137GB Capacity Barrier
The Windows 137GB Capacity Barrier is also known as 48-
bit Logical Block Addressing Support for ATA/EIDE, Serial
ATA or ATAPI hard drives. The 137GB limitation does not
affect SCSI interface hard drives.
In order to properly access the full capacity of a hard
drive larger than 137GB, your system must meet the system
requirements described below. Formatting a drive past the
137GB barrier on a system that does not meet these
requirements will result in data loss.
Note: If you have an add-in Ultra ATA/133 PCI host
adapter card, you can safely install and use your drive
with the PCI card on Windows XP, 2000, Me, and 98SE. You
must follow the host adapter manufacturer's installation
instructions. Questions about host adapter device
drivers should be directed to the manufacturer of the
card.
1) Operating System Solutions
The only current Windows operating systems that natively
support the full capacity of drives larger than 137GB are:
Windows XP Home Service Pack 1 (SP1)
Windows XP Professional SP1
Windows 2000 Professional SP3
Windows 2000 Server SP3
NOTE: If you are using a motherboard or ATA/133 PCI
adapter card which includes new ATA or ATAPI disk device
drivers, the Windows XP or Windows 2000 operating system
installation will pause briefly and ask for you to insert
an OEM floppy diskette. This pause for new "SCSI
adapter" drivers happens soon after the boot near the
beginning of the installation. See your adapter
documentation for specifics.
Even with new device drivers, the latest Service Pack
from Microsoft must be installed to ensure support for
large drives. To download the latest Service Pack for
Windows XP or 2000, visit
http://www.microsoft.com.
See also the Microsoft Knowledge base articles that
explain how to enable large drive support after the
Service Packs are installed. For Windows XP SP1 see
article Q303013. For Windows 2000 SP3 see article
Q305098.
Once you have installed the latest Service Pack, you must
install and run the Windows version of Data Lifeguard to
properly format and partition the full capacity of the
drive.
If you do not have one of the operating systems listed
above, Western Digital recommends that you limit the
partition size to 137GB or upgrade your operating system
or try one of the solutions listed below.
2) Chipset Solutions for Windows 98SE, Me, 2000 and XP
Intel 8xx Series Chipsets
Intel offers drivers to support the full capacity of
drives larger than 137 GB on motherboards equipped with
the Intel 810, 810E, 810E2, 815, 815, 815E, 815EP, 815P,
820, 820E, 830M, 830MP, 830MG, 840, 845, 850, or 860
chipset. The Intel Application Accelerator v2.3 or above
is compatible with Windows 98SE, Me, 2000, and XP
operating systems. Detailed information and the latest
version of the driver can be downloaded from
www.intel.com/support/chipsets/iaa/. If you are not sure
what kind of chipset your motherboard has, contact your
system or motherboard manufacturer.
If you are building a new system, you can use a bootable
Data Lifeguard for DOS CD or diskette to partition and
format large drives to their full capacity. If you do
not have a bootable diskette, you can create one for Data
Lifeguard for DOS. Choose the "Setup Your Hard Drive"
button from the Main Menu, then select the "Advanced
Installation" option during the install. After the drive
has been partitioned and formatted, you can install
Windows onto your system. Once Windows has been
successfully installed, you should immediately download
and install the Intel Application Accelerator before
putting your system into regular use. Western Digital is
not responsible for Intel Application Accelerator support
issues.
Other Chipsets
Some motherboards and PCI ATA cards equipped with VIA,
SiS, ALi, NVIDIA, HighPoint, and Promise chipsets may
have drivers or updates that will allow you to access the
full capacity of a drive larger than 137GB. You should
contact or visit your chipset, system, or motherboard
manufacturer's website to see if they have information
about the 137GB Windows operating system limitation and
drivers available for your operating system. If not,
Western Digital recommends that you consider the purchase
of an Ultra ATA/133 PCI Adapter Card, available from most
retail and online computer stores.
3) Ultra ATA/133 PCI Adapter Card
If you have an Ultra ATA/133 PCI adapter card with an
open channel, your high-capacity Western Digital drive
will be fully supported in Windows while the drive is
attached to such controller. Western Digital recommends
using an Ultra ATA/133 PCI Adapter Card, which is fully
compatible with all capacities of Western Digital
EIDE/SATA hard drives. Some system BIOS do not support
booting to drives attached to alternate adapters, so you
may only be able to use the drive as additional storage
and not as the boot drive. You should contact or visit
your host adapter manufacturer's website to see if they
have information about the 137GB Windows operating system
limitation and drivers available for your operating
system.
