HDD bigger than 132GB

  • Thread starter Thread starter Hazel
  • Start date Start date
H

Hazel

Hi all,

I've just finished building my first PC and so far everything is going
pretty smoothly (*pats self on the back smugly*). However, when trying
to install windows XP pro it wont see more than 132GB (131 + change
TBE). I'm sure I caught a previous thread that for bigger hard drives
you need at least SP2. Am I remembering this right?

Anyway, my question is... can I install windows now and then update to
SP2 and get the rest of my hard drive back. I've ordered broadband but
it won't be here for about 10 days and I don't want to have to download
for hours for dialup.

(It's my new PC and I want it running NOW *pouts, stamps foot and
generally acts childish*)

Thanks for any help,

Hazel
 
Hazel said:
Hi all,

I've just finished building my first PC and so far everything is going
pretty smoothly (*pats self on the back smugly*). However, when trying to
install windows XP pro it wont see more than 132GB (131 + change TBE). I'm
sure I caught a previous thread that for bigger hard drives you need at
least SP2. Am I remembering this right?

Anyway, my question is... can I install windows now and then update to SP2
and get the rest of my hard drive back. I've ordered broadband but it
won't be here for about 10 days and I don't want to have to download for
hours for dialup.

(It's my new PC and I want it running NOW *pouts, stamps foot and
generally acts childish*)

Thanks for any help,

Hazel
Click to expand...

How olds your copy of XP, all recent copies include SP2? even the OEM
version! Go to your local magazine store and look at the mags with FREE cd's
on some had SP2 included.


--
Chris
Technical director CKCCOMPUSCRIPT
Apple Computers, Intel, Roland audio, ATI, Microsoft, Sun Solaris, Cisco and
Silicone Graphics.
Wholesale distributor and specialist audio visual computers and servers
FREE SUPPORT @,
http://www.ckccomp.plus.com/site/page.HTM
(e-mail address removed)
 
Hazel said:
Hi all,

I've just finished building my first PC and so far everything is going
pretty smoothly (*pats self on the back smugly*). However, when trying to
install windows XP pro it wont see more than 132GB (131 + change TBE). I'm
sure I caught a previous thread that for bigger hard drives you need at
least SP2. Am I remembering this right?

Anyway, my question is... can I install windows now and then update to SP2
and get the rest of my hard drive back. I've ordered broadband but it
won't be here for about 10 days and I don't want to have to download for
hours for dialup.

(It's my new PC and I want it running NOW *pouts, stamps foot and
generally acts childish*)

Thanks for any help,

Hazel
Click to expand...


Hazel:
There are two basic requirements for Windows XP recognizing large-capacity
disks, i.e., disks > 137 GB (approx.).
1. The motherboard's BIOS must support large-capacity disks. All, or
virtually all motherboards manufactured over the past three years or so
support this capability. And many of the older boards that didn't, have BIOS
updates available.
2. SP1 and/or SP2 must be installed.

Assuming your motherboard supports large-capacity disks, if you install the
160 GB or 200 GB or 250 GB drive or larger (you didn't indicate the size of
your disk), XP will recognize only 137 GB (approx) of that drive (your 132
GB is close enough).

When you subsequently install SP1 and/or SP2, the full capacity of that disk
will be recognized; *however*, the remaining capacity above the 137 GB will
be "unallocated space", disk space that you can partition & format. So at a
minimum you will have two partitions on that drive. Since many, if not most,
users multi-partition those large-capacity drives anyway, this may not be a
problem for you. However, if you desire only a *single* partition on that
drive you'd best wait until you've installed SP1 or SP2 and then install the
drive.

Another option (if you installed your large-capacity drive initially without
SP1 or SP2) would be to use a third-party program, e.g., Partition Magic,
which can merge partitions.
Anna
 
Yes you can install windows and then get the rest of the disk back later.

If its a Maxtor though you may need to use the Maxblast software to allow it
to see the rest of the disk even with SP2, this was what I had to do with my
160gb Disk. I would expect other disk manufacturers to require a similiar
'tweak' with their own proprietry software.

