Error message when you try to install Windows Vista on a computer that contains multiple RAW hard disks: "Windows is unable to find a system volume that meets its criteria for installation"

When you try to install Windows Vista, you experience the following symptoms:

• In the Windows Vista installation program, you receive the following error message at the bottom of the Where do you want to install Windows? dialog box:
  This computer's hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk's controller is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu.
  If you click a different drive in the Name list, the error message remains.
• If you click Next, you receive the following error message at the bottom of the Where do you want to install Windows? dialog box:
  Windows is unable to find a system volume that meets its criteria for installation.

Therefore, you cannot install Windows Vista.

This problem occurs if the following conditions are true:

• The computer contains multiple RAW hard disks.
• The hard disks are all the same size.

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Format the drives before you install Windows Vista

1. In the Where do you want to install Windows? dialog box, click a drive in the Name list, and then click New.
2. In the Size list, leave the default value of the whole hard disk selected, and then click Apply. Or, specify a new size, and then click Apply.
3. After the partition is created, click the drive, and then click Format.
4. Click OK to confirm that you want to format the drive.
5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 to format the remaining drives that appear in the Name list.
6. Exit the Windows Vista installation process, and then restart the computer by using the Windows Vista DVD. When you do this, the Windows Vista installation process automatically restarts.
7. Follow the steps in the Windows Vista Setup Wizard to install Windows Vista.

Method 2: Remove all drives except the primary drive before you install Windows Vista

Remove all drives from the computer except the primary hard disk drive. Then, install Windows Vista. After Windows Vista is installed successfully, shut down the computer, and then add the additional hard disk drives.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.