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Win XP only recognizes 131 GB instead of 300GB!!

post #1 of 24
6/12/05 at 7:46pm
Thread Starter 
Ok here's the thing:

1 - The Primary HD was OEM [WD] 80GB that I just replaced with a 300GB
2 - The Secondary is a 160GB

Anyways, I want the 300GB to be the boot drive.

My BIOS recognizes the HD for the full capacity, but Win XP only sees 131GB

Now, I know I need atleast SP-1 for this but when I bought my PC, there were no Service Packs out so basically I am SOL !!


Is there a way around this ? Now, I have installed the OS and Upgraded to SP2, but the Primary Drive [300 GB] still shows up as 131 GB only!!

FDisk is no good either...

I really wanna use my 160 and 300 HDs together and I can't FDisk my 160GB because I have a bunch of stuff on it.. unless I get an external HD to transfer the 155 GB of data I have on it ...

HELP!
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post #2 of 24
6/12/05 at 7:47pm
Thread Starter 
This is for my Dell Dimension 8200 Desktop With XP Home [w/o any Service Packs on the OS Re-install CD that came with the PC]
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post #3 of 24
6/12/05 at 8:20pm
you have to have SP1 or better installed to recognize hard drives larger than 130GB

since you did install it now, but didn't have it when you installed, the excess is probably unpartitioned. get a program (like PartitionMagic or something) to resize the partition.
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post #4 of 24
6/12/05 at 8:52pm
If you can, slipstream SP2 on to the OS CD that you have, and then install using that - you should be able to see the full disk then.
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post #5 of 24
6/12/05 at 9:43pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Revenent
If you can, slipstream SP2 on to the OS CD that you have, and then install using that - you should be able to see the full disk then.

Interesting... could you please elaborate on this.. what is slipstream and how do I do that on an OEM CD.. that is most likely closed..
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post #6 of 24
6/12/05 at 9:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Anaconda
you have to have SP1 or better installed to recognize hard drives larger than 130GB

since you did install it now, but didn't have it when you installed, the excess is probably unpartitioned. get a program (like PartitionMagic or something) to resize the partition.
MaxBLAST3 [software that came with the Maxtor 300 GB SATA HD] won't allow me to re-partition the Primary HD which is the 300GB one..

I have Partition Magic 5.0 I'll give it a shot.. but I doubt it'll let me re-partition the primary/boot drive either...

will update soon ... thanks!

PS: Would my MOBO have something to do with this ? It's the 850E Chipset and I have recently flashed the BIOS to A09, the latest release for the Dimension 8200 from DELL..
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post #7 of 24
6/12/05 at 9:54pm
no, shouldn't, since the BIOS is recognizing that it's a 300GB drive just fine.

PartitionMagic's never failed me in resizing my primary drives to make partitions for secondary installations, and then putting them back once my task was done. Mine's version 8 tho
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post #8 of 24
6/12/05 at 10:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Punjabi
Interesting... could you please elaborate on this.. what is slipstream and how do I do that on an OEM CD.. that is most likely closed..
Is it a full OS or a restore disc?

If it is the full OS CD, you can slipstream the files, then burn another CD with the slipstreamed copy.

Search for "slipstream Windows XP service pack" and you should find lots of sites telling you how.

If it's a restore CD, then I don't think you can do that, but I'm not positive.
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post #9 of 24
6/13/05 at 12:13am
Partition Magic should let you partition your boot drive. Its one of the best utilities I've ever used.

Hopefully, your CD is an actual WinXP install CD, and not just a recovery. If its a full disc, slipstream SP2 in. If its a recovery, your best bet is to use Partition Magic and then maybe Norton Ghost (9.0 is actually Powerquest DriveImage) to make a new recovery image if you'd rather have that image instead of the old one.

Alternatively, you could partition the unused space into another logical drive and just run dual partitions instead of one.

Good guide to Slipstreaming:
http://www.maximumpc.com/2005/01/how_to_slipstre.html
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post #10 of 24
6/13/05 at 12:25pm
I have PMagic 8 if you want it just PM me with yahoo, aim, or hotmail
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post #11 of 24
6/13/05 at 8:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hentai
I have PMagic 8 if you want it just PM me with yahoo, aim, or hotmail
tried sending u a msg thru MSN.. but you were offline so it didn't go thru... I'll try again.. my id is " y3krahul@hotmail.com "

thanks man!!

