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Actual Hard Drive Size Way Off

C

Cornellian

Junior Member
Hey guys,

I have a Western Digital WD4000 HDD, with a brand new ASUS mobo that I know supports a HDD that size. I had an old WinXP CD that I upgraded to SP2.

I'm having lots of difficulties with my computer detecting the actual size of the hard drive; it's claiming that it's only 120 gigs.

I'm going to check the BIOS now to make sure that the actual HDD size shows up there. Assuming it does, what else could I do?
 
Install SP2, windows can't handle HDs over 127GB without service pack 2 installed. Once it has been installed then you can use partition magic or something similar to increase the partition width.
 
Do you have unused portion of the disk that needs to be partitioned then? And what is BIOS detecting the hd as? you can use diskpart.exe to extend the primary partition to cover the entire drive if there is an unused portion remaining.
 
Originally posted by: Cornellian
Hey guys,

I have a Western Digital WD4000 HDD, with a brand new ASUS mobo that I know supports a HDD that size. I had an old WinXP CD that I upgraded to SP2.

I'm having lots of difficulties with my computer detecting the actual size of the hard drive; it's claiming that it's only 120 gigs.

I'm going to check the BIOS now to make sure that the actual HDD size shows up there. Assuming it does, what else could I do?
Click to expand...

theres about 10% loss of space when you format and install XP, but thats a lot more than 10%, i dont know whats wrong woth it sorry 🙁
 
Originally posted by: Cornellian
The XP CD I installed was pre-SP1, but I have since updated to SP2. At least, so says the control panel.
Click to expand...
You won't "fix" this problem by doing a patch of XP to SP2. You have to use XP SP2 (or SP1) to PARTITION the hard drive originally to its full size.

Your Options:
A) create a second partition and use the additional space as a second drive
B) re-format and re-install XP using a "slipstreamed" SP2 version of XP
C) use a 3rd-party disk management program to expand your existing partition to fill the entire hard drive

Whatever you do, MAKE BACKUPS OF ALL YOUR IMPORTANT DATA FIRST.
 
Originally posted by: RebateMonger
Originally posted by: Cornellian
The XP CD I installed was pre-SP1, but I have since updated to SP2. At least, so says the control panel.
Click to expand...
You won't "fix" this problem by doing a patch of XP to SP2. You have to use XP SP2 (or SP1) to PARTITION the hard drive originally to its full size.

Your Options:
A) create a second partition and use the additional space as a second drive
B) re-format and re-install XP using a "slipstreamed" SP2 version of XP
C) use a 3rd-party disk management program to expand your existing partition to fill the entire hard drive

Whatever you do, MAKE BACKUPS OF ALL YOUR IMPORTANT DATA FIRST.
Click to expand...

Diskpart.exe is much easier, and it is already included in windows. It's perfect for stuff like this...
 
Hmm.

I tried using diskpart.exe using precisely the commands shown in that screenshot, and got the following message:

"DiskPart failed to extend the volume.
Please make sure the volume is valid for extending."

the cmd window shows volume 1 as being 128 gb. When I go to the bios, the actual 400 gb size is shown.

Maybe I should just reformat. 🙁
 
I figured it out. The following worked for me, buried within asus' website.

Please go to control panel -> administrative tools -> Computer Management -> Disk management, to verify whether the partition/drive can be recognized by Windows. 8. If there is any Un-partitioned disk space or unknown partition, please right click on the space's icon and choose ?create partition? and follow the instructions to create a partition. Then format that partition.

Woo!

Thanks again for the help, guys.
 
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