The only thing is that you may end up with an odd size of disk revealed
after you tweak it so its worth working out how you want your overall disk
to be partitioned and only create the partitions you need now.

Thats my experience, hope it helps.

JB
 
Hazel:
There are two basic requirements for Windows XP recognizing large-capacity
disks, i.e., disks > 137 GB (approx.).
1. The motherboard's BIOS must support large-capacity disks. All, or
virtually all motherboards manufactured over the past three years or so
support this capability. And many of the older boards that didn't, have BIOS
updates available.
2. SP1 and/or SP2 must be installed.

Assuming your motherboard supports large-capacity disks, if you install the
160 GB or 200 GB or 250 GB drive or larger (you didn't indicate the size of
your disk), XP will recognize only 137 GB (approx) of that drive (your 132
GB is close enough).

When you subsequently install SP1 and/or SP2, the full capacity of that disk
will be recognized; *however*, the remaining capacity above the 137 GB will
be "unallocated space", disk space that you can partition & format. So at a
minimum you will have two partitions on that drive. Since many, if not most,
users multi-partition those large-capacity drives anyway, this may not be a
problem for you. However, if you desire only a *single* partition on that
drive you'd best wait until you've installed SP1 or SP2 and then install the
drive.

Another option (if you installed your large-capacity drive initially without
SP1 or SP2) would be to use a third-party program, e.g., Partition Magic,
which can merge partitions.
Anna
Click to expand...

Thanks, I would have more than 1 partition (probably 3, but maybe just
2) eventually anyway so that's not a problem. I'll go ahead and install
(yippee). BTW my hard drive is 160GB, I can't believe I forgot to
mention that before (not that it matters now). My mobo does support
large disks and I've got a copy of partition magic somewhere so I'll
have plenty of options later.

To Chris, yes, it is a very old copy, I've had it for about 4 years I
think. It used to be installed on my old computer so I just reused it. I
didn't realise that recent mags had this on disk - maybe I'll check it out.

Thanks again :-)

Hazel
 
....... the Maxtor software was actually called "big_drive_enabler.exe" but I
think its wrapped up in the "Maxblast" app. as well.

JB
 
Bishman said:
...... the Maxtor software was actually called "big_drive_enabler.exe" but I
think its wrapped up in the "Maxblast" app. as well.

JB
Click to expand...

It's a western Digital Caviar, but as you say they'll probably have
their own tweak needed so thanks for the info

Hazel
 
Hi all,

I've just finished building my first PC and so far everything is going
pretty smoothly (*pats self on the back smugly*). However, when trying
to install windows XP pro it wont see more than 132GB (131 + change
TBE). I'm sure I caught a previous thread that for bigger hard drives
you need at least SP2. Am I remembering this right?

Anyway, my question is... can I install windows now and then update to
SP2 and get the rest of my hard drive back. I've ordered broadband but
it won't be here for about 10 days and I don't want to have to download
for hours for dialup.
Click to expand...
www.48bitlba.com
 
Create more then 1 partition. They will be recognized easily without the SP.
I have a 160GB SATA drive.
The 1st. partition (10GB) had to be NTFS to be able to boot the system. This
partition is over the 1024 cylinders limit. Having it as a FAT32 made the
system stating it can't find a system disk.


Tal
 
Bishman said:
It's a western Digital Caviar, but as you say they'll probably have their
own tweak needed so thanks for the info

Hazel
Click to expand...


Hazel
You most certainly do *not* need any "tweak" to enable large-capacity disk
support for drives > 137 GB. As I stated in my previous response to you,
*all* that is necessary is that your motherboard's BIOS support's
large-capacity disks and that you have SP1 and/or SP2 installed on your XP
system. That's it. Nothing else is required.

There is no need to use any program such as the Maxtor one mentioned.
Indeed, these kind of programs are nearly always a cause for future problems
because of their proprietary nature and the registry changes they make.
There may have been good reason to use them as a last resort for enabling
large-disk capability in the dim, dark days of the past, but there is simply
no need for them in an XP environment.

And there is similarly *no* need to make any manual changes in the XP
registry to enable 48-bit LBA (Logical Block Addressing) as others may
recommend.

