Why my 500gb hard drive showing only 127gb

[Twayne]

Home made burned cds are getting better but for most part they just
don't last as long as factory pressed cds, that is a fact, just
because you don't know the difference doesn't make it untrue. The
quality and durability of the homemade cd will depend on the quality
of the media as well as the quality of the burner used to make them.
Factory cd aren't burned, they're pressed. Leave a homemade cd and a
factory cd exposed to the sun then find out for yourself which one
lasts longer. Use factory music cds and homemade music cds in your
car then find out for yourself which one starts to skip first, find
out for yourself which one fails first. I'm sure that you probably
think that factory cds are burned like homemade ones... you don't
know the difference between the two of them.

John

Wow, you're the uneducated little toad, aren't you? You're not talking
the speed of the original discussion here, you're adding your own
conditions to it. And you left out labels using the wrong materials in
the adhesive, too. Purposely mistreating a product is a lot different
than its design results. I think from this we can surmise how you treat
your machine, its media and the advice you give quite often.
I have data CDs and DVDs going back many years, from the point where
they became affordable, and a complete archive I use often. I
re-catalogged it last fall and every single one checked out perfectly.
They're from a variety of sources, some gifts that weren't from even a
name brand of any kind and every one of them checked perfectly during
the run. Every one was checked against a previously existing hash list
and every one matched perfectly, plus I had a new, verified hash list
out of the deal. Otherwise I'd only use probably ten of them a year for
lookups but that particular process proved out the reliability of my
archive. It was a long process but I had help with it and finished it in
about a week. One DVD turned up missing; I never did find it. Oh, and
data disks are much more sensitive to failure with a lot less damge than
music crap.
I come from the days of floppy storage so periodic refresh/checks of
data surfaces isn't exactly a new concept to me. The only secret to
long term storage of any media is following the manufacturer's
instructions. If you want to toss them on the dash of your car on hot
days that's your problem. Only dummies purposely ignore mfg
requirements.

Twayne`

 

[Twayne]

Twayne,

CD media quality and burners can make a big difference
in how long the media last. Sunlight and humidity can make
short work on cheap media.

As John John mentioned factory CDs are pressed so I would
expect them to last longer, but that doesn't mean you can't get
a bad CD fresh from the factory as I recently experienced and
confirmed with the vendor's tech support.

That's true. I've had quite a few duds fresh from the factory. My
source has always taken my word for it and included extra disks in the
next order though. However I'm not buying music CDs/DVDs; they're
almost all used for data and/or program delivery.

Twayne

 

[John John - MVP]

Wow, you're the uneducated little toad, aren't you? You're not talking
the speed of the original discussion here, you're adding your own
conditions to it.

My first comment was that homemade cds aren't as tough as factory cds,
and I still stand by that comment. It's plainly obvious that you don't
know how cds are manufactured so you added your ignorant comments to the
discussion. Quite frankly it has become well known to all who frequent
these groups that you are nothing more than an ignorant obnoxious troll!
You know absolutely nothing about Windows or computers in general and
other than being a rude jerk you really have little do in life, in our
neck of the woods we call people like you a "waste of oxygen"!

John

 

[mia vai]

As you said I did the clean install right from beginning. I removed the
connectors from second hard drive. I boot from the CD. I flow the screen
carefully. Now its showing only Drive “C†and capacity 189 GB. On device
manager it showing two driver. When I looked second drives property on
general tab it showing “This device working properly.

 

[Twayne]

As you said I did the clean install right from beginning. I removed
the connectors from second hard drive. I boot from the CD. I flow
the screen carefully. Now its showing only Drive "C" and capacity
189 GB. On device manager it showing two driver. When I looked
second drives property on general tab it showing "This device working
properly.

That would mean you have 2 partitions on the single disk drive. Your
Recovery CD probably created a 2nd disk partition for you; does it have
a drive letter? It is probably part of the recovery partition? Can you
see it from windows Explorer? If not, it is likely a recovery
partition, OR, if you used a regular XP disk for the install, you
created two partitions, not just one, when you recreated the partitions.
That is, IF you deleted and recreated partitions. If you did not, then
it is a leftover partition.

Do you think it is right yet, or is it still wrong? What is the total
size of the disk drive?

Twayne`

 

[mia vai]

No I don’t think its right. Because my primary drive is 200 GB and second
drive is 500 GB. Do you think I should start from beginning? Last time I did
not use recovery CD. I use XP professional. I think I did not create any
partition.

