Hard Drive Compatibility

[ETHRIVRAV]

I just installed a 300GB Maxxtor hardrive on my Dell Dimension 4300 computer, but it only recognizes it as a 127 GB Drive, and also not recognizing my second storage harddrive of 80GB anymore (this drive was already there). How do I fix this problem?

 

[intercodes]

ETHRIVRAV,

The infamous 137 GB XP limit problem....

1) Start->Run->diskmgmt.msc . Disk managment opens now. If there is any unallocated free space , try to format it and you can see the full drive

2) There might be a tool available to enable large disk in XP, check the Maxtor website

3) Install service packs, to enable large drives in XP

 

[IAM_7154]

Maxtor big drive enabler

 

[TheMajor]

You either need to enable it in the registry, use Maxtor big drive enabler or install a servicepack (SP1a or SP2)

You can enable it in your registry using X-Setup www.x-setup.com

 

[ETHRIVRAV]

Installed service pack 2, and big drive enabler but properties still show 127GB instead of 300GB. What else can I do? Do I need to start over reformatting drive and reinstalling windows?

 

[jono199]

New bios Flash, assuming your Mobo supports drives of that size.

 

[EricB]

you can use the XP cd to make 3 100 gig partitons if you reformat it

You might also have your ide cables improperly configured

 

[TheMajor]

ETHRIVRAV,

The infamous 137 GB XP limit problem....

1) Start->Run->diskmgmt.msc . Disk managment opens now. If there is any unallocated free space , try to format it and you can see the full drive

do this

 

[ETHRIVRAV]

Okay, I went into the New Partition wizard in Windows and created an extended partition and allocated the space. The disk manager shows the whole space (total 300 GB), but when you check properties of this drive it still shows it at 127 GB. Is this to be expected? In other words, will I still have use of the whole 300 GB of the hard drive, rather than only 127GB?

 

[TheMajor]

Assign a driveletter to the new partition.
start>run>diskmgmt.msc

rightclick the new partition and assign a driveletter.

both partitions should be 300GB in total. C: will stay 127GB unless you format the entire drive into 1 partition.