FAQ - Why does my large hard drive show as 137/127Gb?

[gwendes]

LBA48 limitation

Q. When does my over 137gb drive only show as 127 / 137gb? (may show slightly less than this due to partitioning, see here (http://forum.novatech.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=18))

A. The full capacity of ATA drives larger than 137gig is not recognised by the operating system. This is a limitation of operating Windows operating systems up to XP.

Solution. 1. If you are using Windows 2000 SP3 or Windows XP SP1 and higher you can use Maxtor’s big drive enabler software patch.

http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/downlo ... nabler.htm (http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/big_drive_enabler.htm)


Download Maxtor Big Drive Enabler
· File Name: big_drive_enabler.exe
· File Download Size: 64 KB
· File Version: 1.0.3.1
· Revision Date: 04/02/03
· Compatible Operating Systems: Windows 2000 ,Windows XP Home Edition ,Windows XP Professional Maxtor's Big Drive Enabler is a one step executable that enables support for drives larger than 137 Gigabytes in Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 and XP Service Pack 1. This utility takes the guess work out of editing the Windows registry. The Big Drive Enabler fixes an operating system limitation. This utility is needed anytime a Hard Disk Drive larger than 137 GB is connected to the motherboard's ATA bus, regardless of any system BIOS that supports 48-bit LBA.

Note: Failure to install the required service packs and install the Enable Big LBA patch can result in data loss when accessing the hard disk beyond 137 Gigabytes. For more information regarding Windows limitations and the 137 Gigabyte barrier please read Maxtor Knowledge Base Answer ID 960 ( http://maxtor.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/maxt ... 1016214655 (http://maxtor.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/maxtor.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_lva=1392&p_faqid=960&p_created=1016214655) ) and Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 303013 ( http://support.microsoft.com/default.as ... -us;303013 (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;303013) ).
To use the Maxtor Big Drive Enabler, download big_drive_enabler.exe from this Web site then double-click on the downloaded file to begin installation.

After running Big Drive Enabler you need to go into Disk Management and create a second partition using the unallocated space on the drive. To get into Disk Management right click My Computer and go to manage.

2. Use Maxblast III to re-partition the drive. Maxblast is designed to work around any software or BIOS limitations. Re-partitioning the hard drive will mean 100% data loss.

http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/downlo ... blast3.htm (http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/maxblast3.htm)


Download MaxBlast 4

* File Name: maxblast4.exe
* File Download Size: 1.8 MB
* File Version: 4.0
* Revision Date: 11/01/04
* Compatible Operating Systems: Windows 2000 ,Windows 98 ,Windows Me ,Windows XP Home Edition ,Windows XP ProfessionalMaxBlast 4 is a one-step, ATA/IDE hard drive installation utility. MaxBlast 4 makes hard drive installations and upgrades hassle-free for novices and professionals alike by automatically identifying, partitioning, and formatting any Maxtor ATA or SATA hard drive, making it data-ready in minutes. MaxBlast 4 replaces all previous versions of MaxBlast and MaxBlast Plus.

Creates a bootable MaxBlast 4 installation diskette.
* Compatible with Windows 98SE, Me, Windows 2000, and Windows XP.
* Breaks the 528 MB, 2.1 GB, 4.2 GB, 8.4 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB and 137 GB capacity barriers.
* Supports both FAT32 and NTFS drive partitions.
* Easy to use, Graphical Interface (GUI) with mouse and printer support.
* Supports up to four ATA devices in the same system*.
* The copy feature lets you make an exact duplicate of your existing hard drive.
* Fast ATA and Serial ATA compatible.
* The installation tutorial option allows you to view the installation process before physically installing your Maxtor ATA hard drive.
Note: There must be at least one Maxtor ATA Disk Drive installed in the system for MaxBlast 4 to run.


Other ways to fix the problem can be found here.

http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?l ... 04090aRCRD (http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=127_GB_-_137_GB_Limitation&vgnextoid=186b5b1142aec010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD )

***edited by Danno on 07-06-2008***

[kevina]

Windows XP on a Traditional Motherboard
Windows XP manufactured prior to August 2002 has a native limitation of 137GB supporting ATA interface disc drives. In this configuration WinXP will not create partitions greater than 137GB until after the Service Pack is installed and registry bit EnableBigLBA is set to 1.
For the purposes of this discussion, both the original Parallel ATA (PATA) and the new Serial ATA (SATA) interface disc drives will have the same operating system requirements when attached to the motherboard and using the native Windows drivers.
As of January 2003, new copies of Windows XP Full Versions have incorporated 48-bit Addressing for ATA interface disc drives. You can confirm that your copy has this support by inspecting the installation CD artwork. It should say "Windows XP Home (or Professional) Edition Including Service Pack 1."
For instructions on how to get the latest Windows XP service pack, please see Microsoft article Q322389.
See also the Microsoft Knowledgebase article Q303013 that explains how to enable large drive support after the Service Packs are installed.


Link for Seagate

http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/dri ... scwiz.html (http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/drivers/discwiz.html)

[athersleyram]

I have installed the large drive enabler but according to Maxtor it only works if the drive is connected directly to the IDE port. They also will not give support if the drive is fitted into an external USB case. They suc!!

[robt]

You don't mention which Operating System you are running.

If Windows XP, make sure you are running the latest service pack.

It is also worth checking in Disk Management to see if the whole capacity of the drive is being listed (ie without all of it being partitioned).

[BishBashBosh]

2. Use Maxblast III to re-partition the drive. Maxblast is designed to work around any software or BIOS limitations. Re-partitioning the hard drive ('http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/products/a502x1y0z1p0s0n0m0') will mean 100% data loss.

http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/downlo ... blast3.htm (http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/maxblast3.htm)

I've just bought a 200gb Maxtor SATA and I'm having the same problem. It is intended to be the system drive. Unfortunately my version of XP is not new enough to cater for the increased size. When you say 100% of data loss, does that include the already partitioned C drive or only the unpartitioned space? Obviously if it will also wipe C drive then I'm gonna find myself in a perpetual cycle of reformatting, unless you can install the drivers as third party drivers prior to the windows XP install?

Thanks!

[gwendes]

MaxBlast is a standalone bootable utility.

It will run on boot of your machine and independant of any operating system, and as such is not affected by the operating system limitations you are experiencing.

Download the bootable here (http://downloads.maxtor.com/downloads/_files/maxtor/en_us/downloads/mxblst4cd.zip)

You will need to extract the *.iso disc image file and burn this to a CD.

Make sure your PC is setup to boot from a CD.