 

[dennis]

Also, if the version of XP you installd did not have SP1 or SP2, then
127 Gig (137 Gig decimal) would be the largest a drive could be. It's
possible the install created another drive for you because of that
limitation, depending on how you answered questions during the install
process.

It shouldn't be possible to create any partitions beyond the 128GB mark.
128GB is the size of the total disk including all partitions without
proper LBA support.

 

[Twayne]

No I don't think its right. Because my primary drive is 200 GB and
second drive is 500 GB. Do you think I should start from beginning?
Last time I did not use recovery CD. I use XP professional. I think I
did not create any partition.

If you can only use 127 Gig of a 200 Gig drive, then it is most likely
because the BIOS settings are incorrect, or there is a hidden partition
taking the rest of the space.
In Control Panel, click Administrative Tools; Computer Management;
then Disk Management. This will show you ALL partitions on the drives
and whether any are hidden or unallocated space.
If there is only one partition on C and then unallocated space, then
you do not have ondisk recovery software. If there is another partition
that you don't recognize, that is most likely going to be your recovery
partition.

If you DO have ondisk recovery programs (partition), the you need to
figure out how to start it up to recover your computer. Usually it's
F12 or something like that but it varies.

If you do not have ondisk recovery software, then you have to see if
your BIOS has LBA enabled, see whether it's seeing the whole disk drive
etc..

The FIRST THING to do then is see if the BIOS sees more than 127 Gig for
your hard drive. BIOS settings might be called SYSTEM settings - that
varies too.
Then check Disk Management to see if it agrees with the BIOS
settings.
Note: For a 200 Gig disk, you will see something like 177 Gig (I'm
guessing here) of actual usable space, not 200 Gig.

What brand and model computer do you have?

You can also look up a lot of information about your computer at the
support area of the manufacturer's web site. If you have ondisk recovery
software, most will even describe how to use that.
And of course, the paperwork that came with the computer will tell
you a lot, too.

This is sort of a step back, but considering the information available
so far, I think it's the best way. Until the BIOS and whether an ondisk
recovery software exists is known it could be a mistake to advise
anything else.

HTH,

Twayne`

 

[Twayne]

It shouldn't be possible to create any partitions beyond the 128GB
mark. 128GB is the size of the total disk including all partitions
without proper LBA support.

Well ... yes and no. But I don't consider this a proper place/time to
get into it. Start another thread if you wish to discuss that further.

I think LBA = Large Block Access or something similar. It's what lets
you get past the 127 Gig barrier. I would think most systems these days
would have LBA on by default but who knows? "Stuff" happens, too. Ah;
here it is:

Logical Block Addressing. An Enhanced BIOS translation method that
allows for larger hard drive sizes (up to 2 terabytes), by providing the
....
www.pccomputernotes.com/pcterms/glossaryl.htm

HTH,

Twayne`

 

[dennis]

Well ... yes and no. But I don't consider this a proper place/time to
get into it. Start another thread if you wish to discuss that further.

It replied to the thought that xp created another partition beyond the
128GB marker.

I think LBA = Large Block Access or something similar. It's what lets
you get past the 127 Gig barrier. I would think most systems these days
would have LBA on by default but who knows? "Stuff" happens, too. Ah;
here it is:

Logical Block Addressing. An Enhanced BIOS translation method that
allows for larger hard drive sizes (up to 2 terabytes), by providing the

The problem is that there are more than one version of LBA. The older
one only uses 28 bits which gives you the 128GB limitation.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Few days ago my computer got virus and crash. Although I have
Norton anti virus software install in my computer. Anyway I fixed
it by clean hard drive and reinstall windows xp os. My computer
has 2 hard drive primary 80gb and slave drive is 500gb. Problem is
when I open my computer property there is 3 hard drive, drive C,
drive D, and drive E. I assume E is the slave drive, which suppose
to be 500gb now it's showing only 127 GB. I don't know what went
wrong. Somebody please help me to fix that problem. Thank you.

If you want to see that 500GB drive as one
partition and some day plan to use it as your
primary partition for installing Windows then
you need to create a slipstreamed CD. You
can either use SP3 or SP2. The remaining part
of my reply is for creating that slipstreamed
CD which will come in handy if you need to
do a "Repair Install".

