Max size for boot partition

[Andereida]

On a computer using XPhome OS is there a maximum size for the bootable
partition, please?

This is an elderly computer (1999), originally using win98 but was upgraded
to XP a couple of years ago. The hard drive is a 13GB unit divided into 2
partitions, one of 8GB and the rest is drive E but largely unused. A second
hard drive (80GB) contains applications and data.

The C drive was running out of room (less than 500MB spare) so I extended it
to 10GB using Partition Magic. Since then it frequently hangs when starting
windows. It has been suggested to me that the boot sequence cannot see
beyond 8GB and that may be the cause of the 'iffy' loading.

Is this the case, please? Any alternatives?

bhk

 

[DL]

No thats not the case.
Run the hd manufacturers checking utility, available from their site

 

[RalfG]

Not the case if the drive is using FAT32 or NTFS file systems. If it isn't
you should convert it to NTFS. You could use the entire drive capacity if
you wanted. My XP PC came with an NTFS boot partition of nearly 300GB, now
reduced to 100GB. An older WinME PC had a 60GB FAT32 boot partition, another
XP machine has a 150GB boot partition.

Your current booting problems may be due to errors created when you
repartitioned the drive. Don't know what tools Partition Magic may include
to fix that sort of thing. You could remove the E partition completely and
reallocate the space into the C partition. A repair install of XP is always
an option if the problems persist.

 

[Bob Harris]

XP itself can handle very large disks, up to 127 Gig originally, then beyond
1000 Gig with SP-2.

However, older computer BIOS code had problems with "large" disks.
Depending on the BIOS, "large" could be >32 Gig, or even > 8 Gig. Check the
motherboard manual or motehrboard support website, or contact the PC
manufacture's support site for more informaiuton on BIOS limitations.

Some clever hard drive makers got around BIOS limitations with some software
that did something called "overlaying". Such fixes can be fragile and
easily broken. For example, upgrading such a michine form 98 to XP would
probably break the overlay coding. A better fix would be a BIOS update,
also called a BIOS flash, if one is available form the PC (or motherboard)
manufacture.

A wild thought, but have you tried running CHKDSK with the /F option (then
rebooting)? Strange computer behavior can sometimes be caused by
imperfections in the file system, some of which CHKDSK can fix.

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/chkdsk.mspx?mfr=true

Another thought, if booting into the normal XP desktop is "iffy", can you
more boot into the safe mode of XP? If yes, then the disk is probably OK,
and the problem is more likely one of drivers or startup programs, since
safe mode uses Microsoft (safe) drivers and disables most startup programs.

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...ll/proddocs/en-us/boot_failsafe.mspx?mfr=true

 

[Andereida]

XP itself can handle very large disks, up to 127 Gig originally, then
beyond 1000 Gig with SP-2.

However, older computer BIOS code had problems with "large" disks.
Depending on the BIOS, "large" could be >32 Gig, or even > 8 Gig. Check
the motherboard manual or motehrboard support website, or contact the PC
manufacture's support site for more informaiuton on BIOS limitations.

Some clever hard drive makers got around BIOS limitations with some
software that did something called "overlaying". Such fixes can be
fragile and easily broken. For example, upgrading such a michine form 98
to XP would probably break the overlay coding. A better fix would be a
BIOS update, also called a BIOS flash, if one is available form the PC (or
motherboard) manufacture.

A wild thought, but have you tried running CHKDSK with the /F option (then
rebooting)? Strange computer behavior can sometimes be caused by
imperfections in the file system, some of which CHKDSK can fix.

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/chkdsk.mspx?mfr=true

Another thought, if booting into the normal XP desktop is "iffy", can you
more boot into the safe mode of XP? If yes, then the disk is probably OK,
and the problem is more likely one of drivers or startup programs, since
safe mode uses Microsoft (safe) drivers and disables most startup
programs.

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...ll/proddocs/en-us/boot_failsafe.mspx?mfr=true

Thank you all for those very helpful replies. I have run the chkdsk facility
and it did locate and fix quite a few damaged files. There were also
problems with USB drivers which I hadn't got around to spotting because of
my concerns elsewhere.

It is early days yet but I am hopeful that it might now settle down.

Hadn't considered changing to NTFS before but I notice that the VISTA
machine in my studio uses NTFS. Are there any real positives to be gained by
converting this old machine from FAT32, please?

bhk

Very grateful for the renewed confidence you have given me.