"There is not enough space on the disk" error message when you try to access an NTFS 4.0 hard disk in Windows Server 2003

When you try to access a hard disk that is connected to a Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based computer, you may receive the following error message:

This issue may occur if the hard disk is formatted with the NTFS 4.0 file system and if the hard disk has less than 256 KB free.

This behavior is by design.

When you try to access a hard disk that is formatted with NTFS 4.0 on a Windows Server 2003-based computer, the computer tries to automatically convert the hard disk's file system to NTFS 5.0. To convert the file system, Windows Server 2003 requires at least 256 KB of free hard disk space on the NTFS 4.0 hard disk.

Note When you try to access an NTFS 4.0 hard disk, and you see the error message that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section, no changes are made to the hard disk. You can still use the NTFS 4.0 hard disk on a computer that uses NTFS 4.0, such as a computer that is running Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 6a.