Creating a "Slipstreamed" version of XP
that incorporates SP3 or SP2

Try AutoStreamer, it's easy to use and for the most part
self explanatory.

Auto Streamer Guide and Download Sites:
http://www.simplyguides.net/guides/using_autostreamer/using_autostreamer.shtml
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/1092632287/1

Where to download SP3
(This file will be used in created the slipstreamed CD)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...a8-5e76-401f-be08-1e1555d4f3d4&DisplayLang=en

Create a Slip Stream version of Windows XP using SP3
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/slipstream.htm (Using AutoStreamer)
http://www.theeldergeek.com/slipstreamed_xpsp3_cd_final.htm
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/xpsp3_slipstream.asp

The slipstreamed CD you create will not include any specific drivers
for your motherboard, audio, video, network, etc. Those you will
need to download from your PC manufacture's or motherboard's
web site.

Bullsh.., there is no REQUIREMENT to create a slipstream disk. In
fact, most of them fail because there is no way to properly test
them to be certain they work without risking the entire original
installation unless a second computer for playtimes is around. A
proper backup strategy and faithfully backing up is the correct
answer if one wishes to avoid manually rebuilding a system.

My questions for the original poster (mia vai)...

- Do you have an actual unmodified (non-unattended) Windows XP
installation CD? (Not a recovery/restoration set.) What does the
media you are using to install look like/say on the lablel(s)?

- If you open Disk Management
(Start button --> RUN --> DISKMGMT.MSC --> OK)
What do you see under the "Volume", "File System", "Capacity" and
"% Free" columns?

- What version of Windows XP do you currently have installed?

Start button --> RUN (no "RUN"? Press the "Windows Key" + R on
your keyboard) --> type in:
winver
--> Click OK.

The picture at the top of the window that opens will give you the
general (Operating System name) while the line starting with the
word "version" will give you the rest of the story. Post both in
response to this message verbatim. ;-)


Twayne,

I disagree with part of your statement. That part is this,
[re: slipstream disk] "In fact, most of them fail because there is
no way to properly test them to be certain they work without
risking the entire original installation unless a second computer
for playtimes is around."

Anyone with a computer (a single computer) can test a newly
created integrated Windows XP CD at no cost (other than time)
- given said single computer is currently working - if it is not
working - then your argument falls apart anyway - given their
original installation isn't at risk - since you are not risking
something if it doesn't work already. It's done using virtual
machines - and yes - I believe it is just that simple. No second
machine required. Free.

I have also seen very few failures in creating the integrated
Windows XP CDs - especially when utilizing automated tools
such as nLite or AutoStreamer (both suggestions were given,
directly or indirectly.)

I also feel you neglected to add details about why there is no
'requirement' to create an integrated Windows XP Installation CD -
given the entire set of facts in the conversations so far. Simply
put - if the installer has no need for a larger than 127GB partition
(at installation time) - then they do not need installation media
with SP1a or greater integrated. Later installation of said
service packs will give them the ability they may seek later.

"mia vai" decided that the best way to repair their issue was a
clean installation of Windows XP. "mia vai" obviously either did
not know what they were doing and/or they had a
restoration/recovery CD/DVD set and not a true Windows XP
installation CD. This is how one could explain that they ended
up with two physical hard drives and three total partitions
that they seem confused about (meaning they did not expect that
so it is unlikely that they went through the steps carefully/properly
to create the partitions during what would be a normal setup
process if they had the actual Windows XP installation CD.)

Given the current state (fresh install, unlikely to be very far
into it, etc), "mia vai" has a few options - but it is unclear which one
would be best to suggest at this time - given the lack of information.

- Does "mia vai" have an actual unmodified (non-unattended) Windows
XP installation CD? (Not a recovery/restoration set.)
- What service pack level (if any) is the true Windows XP
installation CD (if they have one) "mia vai" at - what service pack
is integrated into it?

If "mia vai" has an actual Windows XP installation CD, it's
probably *not* SP1a or beyond. If it was (and if they did not do
something strange the first time) they would have a partition on
the 500GB drive greater than 127GB.

Given they do not know how they ended up with three partitions
and it would not be the case for any default/unmodified installation
Windows XP CD to format/repartition all drives in the system (this
would all be manual) - I would chance to say the most likely
scenario is that "mia vai" has a recovery/restoration set and use
that to restore the computer. The computer likely originally came
with this set and only an 80GB hard disk drive. At some
time after the original purchase, "mia vai" likely purchased and
installed/had installed the 500GB secondary hard disk drive.
Unfortunately - it is possible that those who created the restoration
set made it so it just deleted and created new partitions on every
drive it saw. First physical drive - split into two partitions and
install
Windows XP. All other physical drives, delete and
create the largest partiton plausible and format it.

