XP and large hard drives

R

Rhino

I am looking at getting a new computer built and I want to get at least one
large hard drive in it, maybe a terrabyle in size. I want to move my
existing copy of XP to the new computer.

I seem to recall hearing that XP has problems with larger hard drives and
could only handle drives that were no large than 127 GB drives. My existing
drives are less than that so I have no experience with larger hard drives
myself.

How would I go about installing XP on a new computer where the drive is
bigger than 127 GB? I have Windows XP Pro. I want to be able to format and
use all of the new drive, not just the first 127 GB of it.
 
T

Thip

Rhino said:
I am looking at getting a new computer built and I want to get at least one
large hard drive in it, maybe a terrabyle in size. I want to move my
existing copy of XP to the new computer.

I seem to recall hearing that XP has problems with larger hard drives and
could only handle drives that were no large than 127 GB drives. My
existing drives are less than that so I have no experience with larger
hard drives myself.

How would I go about installing XP on a new computer where the drive is
bigger than 127 GB? I have Windows XP Pro. I want to be able to format and
use all of the new drive, not just the first 127 GB of it.

I think it's the motherboard that will set the limit, not XP--as I recall,
XP can handle up to 2 TB. I have two 500 GB, a setup I like very much
because I can use the second drive for My Documents, backups, etc. Each
drive has tons of free space at the moment..

And FWIW, I make regular backups on still another drive (external).
 
K

Ken Blake, MVP

I am looking at getting a new computer built and I want to get at least one
large hard drive in it, maybe a terrabyle


Note, for your shopping, that it's spelled "terabyte."
in size. I want to move my
existing copy of XP to the new computer.

I seem to recall hearing that XP has problems with larger hard drives and
could only handle drives that were no large than 127 GB drives.


No, not correct. That was true only prior to SP1.

Also note that if you have an older motherboard, there is also a
potential problem. You need a motherboard with a BIOS and controller
that supports 48-bit LBA (or alternatively, an add-in controller card
that does).

My existing
drives are less than that so I have no experience with larger hard drives
myself.

How would I go about installing XP on a new computer where the drive is
bigger than 127 GB? I have Windows XP Pro. I want to be able to format and
use all of the new drive, not just the first 127 GB of it.


Nothing special is required. You do it the same way as if it were a
smaller drive.
 
L

Lil' Dave

Rhino said:
I am looking at getting a new computer built and I want to get at least one
large hard drive in it, maybe a terrabyle in size. I want to move my
existing copy of XP to the new computer.

I seem to recall hearing that XP has problems with larger hard drives and
could only handle drives that were no large than 127 GB drives. My
existing drives are less than that so I have no experience with larger
hard drives myself.

How would I go about installing XP on a new computer where the drive is
bigger than 127 GB? I have Windows XP Pro. I want to be able to format and
use all of the new drive, not just the first 127 GB of it.

--
Rhino
---
"There are two ways of constructing a software design. One way is to make
it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies. And the other way
is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies." -
C.A.R. Hoare

:You can start by telling the newsgroup if you have the original XP version,
or, some other version with a service pack provided with it.

To my knowledge, all PCs built today have a bios with 48 bit LBA and is not
an issue regardless in that specific factor. Only the installation XP
version is an issue regarding your specific question.
 
R

Rhino

Ken Blake said:
Note, for your shopping, that it's spelled "terabyte."
Oops.



No, not correct. That was true only prior to SP1.

Also note that if you have an older motherboard, there is also a
potential problem. You need a motherboard with a BIOS and controller
that supports 48-bit LBA (or alternatively, an add-in controller card
that does).
I know that my BIOS supports 48-bit LBA; I've checked with the
manufacturer's website.

My XP CD contains XP without any service packs on it, therefore it _is_ XP
prior to SP1. How do I coax it to format a 1 terabyte drive when this
support does not exist for XP prior to SP1?

Unless I'm missing something, XP is going to want to format my drive
_BEFORE_ I can install SP1 but my drive will have already been formatted by
then. But since I formatted it with XP Pro before SP1 was applied, I will
only have formatted the first 127 GB.

Or am I just imagining a problem here? Will I format only the first 127 GB
when I install XP, then do my Windows updates, including SP1, then be able
to see and format the rest of the hard drive? I'm not quite clear whether
the initial formatting done by XP prior to the installation of SP1 will
leave the drive accessible so that I can format the rest after adding SP1.
Nothing special is required. You do it the same way as if it were a
smaller drive.
As noted above, I'm not sure if I'll be able to get to the part of the drive
beyond the first 127 GB after I install SP1. Can you clarify this, please?
 
C

CBoom

PS: what about sp3?

You cannot integrate sp3 directly to a XP RTM disk!

You can integrate sp3 only after integrating sp2

so it's a 2 step thing...

if you need help with any of this post here
 
C

CBoom

hello,

you will have to SLIPSTREAM your XP with SP2

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sp2_slipstream.asp

this means integrating service pack 2 inside the xp cd and creating a new cd

a good tool to do this with little hassle is nlite http://www.nliteos.com/

OR if a friend has the same exact version of XP with sp2 you can use that CD
but with YOUR product key!

PS: what about sp3?