With motherboard BIOS capability and XP with SP1 and/or SP2, your large
drive will be recognized to its full capacity. Period.
Anna
 
SP1, actually.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;303013

"How to enable 48-bit Logical Block Addressing support for ATAPI disk drives
in Windows XP"

(I presume that things won't be wildly different in the UK.)

I'm shaky as to how to choreograph the change. My own preference would be to
"slipstream" SP2 onto a copy of the XP installation CD. I'd probably try to
use Partition Magic (www.symantec.com) to resize the partition. (It's not
inexpensive, though.)

Another poster's suggestion to get SP2 off of a CD distributed with a PC
magazine is probably a good one.

Hope this helps.

Bob Knowlden

Address may be scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.
 
Anna said:
Hazel:
There are two basic requirements for Windows XP recognizing large-capacity
disks, i.e., disks > 137 GB (approx.).
1. The motherboard's BIOS must support large-capacity disks. All, or
virtually all motherboards manufactured over the past three years or so
support this capability. And many of the older boards that didn't, have BIOS
updates available.
2. SP1 and/or SP2 must be installed.

Assuming your motherboard supports large-capacity disks, if you install the
160 GB or 200 GB or 250 GB drive or larger (you didn't indicate the size of
your disk), XP will recognize only 137 GB (approx) of that drive (your 132
GB is close enough).

When you subsequently install SP1 and/or SP2, the full capacity of that disk
will be recognized; *however*, the remaining capacity above the 137 GB will
be "unallocated space", disk space that you can partition & format. So at a
minimum you will have two partitions on that drive. Since many, if not most,
users multi-partition those large-capacity drives anyway, this may not be a
problem for you. However, if you desire only a *single* partition on that
drive you'd best wait until you've installed SP1 or SP2 and then install the
drive.

Another option (if you installed your large-capacity drive initially without
SP1 or SP2) would be to use a third-party program, e.g., Partition Magic,
which can merge partitions.
Anna
Click to expand...

A few questions for anyone who contributed to this thread: What would
happen if she took the 160GB hard drive to a computer that already had
SP1 or better installed, and partitioned it there? I assume she would
be able to create one partition of 160GB? If so, would she then be able
to install Win XP (without SP1 or SP) on that HD if it were moved to her
computer?

In other words, does the SP1 change only effect the partition size or
other functions such as format?
 
Ken said:
A few questions for anyone who contributed to this thread: What
would happen if she took the 160GB hard drive to a computer that already
had SP1 or better installed, and partitioned it there? I assume she
would be able to create one partition of 160GB? If so, would she then
be able to install Win XP (without SP1 or SP) on that HD if it were
moved to her computer?

In other words, does the SP1 change only effect the partition size
or other functions such as format?
Click to expand...

It affects everything.

It would 'work' if she got SP1, or SP2, installed before the system tried
to use anything over the 137 Gig limit but it'll corrupt the disk if it does.
 
Tal said:
Create more then 1 partition. They will be recognized easily without the SP.
Click to expand...

They'll be recognized as there but nothing over the 137 gig limit will work
right till SP1, or SP2, is installed.

It'll just *look* okay till the disk gets corrupted.
I have a 160GB SATA drive.
The 1st. partition (10GB) had to be NTFS to be able to boot the system. This
partition is over the 1024 cylinders limit. Having it as a FAT32 made the
system stating it can't find a system disk.
Click to expand...

Don't know what problem you had but XP will install, boot, and run on FAT32.
 
Ken said:
A few questions for anyone who contributed to this thread: What would
happen if she took the 160GB hard drive to a computer that already had SP1
or better installed, and partitioned it there? I assume she would be able
to create one partition of 160GB? If so, would she then be able to
install Win XP (without SP1 or SP) on that HD if it were moved to her
computer?

In other words, does the SP1 change only effect the partition size or
other functions such as format?
Click to expand...


Ken:
This could be done, but since it appears a virtual certainty that her
present motherboard's BIOS supports large-capacity disks, wouldn't it be a
simple matter to just install SP1 or SP2 on her present machine? Why this
tortuous "workaround"? Or is this merely a theoretical question you're
raising?