Rahul
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post #12 of 24
6/13/05 at 8:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Revenent
Is it a full OS or a restore disc?

If it is the full OS CD, you can slipstream the files, then burn another CD with the slipstreamed copy.

Search for "slipstream Windows XP service pack" and you should find lots of sites telling you how.

If it's a restore CD, then I don't think you can do that, but I'm not positive.
It's the Restore disk that came with the PC. However, all it has is Windows XP... everything else [ drivers, softwares bla bla ] are on other cds.. But, yes it's still a restore disk

Quote:
no, shouldn't, since the BIOS is recognizing that it's a 300GB drive just fine.
PartitionMagic's never failed me in resizing my primary drives to make partitions for secondary installations, and then putting them back once my task was done. Mine's version 8 tho
Cool!!.. So, this PC isn't ancient yet!!

Quote:
Partition Magic should let you partition your boot drive. Its one of the best utilities I've ever used.

Hopefully, your CD is an actual WinXP install CD, and not just a recovery. If its a full disc, slipstream SP2 in. If its a recovery, your best bet is to use Partition Magic and then maybe Norton Ghost (9.0 is actually Powerquest DriveImage) to make a new recovery image if you'd rather have that image instead of the old one.

Alternatively, you could partition the unused space into another logical drive and just run dual partitions instead of one.

Good guide to Slipstreaming:
http://www.maximumpc.com/2005/01/how_to_slipstre.html
Thanks for that link!

I'm wondering if PMagic will recognize the un-partitioned space on the 300 GB HD ? Because... as of now, I can only see 131 GB from the 300 GB disk.. and I have already upgraded my XP Home Original to XP Pro with SP2...
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post #13 of 24
6/13/05 at 10:47pm
If it can be done at all, Partition Magic can do it no problems.
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post #14 of 24
6/13/05 at 11:23pm
the problem is your ATA interface, it's too old. you need a new card that recognizes partitions above 131gb. i ran into the same problem a couple years ago with my powermac when installing a 200gb. the card costs beans, and will likely come with four interfaces for four drives.
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post #15 of 24
6/14/05 at 12:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by gr8gatzby
the problem is your ATA interface, it's too old. you need a new card that recognizes partitions above 131gb. i ran into the same problem a couple years ago with my powermac when installing a 200gb. the card costs beans, and will likely come with four interfaces for four drives.
It's already been verified that the BIOS is not the issue.

It's a Windows XP RTM issue.
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post #16 of 24
6/14/05 at 12:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Punjabi
...and I have already upgraded my XP Home Original to XP Pro with SP2...
If you did an upgrade to XP Pro, does that mean you have a XP Pro CD?

In that case, you can probably slipstream that CD and install from that one.
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post #17 of 24
6/14/05 at 8:04am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Revenent
If you did an upgrade to XP Pro, does that mean you have a XP Pro CD?

In that case, you can probably slipstream that CD and install from that one.
It's just an upgrade CD.. not a full install one..
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post #18 of 24
6/14/05 at 10:23am
Ill send you a Link Via E-Mail.

Sorry about yesterday, I had to catch up on some Z's after work.


____________________________________

NVM that your Emails keep sending back undeliverable mail...
I guess ill have to PM you a link..
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post #19 of 24
6/14/05 at 12:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Punjabi
It's just an upgrade CD.. not a full install one..
I don't have first hand evidence, but I believe the slipstream process works on an upgrade CD as well. And you can install using an upgrade CD as long as you have proof of a previous version, though I'm not sure if an OEM restore CD counts.
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post #20 of 24
6/14/05 at 8:26pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Revenent
I don't have first hand evidence, but I believe the slipstream process works on an upgrade CD as well. And you can install using an upgrade CD as long as you have proof of a previous version, though I'm not sure if an OEM restore CD counts.
I don't need to Slipstream the upgrade because it's already with SP2 ...

I think I'll try a fresh install with the upgrade ...
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