Registry hack for Windows 2000 to accept HD > 120 GB

[Muse]

A little over a year ago I lost all the data on one of my HD's. It's a 160 GB HD, and I'd had it installed on a Promise IDE controller, but I was low on PCI slots, so I moved all IDE devices to the controller on my MSI KT3 Ultra2 MB. The drive continued to be seen as "healthy" but the partitions couldn't be read. It was as if the drive wasn't formatted. One or two people said it was because my MB and Windows 2000 wouldn't recognize a HD if it had more than 120 GB of data on it unless I did a registry hack. I did that and reformated the drive and I've been OK since. However, I haven't reinstalled Windows 2000 in a long time and I'm overdue. Does anyone know that hack? I've failed to document what I did or can't find my notes. Thanks for any help on this.

 

[NorthernSink23]

http://www.48bitlba.com/enablebiglba.htm

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\atapi\Parameters
New > DWORD
EnableBigLba = 1

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: abhatia
http://www.48bitlba.com/enablebiglba.htm

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\atapi\Parameters
New > DWORD
EnableBigLba = 1

Yes, yes yes!! Thanks!!!

 

[Muse]

I have downloaded the EnableBigLba.exe utility and when I do my next Windows 2000 reinstallation I will disconnect my two bigger HD's and not connect them until AFTER I run the utility. If I don't, unless I'm mistaken I could lose all the data on those HDs!!!. Fortunately, my boot drive is only 120 GB. The others are 160 and 200 GB. I wonder why Microsoft doesn't implement large LBA automatically for Windows 2000. There must be a reason.

 

[bendixG15]

I wonder why Microsoft doesn't implement large LBA automatically for Windows 2000. There must be a reason.

MS wants you to buy Vista, no money in updating old OS.
(I run Win2k on a couple of family machines)

 

[NorthernSink23]

Originally posted by: bendixG15
I wonder why Microsoft doesn't implement large LBA automatically for Windows 2000. There must be a reason.

MS wants you to buy Vista, no money in updating old OS.
(I run Win2k on a couple of family machines)

No. LBA is enabled with the installation of any service pack after SP2. I don't think disabling LBA by default for Windows in February of 2000 was a push to get people to purchase Windows Vista. However, if it was, I guess they changed their minds in May 2001 with the release of SP2.

Good try, though.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Muse
I wonder why Microsoft doesn't implement large LBA automatically for Windows 2000. There must be a reason.

There is a minimum service pack level required.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: Muse
I wonder why Microsoft doesn't implement large LBA automatically for Windows 2000. There must be a reason.

There is a minimum service pack level required.

I could swear I had at least SP3 installed. It was February 2006 when I had the problem. I always do Windows Update and get all the recommended stuff installed immediately after installing Windows 2000. I don't know what went wrong. Maybe my data loss was due to something else. Seems very plausible at this point. Then again, I think I did the hack manually and if the registry key was already there and set properly, I would have known. Somehow, my system wasn't updated. Weird.

 

[Zap]

You need SP3 and that registry hack.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Zap
You need SP3 and that registry hack.

Aha, OK, so SP2, SP3, SP4 don't do it... what fixes things is SP2 or above and the registry hack, right? If this is so, the previous posters were misinformed.

For instance:

Originally posted by: abhatia
No. LBA is enabled with the installation of any service pack after SP2. -snip-

 

[bamacre]

No, Win2K SP4 I know for a fact recognizes larger hard drives.

Do yourself a favor and slipstream a W2K SP4 install CD.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: bamacre
No, Win2K SP4 I know for a fact recognizes larger hard drives.

Do yourself a favor and slipstream a W2K SP4 install CD.

How can I do that? The W2K install CD I have is SP2. Where can I slipstream it and how? Bittorrent? TIA.

 

[ribbon13]

Search for nLite and RyanVM in google and you'll find all you need in terms of information.

 

[Steve]

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: bamacre
No, Win2K SP4 I know for a fact recognizes larger hard drives.