And if we want to continue to play this game...
Assuming she did not want to install SP1 or SP2 on her computer (for
whatever reason(s)), she could, on her present machine, use a Win9x/Me
Startup Disk or other DOS bootable floppy disk and create a single FAT32
partition on the 160 GB disk and then install XP on that partition which XP
will happily accept the created partition and then convert the FAT32
partition to NTFS if so desired. I realize this is going from the ridiculous
to the absurd, but there it is.
Anna
Actually it could even be simpler than installing the 160 GB drive on
another XP computer w/SP1 and/or SP2 and partitioning/formatting the drive
there. The user could use her present machine with the XP OS sans SP1/SP2
and
 
Anna said:
Hazel:
There are two basic requirements for Windows XP recognizing large-capacity
disks, i.e., disks > 137 GB (approx.).
1. The motherboard's BIOS must support large-capacity disks. All, or
virtually all motherboards manufactured over the past three years or so
support this capability. And many of the older boards that didn't, have BIOS
updates available.
2. SP1 and/or SP2 must be installed.

Assuming your motherboard supports large-capacity disks, if you install the
160 GB or 200 GB or 250 GB drive or larger (you didn't indicate the size of
your disk), XP will recognize only 137 GB (approx) of that drive (your 132
GB is close enough).

When you subsequently install SP1 and/or SP2, the full capacity of that disk
will be recognized; *however*, the remaining capacity above the 137 GB will
be "unallocated space", disk space that you can partition & format. So at a
minimum you will have two partitions on that drive. Since many, if not most,
users multi-partition those large-capacity drives anyway, this may not be a
problem for you. However, if you desire only a *single* partition on that
drive you'd best wait until you've installed SP1 or SP2 and then install the
drive.
Click to expand...

What about slip-streaming SP2 into the WinXP installation cd? That's
what I did, but my drive is only 80GB.
Another option (if you installed your large-capacity drive initially without
SP1 or SP2) would be to use a third-party program, e.g., Partition Magic,
which can merge partitions.
Anna
Click to expand...


--
spammage trappage: replace fishies_ with yahoo

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in
hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone
marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow
transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/
 
Hazel said:
Hi all,

Anyway, my question is... can I install windows now and then update to SP2
and get the rest of my hard drive back. I've ordered broadband but it
won't be here for about 10 days and I don't want to have to download for
hours for dialup.

Hazel
Click to expand...

You can request a cd of XP service pack 2 from Microsoft. Mine arrived in a
couple of days, so that might be worth a shot?

Grendel.
 
Anna said:
Ken:
This could be done, but since it appears a virtual certainty that her
present motherboard's BIOS supports large-capacity disks, wouldn't it be a
simple matter to just install SP1 or SP2 on her present machine? Why this
tortuous "workaround"? Or is this merely a theoretical question you're
raising?
Click to expand...
As I understood the problem, she was wanting to install an early
version of XP on a HD that she was unable to partition to a size greater
than 137GB. Most stated that this was due to the fact that SP1 or SP2
was necessary for the partition to be created larger than that size. My
thinking was that if once the partition was made on XP that already had
the SP changes installed (such as another computer), that the drive
might be taken to her computer and formatted to its full capacity.
Later, she could install the SP updates without having to modify the
partition at all. I am asking, not TELLING. I have no idea if this
would work.

Is it a theoretical question? Yes, I guess it is as I was trying to
understand if it was limited to CREATING the partition, or applied to
FORMATTING and ACCESS as well? I just wondered if there was a way of
overcoming this 137GB limitation temporarily and not need a program like
Partition Magic to modify the partition size once her early version of
XP had been installed and updated to SP1 or later.
And if we want to continue to play this game...
Assuming she did not want to install SP1 or SP2 on her computer (for
whatever reason(s)), she could, on her present machine, use a Win9x/Me
Startup Disk or other DOS bootable floppy disk and create a single FAT32
partition on the 160 GB disk and then install XP on that partition which XP
will happily accept the created partition and then convert the FAT32
partition to NTFS if so desired. I realize this is going from the ridiculous
to the absurd, but there it is.
Click to expand...
I am sorry to be so stupid about the limits of different OS's partition
size capabilities, but I am a curious person: First I am not suggesting
she not upgrade XP to the service packs. I gathered that there was a
problem creating the partition if her XP CD version did not have at
least SP1 incorporated in the CD? Admittedly, she could make multiple
partitions less than 137GB or a single one and later use a piece of
software such as PM to resize it. My questions addressed exactly what
limitations were.

