160GB HD recognised at 127GB !

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A

andy

I have just got a 160GB Samsung HD, but WinXP only reports it as being
127GB. What can i do to put this right ?

I am using WinXP PRO (SP1), Athlon 2200+, 620RAM, 160GB ATA-133 Samsung HD.

I don't want to change to SP2 (if that is what is needed) as it was causing
problems with some of my software and i had to un-install it earlier !)

Cheers
Andy
 
andy said:
I have just got a 160GB Samsung HD, but WinXP only reports it as being
127GB. What can i do to put this right ?

I am using WinXP PRO (SP1), Athlon 2200+, 620RAM, 160GB ATA-133 Samsung HD.

I don't want to change to SP2 (if that is what is needed) as it was causing
problems with some of my software and i had to un-install it earlier !)

Cheers
Andy
Click to expand...

What makes you think you have a 160GB disk? There's GB and then there's
GB. Is it possible Samsung sells it as 160GB gross, but it only has
127GB after being formatted? Lots of storage is lost in formatting and
possibly also in bad sectors being tagged during the formatting
process. Losing 20% during formatting doesn't seem that unlikely.

Or maybe it's something completely different.

Bill
 
You might be facing a hardware limitation. To address anything over 128G you
need 48b EIDE. Unfortunately that means SP2 to have native support, as well
as having the requirements in the hardware.

What size does the BIOS report?
 
Bill said:
What makes you think you have a 160GB disk? There's GB and then
there's GB. Is it possible Samsung sells it as 160GB gross, but it
only has 127GB after being formatted? Lots of storage is lost in
formatting and possibly also in bad sectors being tagged during the
formatting process. Losing 20% during formatting doesn't seem that
unlikely.
Or maybe it's something completely different.

Bill
Click to expand...

Yes, it's very unlikely because it does not happen. Next time *THINK* before
putting fingers to keys - you could have checked your hypothesis by looking
at your own disk(s). You know what size they were sold at (decimal) you know
what size Windows tells you they are (binary).

Example - I have a 400GB secondary drive. Windows is telling me the binary
capacity is 372GB. Now, if you think that 28GB is a fifth, then I suggest
you go back to school.

It has nothing whatsoever to do with decimal vs binary and everything to do
with the fact that the BIOS does not support 48-bit LBA. The following
conditions are necessary for the correct functioning of 48-bit LBA under
Windows XP (also applies to 2000)

Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3) must be
installed and the system must have a 48-bit LBA-compatible Basic
Input/Output System (BIOS) installed. This includes EIDE controller card
BIOSs. The OP needs to determine whether the BIOS supports 48-bit
addressing. If not, he will have to determine whether there's an update
available which will enable it to do so. If not, he will have to purchase a
controller card, if the driver didn't ship with one.
 
I have seen this question asked several times. Is there an easy way to tell
whether the BIOS uses 48b processing? I am running SP2 and all seems to be
well. A 200GB driver reports 186, an 80 GB drive reports 74.5. These numbers
seem reasonable to me.
 
andy said:
I have just got a 160GB Samsung HD, but WinXP only reports it as being
127GB. What can i do to put this right ?

I am using WinXP PRO (SP1), Athlon 2200+, 620RAM, 160GB ATA-133 Samsung
HD.

I don't want to change to SP2 (if that is what is needed) as it was
causing
problems with some of my software and i had to un-install it earlier !)

Cheers
Andy
Click to expand...

Why can I only see 127 to 137 GBytes of my 160+ GB drive in Windows XP?
http://www.seagate.com/support/kb/disc/faq/137_winxp.html

It's a Seagate site but the limitation isn't manufacturer specific.

--
D

I'm not an MVP a VIP nor do I have ESP.
I was just trying to help.
Please use your own best judgment before implementing any suggestions or
advice herein.
No warranty is expressed or implied.
Your mileage may vary.
See store for details. :)

Remove shoes to E-mail.
 
If you see over 128G then you're running 48b EIDE.

The only way to tell in advance, that I'm aware of, is to simply look up the
specs of your hardware. Push come to shove if your motherboard doesn't
support 48b natively you can always add on a controller card that can.
 
Is this what you want? Drive>View>Change details

Not Me said:
It may be as simple as downloading and applying Maxtor's Big Drive
Enabler, from here:
http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/m...tware Downloads/ATA Hard Drives&downloadID=11
[sorry about the length of the link]. This program just applies changes to
the XP registry and is not manufacturer specific (i.e., will work with any
make hard drive. Worth a try.
Gene K
I have just got a 160GB Samsung HD, but WinXP only reports it as being
127GB. What can i do to put this right ?

I am using WinXP PRO (SP1), Athlon 2200+, 620RAM, 160GB ATA-133 Samsung
HD.

I don't want to change to SP2 (if that is what is needed) as it was
causing
problems with some of my software and i had to un-install it earlier !)

Cheers
Andy
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks nor, i have just tried that with no luck !!! - it is still shown as
127GB (137GB true). However, the BIOS reports 160GB !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fed up now !!!


Andy



nor said:
Is this what you want? Drive>View>Change details

Not Me said:
It may be as simple as downloading and applying Maxtor's Big Drive
Enabler, from here:
Click to expand...
http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/maxtor/menuitem.3c67e325e0a6b1f6294198b091
346068/?channelpath=/en_us/Support/Software%20Downloads/ATA%20Hard%20Drives&
downloadID=11
[sorry about the length of the link]. This program just applies changes to
the XP registry and is not manufacturer specific (i.e., will work with any
make hard drive. Worth a try.
Gene K
I have just got a 160GB Samsung HD, but WinXP only reports it as being
127GB. What can i do to put this right ?

I am using WinXP PRO (SP1), Athlon 2200+, 620RAM, 160GB ATA-133 Samsung
HD.

I don't want to change to SP2 (if that is what is needed) as it was
causing
problems with some of my software and i had to un-install it earlier !)

Cheers
Andy
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks nor, i have just tried that with no luck !!! - it is still shown as
127GB (137GB true). However, the BIOS reports 160GB !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fed up now !!!


Andy
Click to expand...
What level of Service Pack for XP is installed? At the very least you'll
want SP1 installed to get Windows recognizing more of the drive. Preferably
SP2 (which includes SP1) if it installs without problems on your setup.
 
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