Do yourself a favor and slipstream a W2K SP4 install CD.

How can I do that? The W2K install CD I have is SP2. Where can I slipstream it and how? Bittorrent? TIA.

Autostreamer.

 

[ribbon13]

http://www.theeldergeek.com/slipstreamed_xpsp2_cd.htm

If you want a complete walkthrough, most of that applies. Not much has changed.

Save yourself even more hassle. http://www.thetechguide.com/articles/win2kserial.html

http://www.ryanvm.net/forum/viewtopic.p...9&sid=3d6ab9c086ea73585d5873149b20fdab
and this guy has a list of files right there if you want to be 'Post-SP4'

also you could bitTorrent the unofficial SP5
http://tracker.ryanvm.net/

you can also include switchless installers
http://www.ryanvm.net/msfn/

you can use the integrator so you already have whatever you want preinstalled.
for examples: http://www.winaddons.com/
http://www.ryanvm.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=14

 

[airhd823]

i never knew you could hack the 120GB Limit

 

[ribbon13]

I never knew postcount++ was so blatant anymore.

 

[oynaz]

Or you could just let the config utility from the manufacturer's website do it for you.

"Download - Doubleclick - Next - Next - Next - Finish"

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
http://www.theeldergeek.com/slipstreamed_xpsp2_cd.htm

If you want a complete walkthrough, most of that applies. Not much has changed.

Um, that's for XP. So I guess you are saying that the same procedure will work for W2K.

Save yourself even more hassle. http://www.thetechguide.com/articles/win2kserial.html

I presume that would be about copying the files from the install CD to a HD and editing the ini file as indicated, then maybe writing it back to another CDR and doing your installation from that or installing right from the HD.

http://www.ryanvm.net/forum/viewtopic.p...9&sid=3d6ab9c086ea73585d5873149b20fdab
and this guy has a list of files right there if you want to be 'Post-SP4'

Not sure what this is about. Is it stuff you want to install later or stuff you can actually have in your install, either from CDR or HD?

also you could bitTorrent the unofficial SP5
http://tracker.ryanvm.net/

you can also include switchless installers
http://www.ryanvm.net/msfn/

New concept to me. What's a switchless installer?

you can use the integrator so you already have whatever you want preinstalled.
for examples: http://www.winaddons.com/
http://www.ryanvm.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=14

[/quote]
The integrator? What's that? You're suggesting that there's a way of integrating stuff you'd add later right in the install, I guess. What's the integrator?

Deep stuff. Thanks!

 

[ribbon13]

Yes, you pretty much got the gist of it: the idea is to burn a new CD-R with a version of windows 2000 that doesn't need a key, is up to date and already has all your most useful software included on first boot. If you need any help with it let me know, but I'm sure you can figure most of it out from the links i gave an a few trips to google.

 

[Muse]

Thanks. I'll proceed to try to do that. The nLite site in particular looks great. That seems to be a utility that makes it really easy to make such a CDR. I don't know about the unofficial SP5 thing. I guess I can google up on that, too. What is an unofficial service pack? Is it a SP that MS decided not to release, or just a bunch of hotfixes unofficially called a service pack? Well, nLite lets you roll hotfixes right into the install CD.

I do have a Ghost I made not long after I last installed Windows 2000. I think that has SP4 rolled in by virtue of Windows Updates and a few other things. I don't know if it has the LBA tweak, probably not. Anyway, if I can work up a CD with everything including the LBA tweak, I think that would be worth the trouble, especially since that tweak could potentially save me from suffering the catastrophe of losing the data on my 200 GB main data drive. Well, I'm backed up, but not totally. Never totally.

 

[ribbon13]

if you read through RyanVM website, it's a pack for his integrator

http://integrator.siginetsoftware.com/index.php?download

nLite isn't as good as that in my opinion, but there is a widespread difference of opinion on the matter. they each do things the other can't.