Now I am probably again showing my ignorance, but can you partition a
160 GB HD using Win 98SE? I know that there was an upgrade
(263044USA8.EXE) which allowed partitions greater than 64GB, but does it
go up to 160GB? My current HD is not that large even though I still use
Win 98. And if it does, does this add on (263044USA8.EXE) to Win 98
create a boot disk with this capability, or must the partitioning take
place from a hard drive with this modification installed? The reason I
ask is the file FDISK on my computer is dated 5-18-2000 even though I
have installed the update. Since FDISK is the command for creating a
partition in Win 98, I would have thought the date of that file would
have changed after having installed the update?

In closing, let me say I am not trying to challenge your and others
comments. I am just trying to fully understand them. Perhaps my choice
of words could be better chosen, but they are not meant to belittle
anyone. Just to understand what options are available and why. Thanks
for your comments.

Ken
 
Ken said:
As I understood the problem, she was wanting to install an early
version of XP on a HD that she was unable to partition to a size greater
than 137GB. Most stated that this was due to the fact that SP1 or SP2
was necessary for the partition to be created larger than that size. My
thinking was that if once the partition was made on XP that already had
the SP changes installed (such as another computer), that the drive
might be taken to her computer and formatted to its full capacity.
Later, she could install the SP updates without having to modify the
partition at all. I am asking, not TELLING. I have no idea if this
would work.

Is it a theoretical question? Yes, I guess it is as I was trying to
understand if it was limited to CREATING the partition, or applied to
FORMATTING and ACCESS as well? I just wondered if there was a way of
overcoming this 137GB limitation temporarily and not need a program like
Partition Magic to modify the partition size once her early version of
XP had been installed and updated to SP1 or later.
Click to expand...

As I mentioned in another post, if she installed SP1 or SP2 before the
system tried to use the above 137 gig area then it might work but it isn't
just a matter of getting over the making the partition. XP isn't going to
properly handle anything (be it partitioning, formatting, reading/writing
data, or anything else that uses the hard drive) over the 137 gig limit,
whether it's 1 or multiple partitions, without SP1 or SP2 installed.

I am sorry to be so stupid about the limits of different OS's
partition size capabilities, but I am a curious person: First I am not
suggesting she not upgrade XP to the service packs. I gathered that
there was a problem creating the partition if her XP CD version did not
have at least SP1 incorporated in the CD? Admittedly, she could make
multiple partitions less than 137GB or a single one and later use a
piece of software such as PM to resize it. My questions addressed
exactly what limitations were.

Now I am probably again showing my ignorance, but can you partition
a 160 GB HD using Win 98SE?
Click to expand...

Not officially. Whether it just happens to accidentally 'work' or not I
don't know.
I know that there was an upgrade
(263044USA8.EXE) which allowed partitions greater than 64GB, but does it
go up to 160GB?
Click to expand...

The MS Knowledge Base for that patch specifically say it is not for adding
48 Bit LBA and that over 137 gig is 'not supported'.
My current HD is not that large even though I still use
Win 98. And if it does, does this add on (263044USA8.EXE) to Win 98
create a boot disk with this capability, or must the partitioning take
place from a hard drive with this modification installed? The reason I
ask is the file FDISK on my computer is dated 5-18-2000 even though I
have installed the update. Since FDISK is the command for creating a
partition in Win 98, I would have thought the date of that file would
have changed after having installed the update?
Click to expand...

I don't know what the date of the patch is but how do you image a file
dated March 2000 got in a system who's product name is "98."
 
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