Another option is that "mia vai" did this manually - just not
wisely/carefully.

Yet another option is that "mia vai" is just seeing the result of
not having yet installed Windows XP Service Pack 1a or beyond and
that the installation of the later service packs will resolve their
issue and they will see the entire drive.

In any case - your response seemingly had nothing to do with the
original posters actual question/problem or even the response you
replied to's actual intent.

JS may have made a mistake (in assuming "mia vai" wanted to use the
500GB hard disk drive as their primary drive *and* wanted to see it
as 500GB at installation time.) However - given the mistake as
fact - JS is correct that in order to do this without some fancy FAT32,
pre-installation footwork; the easiest way is to utilize a integrated
(with SP1a or beyond) installation media for Windows XP.

Required? Nope. Easier? Likely, yeah.

And the only one to say "required" at that point - was you.

So how about actually helping the original poster instead of
whatever it was you were intending to do? (If it is even you and
not some imposter again...)

it is formatted in not ntfs

Zack,

What? It is formatted in "not ntfs"?

If you are inferring that it is formatted in FAT32 - okay - so? You can
(not natively - but can) format partitions larger than 128GB in FAT32.
Natively - Windows XP will only format FAT32 partitions 32GB.

 

[Twayne]

Sorry, but I'm done here. Too many either forgotten or missing details,
bad snipping, whatever, to keep track of this. My suggestion for your
the OP would be to close this thread as I haven't seen anything very
useful in it, and start over again with a new, PLAIN TEXT post which
includes all the relevent details in one place about your system and
your specific problem. Reference it back to this one and include a short
piece about why it's a new post.
Rather than this being any sort of language/cultural issue, it is
more an issue of proper construction of a post in order to get the most
benefit from the responses. Also, always use the same nick for every
post in the thread.

This may help if you spend a moment or two to read it:

How to Post a newsgroup question effectively:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q555375






it is formatted in not ntfs
Shenan Stanley wrote:

Few days ago my computer got virus and crash. Although I have
Norton anti virus software install in my computer. Anyway I fixed
it by clean hard drive and reinstall windows xp os. My computer
has 2 hard drive primary 80gb and slave drive is 500gb. Problem is
when I open my computer property there is 3 hard drive, drive C,
drive D, and drive E. I assume E is the slave drive, which suppose
to be 500gb now it's showing only 127 GB. I don't know what went
wrong. Somebody please help me to fix that problem. Thank you.

If you want to see that 500GB drive as one
partition and some day plan to use it as your
primary partition for installing Windows then
you need to create a slipstreamed CD. You
can either use SP3 or SP2. The remaining part
of my reply is for creating that slipstreamed
CD which will come in handy if you need to
do a "Repair Install".

Creating a "Slipstreamed" version of XP
that incorporates SP3 or SP2

Try AutoStreamer, it's easy to use and for the most part
self explanatory.

Auto Streamer Guide and Download Sites:
http://www.simplyguides.net/guides/using_autostreamer/using_autostreamer.shtml
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/1092632287/1

Where to download SP3
(This file will be used in created the slipstreamed CD)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...a8-5e76-401f-be08-1e1555d4f3d4&DisplayLang=en

Create a Slip Stream version of Windows XP using SP3
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/slipstream.htm (Using AutoStreamer)
http://www.theeldergeek.com/slipstreamed_xpsp3_cd_final.htm
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/xpsp3_slipstream.asp

The slipstreamed CD you create will not include any specific drivers
for your motherboard, audio, video, network, etc. Those you will
need to download from your PC manufacture's or motherboard's
web site.

Bullsh.., there is no REQUIREMENT to create a slipstream disk. In
fact, most of them fail because there is no way to properly test
them to be certain they work without risking the entire original
installation unless a second computer for playtimes is around. A
proper backup strategy and faithfully backing up is the correct
answer if one wishes to avoid manually rebuilding a system.