You cannot integrate sp3 directly to a XP RTM disk!

You can integrate sp3 only after integrating sp2

so it's a 2 step thing...

if you need help with any of this post here

I blogged this question along with my answer for future reference here

http://computerboom.blogspot.com/2008/12/how-would-i-go-about-installing-xp-on.html
 
K

Ken Blake, MVP

I know that my BIOS supports 48-bit LBA; I've checked with the
manufacturer's website.

Good.


My XP CD contains XP without any service packs on it, therefore it _is_ XP
prior to SP1. How do I coax it to format a 1 terabyte drive when this
support does not exist for XP prior to SP1?


Slipstream SP2 onto the CD.

http://forum.aumha.org/viewtopic.php?t=7262
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/slipstream.htm

The word "slipstreaming" was originally used to refer to the practice
of many software manufacturers of including updates to their product
on the distribution CD without any real announcement of what they were
doing or differentiation of the various kind of CDs. It was always a
disparaging term because it was poor practice. It was used as a way
for the manufacturer not to have to print a different box, manual,
etc. for the updated version, and to sell older stock that didn't
appear to be outdated, but actually was. That saved them money, but it
left the customer unable to tell whether he was buying the new version
or the old.

Somewhere along the line, people started creating their own updated
versions of some software, by merging the update files with the
original CD. Someone got the bright idea to call it by the same name
"slipstreaming," without realizing that the name was originally used
in a disparaging way.

The term stuck. I dislike the use of the word this way, but the
original meaning has been lost, so I long ago gave up trying to fight
it. Since everybody now uses it simply to mean a version with the
upgrade incorporated in it, I reluctantly go along.

So these days a slipstreamed copy of XP simply means an installation
CD that you've made yourself that incorporates an upgrade, such as
SP2.
 
A

Anna

Rhino said:
I know that my BIOS supports 48-bit LBA; I've checked with the
manufacturer's website.

My XP CD contains XP without any service packs on it, therefore it _is_ XP
prior to SP1. How do I coax it to format a 1 terabyte drive when this
support does not exist for XP prior to SP1?

Unless I'm missing something, XP is going to want to format my drive
_BEFORE_ I can install SP1 but my drive will have already been formatted
by then. But since I formatted it with XP Pro before SP1 was applied, I
will only have formatted the first 127 GB.

Or am I just imagining a problem here? Will I format only the first 127 GB
when I install XP, then do my Windows updates, including SP1, then be able
to see and format the rest of the hard drive? I'm not quite clear whether
the initial formatting done by XP prior to the installation of SP1 will
leave the drive accessible so that I can format the rest after adding SP1.
As noted above, I'm not sure if I'll be able to get to the part of the
drive beyond the first 127 GB after I install SP1. Can you clarify this,
please?


Rhino:
As you have heard, all things considered, it would be best if you would
combine SP2 with your present XP installation CD (that contains no Service
Pack), using the "slipstream" process that has generally been described to
you. There are various techniques that can be used to "slipstream" a SP so
that it's integrated into the XP installation CD. One popular program is the
NLite program which has already been mentioned to you.

The program we prefer (also a "freebie") is the Autostreamer program which I
believe has already been recommended to you. We find that program just about
the easiest to use and it seems to be quite reliable. There are some
step-by-step instructions for using Autostreamer at...
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/slipstream.htm
and,
http://www.simplyguides.net/guides/using_autostreamer/using_autostreamer.shtml

I did want to point out however, that there's no great harm in installing XP
on your current (intended?) large-capacity HDD using your current XP
installation CD that doesn't contain any of the Service Packs. What will
happen in that instance is that the system will recognize only about 127
GB - 137 GB of your HDD. When you subsequently install SP2 - the file is
available for download from MS - (there's really no point in slipstreaming
SP1) the full-capacity of your HDD will be recognized, however, the
remaining disk space above & beyond that original 127 GB (or up to 137 GB)
will be considered "unallocated space", i.e, disk space that you can
subsequently partition/format using XP's Disk Management utility. But note
it will be a second partition (at the least) on the disk. If you can live
with that or desire to multi-partition that unallocated disk space, then
fine. But if you desire a single partition encompassing the entire disk
space of your large- capacity HDD, then slipstreaming would be the way to
go.

After you've worked with SP2 for a little while and all goes well, i.e., no
problems with the boot process and the machine functions without any
problems, then install SP3.
Anna
 
B

Bruce Chambers

Rhino said:
I know that my BIOS supports 48-bit LBA; I've checked with the
manufacturer's website.

My XP CD contains XP without any service packs on it, therefore it _is_ XP
prior to SP1. How do I coax it to format a 1 terabyte drive when this
support does not exist for XP prior to SP1?


For slip-streaming the service pack and subsequent updates to WinXP:

How to integrate software updates into your Windows installation source
files
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;828930

SlipStreaming WinXP
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/slipstream.htm


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot
 
A

Ardent

You cannot integrate sp3 directly to a XP RTM disk!

AFAIK you cannot install SP3 on a XP gold (the first release without
any service packs) without first installing SP1.

However you can definitely slipstream SP3 on to XP gold and then use
it for a fresh install. I have done that myself

Hope this helps
 

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