Windows XP disk size limit

  • Thread starter Thread starter Matti Lamprhey
  • Start date Start date
M

Matti Lamprhey

I have a Western Digital 250GB internal EIDE disk which I'd like to add
to my system, but I've been told that Windows can only support drives
with a maximum of 137GB out of the box. Is that correct, and if so how
can I get around this limit?

Matti
 
Matti said:
I have a Western Digital 250GB internal EIDE disk which I'd like to add
to my system, but I've been told that Windows can only support drives
with a maximum of 137GB out of the box. Is that correct, and if so how
can I get around this limit?

Matti
Click to expand...

Depends on the box. The original release of XP did have a 137GB limit,
but SP1 cured that. Also, the MB may have a 137GB limit; some MBs
can be cured with a BIOS upgrade.
 
Bob Willard said:
Depends on the box. The original release of XP did have a 137GB
limit, but SP1 cured that. Also, the MB may have a 137GB limit;
some MBs can be cured with a BIOS upgrade.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, which makes a lot of sense. I didn't want to fiddle
around inside the box if it was hopeless, but now I'm happy that it
should be fine.

Matti
 
Who told you this?

I have two 250G hard drives (Western Digital) that were installed "out of
the box" and they did not require anything except the installation of
windows (XP).

Mainly, properly detecting larger hard drives is a BIOS function. If your
system is older than about 2 years, it may not "like" larger HD's. Then you
can use the EZbios disk that comes with most HD's to "fool the BIOS" into
seeing it.

E
 
Microsoft:
---------------
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;303013




SEAGATE:
---------------
http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/utils.html

http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/download/reg_48bit_lba.exe

Reg48bitLBA for Windows XP SP1 and Windows 2000 SP3
Windows XP Service Pack 1 and Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 operating systems, or higher, are required
to support ATA disc drives larger than 137GB. The registry setting EnableBigLBA needs to be set
after the proper level service pack is installed.

If you use the traditional Microsoft Disk Administrator or Disk Management tools to prepare your
drive or you need to check the status of the EnableBigLBA registry setting, you can use the Ontrack
Reg48bitLBA utility to set or confirm if the setting is enabled.

-----------------



MAXTOR:
----------------

http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/M...tware Downloads/ATA Hard Drives&downloadID=11

ATA Hard Drives

Software Downloads

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 and
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 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.

http://maxtor.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/...p?p_lva=1392&p_faqid=960&p_created=1016214655
 
You don't need to set enableBigLBA if you have SP1.

You only need it if you yse pre-SP1 hotfix.
 
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