My questions for the original poster (mia vai)...
- Do you have an actual unmodified (non-unattended) Windows XP
installation CD? (Not a recovery/restoration set.) What does the media
you are using to install look like/say on the lablel(s)?
- If you open Disk Management
(Start button --> RUN --> DISKMGMT.MSC --> OK)
What do you see under the "Volume", "File System", "Capacity" and "%
Free"
columns?
- What version of Windows XP do you currently have installed?
Start button --> RUN (no "RUN"? Press the "Windows Key" + R on your
keyboard) --> type in:
winver
--> Click OK.
The picture at the top of the window that opens will give you the
general
(Operating System name) while the line starting with the word "version"
will
give you the rest of the story. Post both in response to this message
verbatim. ;-)
Twayne,
I disagree with part of your statement. That part is this,
[re: slipstream disk] "In fact, most of them fail because there is no
way to properly test them to be certain they work without risking
the entire original installation unless a second computer for
playtimes is around."
Anyone with a computer (a single computer) can test a newly
created integrated Windows XP CD at no cost (other than time)
- given said single computer is currently working - if it is not
working - then your argument falls apart anyway - given their
original installation isn't at risk - since you are not risking
something
if it doesn't work already. It's done using virtual machines - and yes
- I believe it is just that simple. No second machine required. Free.
I have also seen very few failures in creating the integrated Windows
XP CDs - especially when utilizing automated tools such as nLite or
AutoStreamer (both suggestions were given, directly or indirectly.)
I also feel you neglected to add details about why there is no
'requirement'
to create an integrated Windows XP Installation CD - given the entire
set
of facts in the conversations so far. Simply put - if the installer has
no
need
for a larger than 127GB partition (at installation time) - then they do
not
need
installation media with SP1a or greater integrated. Later installation
of
said
service packs will give them the ability they may seek later.
"mia vai" decided that the best way to repair their issue was a clean
installation of Windows XP. "mia vai" obviously either did not know
what
they were doing and/or they had a restoration/recovery CD/DVD set and
not a true Windows XP installation CD. This is how one could explain
that
they ended up with two physical hard drives and three total partitions
that they seem confused about (meaning they did not expect that so
it is unlikely that they went through the steps carefully/properly to
create
the partitions during what would be a normal setup process if they had
the actual Windows XP installation CD.)
Given the current state (fresh install, unlikely to be very far into it,
etc),
"mia vai" has a few options - but it is unclear which one would be best
to
suggest at this time - given the lack of information.
- Does "mia vai" have an actual unmodified (non-unattended) Windows XP
installation CD? (Not a recovery/restoration set.)
- What service pack level (if any) is the true Windows XP installation
CD
(if they have one) "mia vai" at - what service pack is integrated into
it?
If "mia vai" has an actual Windows XP installation CD, it's probably
*not*
SP1a or beyond. If it was (and if they did not do something strange the
first
time) they would have a partition on the 500GB drive greater than 127GB.
Given they do not know how they ended up with three partitions and it
would not be the case for any default/unmodified installation Windows XP
CD
to format/repartition all drives in the system (this would all be
manual) -
I would chance to say the most likely scenario is that "mia vai" has a
recovery/restoration set and use that to restore the computer. The
computer
likely originally came with this set and only an 80GB hard disk drive.
At
some
time after the original purchase, "mia vai" likely purchased and
installed/had
installed the 500GB secondary hard disk drive. Unfortunately - it is
possible
that those who created the restoration set made it so it just deleted
and
created new partitions on every drive it saw. First physical drive -
split
into
two partitions and install Windows XP. All other physical drives,
delete
and
create the largest partiton plausible and format it.
Another option is that "mia vai" did this manually - just not
wisely/carefully.
Yet another option is that "mia vai" is just seeing the result of not
having
yet installed Windows XP Service Pack 1a or beyond and that the
installation
of the later service packs will resolve their issue and they will see
the
entire drive.
In any case - your response seemingly had nothing to do with the
original
posters actual question/problem or even the response you replied to's
actual intent.
JS may have made a mistake (in assuming "mia vai" wanted to use the
500GB
hard disk drive as their primary drive *and* wanted to see it as 500GB
at
installation time.) However - given the mistake as fact - JS is correct
that
in order to do this without some fancy FAT32, pre-installation footwork;
the
easiest way is to utilize a integrated (with SP1a or beyond)
installation
media
for Windows XP.
Required? Nope. Easier? Likely, yeah.
And the only one to say "required" at that point - was you.
So how about actually helping the original poster instead of whatever
it was you were intending to do? (If it is even you and not some
imposter
again...)