XP won't detect 1TB hard drive, Win7 recognizes it fine?

[mckickflip]

I'm kind of at a loss for what to do here. Google didn't help.

My main computer runs XP SP3. It used to run Windows 7, but recently I went back to XP. My laptop still runs Windows 7. The drive is a Hitachi SimpleTech 1TB USB hard drive formatted with a 1TB NTFS partition. It works on all of my Windows 7 and Linux machines without a problem.

It was attached when I installed XP, and Windows Setup recognized it when I picked a drive to install on. It does not show up in My Computer, and Device Manager shows it as working fine. I checked it out in Disk Management and it recognizes the drive, but it shows my whole 1TB partition as unallocated space. Obviously this is not true, as the drive still works on all my other machines.

I've googled the issue and I haven't seen anything of much help. I feel like this is something stupid I overlooked, but any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Fardringle]

Are you sure the machine is actually running SP3, or is it possible that you haven't updated the service packs on the machine since you "went back to XP"? Windows XP was not able to access partitions larger than 120GB before SP1.

 

[mckickflip]

Are you sure the machine is actually running SP3, or is it possible that you haven't updated the service packs on the machine since you "went back to XP"? Windows XP was not able to access partitions larger than 120GB before SP1.

I'm positive it's SP3. Got the ISO from MSDN. My two internal hard drives are a 640GB SATA and a 750GB SATA so I'm sure it has no problem seeing partitions of that size, i'm just not sure why it thinks the 1TB NTFS partition of my external is unformatted. It doesn't ask me to initialize it when I plug it in, though.

 

[bruceb]

From what I can see, your 1TB drive does not have a Drive Letter
assigned to it. Also it looks like it was partitioned with Gparted.
You may need to assign drive letters to both partitions and then
see if windows sees them. You may need to make them active as well.

 

[shortylickens]

From what I can see, your 1TB drive does not have a Drive Letter
assigned to it. Also it looks like it was partitioned with Gparted.
You may need to assign drive letters to both partitions and then
see if windows sees them. You may need to make them active as well.

This.

XP reads all drives just fine but it has a bad habit of not doing anything when you slap in a new one. You often have to go in and manually make it active and format and assign a letter.
At least the OP knows how to use the drive manager.

 

[BRUTUS65]

Are you sure the machine is actually running SP3, or is it possible that you haven't updated the service packs on the machine since you "went back to XP"? Windows XP was not able to access partitions larger than 120GB before SP1.

For anyone who wants to know, basic OS rules by Microsoft: XP<no SP> has built in limit of 137GB, XP SP1 has limit of 160GB to 200GB. XP SP1 will install onto 250GB but may or may not see all 250. XP SP2 will take you to a 750GB HDD. XP SP3 should work on 1TB but not a 1.5TB! The mthrbrd bios controls what your OS will see. Older mthrbrds, smaller drives. Always check your board manufacturer for max drive size info. Vista<no SP> is supposed to be good for 1TB easy. Unstable on a 1.5TB without SP1. Vista SP2 will take you over 1.5TB to 2TB.
Now in saying all of this, remember this. . you have to have the appropriate SP pre-installed in the OS prior to installation otherwise you get the screwed up drive size during setup. OH, and if you don't have the right SP to install onto a bigger drive, using a smaller partition for install and then partitioning the back end of the drive for extra space may or may not work <ie: Win98 on 40GB _ 35GB+5GB> Without the pre-installed SP, your OS and/or mthrbrd may or may not see the un-used disk space.
Optionally, you could use a 'drive overlay' program from the HDD manufacturer. It allows you to install a larger drive onto a motherboard that only accepts up to a specific drive size.
P.S. these drive size limits are built in by Microsoft because of file system limitations. A 64bit OS does allow you to expand above and beyond the standard 32bit OS of regular XP and Vista.

 

[RebateMonger]

Your 1 TB disk has a GPT partition. XP x32 can't use disks with GPT partitions. Win7 can.

Windows and GPT FAQ V. 1.1
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/storage/GPT_FAQ.mspx

"14. Can the 32-bit version of Windows XP read, write, and boot from GPT disks?

No. The 32-bit version will see only the Protective MBR. The EE partition will not be mounted or otherwise exposed to application software."

That's exactly what's happening to you. If you want XP to see data on the disk, you need to re-partition it with MBR partitions and not GPT partitions.