup found a compressed volume or a disk-cache utility on your computer. Quit setup & check your compressed volume with your compression software or remove the disk-cache utility. Then run setup again."

Cause:

This issue can be caused by one of the following reasons:

1. Hard drive has been compressed.
2. Hard drive has unsupported file system such as HPFS, NTFS or FAT32.
3. Hard drive has DDO.

Solution:

Hard drive has been compressed

If the computer hard disk drive has been compressed in the past by any utility, this compression software must be removed or configured to allow Windows to write to it. If you wish to remove the compression from the hard disk drive follow the below steps (being aware this will erase all of your information on the hard drive).

1. Boot from a bootable floppy diskette.
2. At the A:\> type:
    fdisk <press enter>
3. In fdisk choose the option to display partition information (option 4).
4. Determine the type of system currently setup on the hard disk drive. If you receive No partition defined skip to step 8.
5. Once the system has been determined press Esc
6. Once at the fdisk main menu, choose the option to delete the partition or logical DOS drive (option 3).
7. Choose option 1 to delete the primary partition if your system is FAT16 or FAT32. If your system was unknown or a Non-DOS partition choose option 4 to delete Non-DOS partition.
8. Once the partition has been deleted or is no longer present, choose Create DOS partition or Logical DOS drive (option 1).
9. Choose Create Primary DOS partition (option 1) and create a primary partition on the hard disk drive. Once created, press Esc until back at the prompt A:\>. Once at the prompt reboot the computer.
10. Once back at the prompt after rebooting the computer type:
    format c: <press enter>
11. After the hard disk drive has been formatted successfully reboot the computer and install Windows.

Hard drive has unsupported file system such as HPFS, NTFS or FAT32

The version of Windows you may be installing may or may not support the current file system structure of your hard disk drive from a previous operating system and believe that this file system is a compressed portion of your hard drive. To resolve this issue, follow the below steps (being aware this will erase all of your information on the hard drive).

1. Boot from a bootable floppy diskette.
2. At the A:\> type:
    fdisk <press enter>
3. In fdisk choose the option to display partition information (option 4).
4. Determine the type of system currently setup on the hard disk drive. If you receive No partition defined skip to step 8.
5. Once the system has been determined press Esc
6. Once at the fdisk main menu, choose the option to delete the partition or logical DOS drive (option 3).
7. Choose option 1 to delete the primary partition if your system is FAT16 or FAT32. If your system was unknown or a Non-DOS partition choose option 4 to delete Non-DOS partition.
8. Once the partition has been deleted or is no longer present, choose Create DOS partition or Logical DOS drive (option 1).
9. Choose Create Primary DOS partition (option 1) and create a primary partition on the hard disk drive. Once created, press Esc until back at the prompt A:\>. Once at the prompt reboot the computer. 
10. Once back at the prompt after rebooting the computer type:
    format c: <press enter>
11. After the hard disk drive has been formatted successfully reboot the computer and install Windows.

Hard drive has DDO

If you have installed your hard disk drive utilizing a diskette commonly referred to as a DDO (Disk Drive Overlay), unless this software is loaded into memory the computer may not see the hard disk drive using a bootable diskette.

To determine if you are using a DDO and to utilize that DDO with a bootable diskette reboot the computer without any bootable diskette or CD in the computer. As the computer is booting you should receive a message "Press *key sequence* to boot from a bootable diskette" this *key sequence* can vary depending upon the type of DDO installed on the computer. An example of such a key sequence is CTRL + ESC. If you do not see this message when your computer is booting it is likely that a DDO is not installed on the computer.