diff --git a/ntfsprogs/mkntfs.8.in b/ntfsprogs/mkntfs.8.in
index ce687f7d..a83cab9c 100644
--- a/ntfsprogs/mkntfs.8.in
+++ b/ntfsprogs/mkntfs.8.in
@@ -156,7 +156,9 @@ omitted,
 .B mkntfs
 attempts to determine
 .I part\-start\-sect
-automatically and if that fails a default of 0 is used. Note that
+automatically and if that fails or the value is oversized, a
+default of 0 is used. The partition is usable despite a wrong value,
+however note that a correct
 .I part\-start\-sect
 is required for Windows to be able to boot from the created volume.
 .TP
diff --git a/ntfsprogs/mkntfs.c b/ntfsprogs/mkntfs.c
index a7b1fd23..c49cae47 100644
--- a/ntfsprogs/mkntfs.c
+++ b/ntfsprogs/mkntfs.c
@@ -3635,10 +3635,12 @@ static BOOL mkntfs_override_vol_params(ntfs_volume *vol)
 			opts.part_start_sect = 0;
 			winboot = FALSE;
 		} else if (opts.part_start_sect >> 32) {
-			ntfs_log_warning("The partition start sector specified "
-				"for %s and the automatically determined value "
-				"is too large.  It has been set to 0.\n",
-				vol->dev->d_name);
+			ntfs_log_warning("The partition start sector was not "
+				"specified for %s and the automatically "
+				"determined value is too large (%lld). "
+				"It has been set to 0.\n",
+				vol->dev->d_name,
+				(long long)opts.part_start_sect);
 			opts.part_start_sect = 0;
 			winboot = FALSE;
 		}