Īs you suggested, the drive really isn't 120GB, and you were sent the wrong device. If you weren't given an option to partition the drive however you see fit, when first installing Win2K (including removing existing partitions), but that only 30GB was available with a single partition, the problem is almost certainly at the hardware level, whether the BIOS is a mess, the drive is damaged, the mainboard IDE controllers are damaged, the cable is incorrect or damaged.
not new.Īnd by the way, the problem here is not the file system (which is created by formatting), but that the 120GB drive has a 30GB partition, and the rest is free space. If you've got a drive that was previously partitioned and formatted, then the device is used. I can't think of any reason for this to occur. It won't hurt to look, right?Ĭlick to expand.Never in my experience have I received a new EIDE drive, OEM or retail, that was formatted by the seller before shipping. but there might have been a version released just last week that corrects the issue. a BIOS released in September is certainly not "old". Newer revisions of the 'board, released much later, came with a BIOS that functioned correctly, but I had long moved on by the time that happened. I recall getting a refund for two Iwill mainboards early last year, just because it became apparent that the company was having unusual difficulties getting a BIOS released that was stable, and I didn't care to wait for months on end before the 'boards could be used.
That includes the inability to install an operating system, for example. I've installed spanking new 'boards that didn't function correctly until the BIOS was updated. This can happen with brand new mainboards. The entire capacity of the drive has to be first identified correctly in the BIOS.ġ.) The BIOS needs flashed. and that it is in good condition, or brand new, and plugged in securely.ī - Your Computer Questions Answered That is something you don't want, as the boot.ini file will add a non-existent version of Win9x to the boot menu, and that will require editing.įinally, be certain you are using an ATA-66/100/133 cable, and not a standard 40 wire. But don't add the /s switch to the FORMAT command, as this will transfer system files from the boot floppy to the hard drive. I'd go with using FDISK, just to avoid experiencing the same problem again. Personally, due the complaint you've already mentioned. FDISK is probably faster for removal, but the partition will show up as a non-DOS partition, or sometimes as a HTFS partition. You can remove the current partition with either FDISK, or the Win2K CD. It's only the partition creation that is affected by the limitation. Interestingly enough, partitions larger than 32GB that have already been created with FDISK can be formatted within Windows.
This is not due to limitations with the FAT32 file system, but because a Win2K/WinXP CD cannot create FAT32 partitions larger than 32GB (and the same goes for within the Windows environment.)Īnd so, if you want FAT32 partitions larger than 32GB, you create them with FDISK. If you choose FAT32, the limit will be 32GB.
If you choose NTFS, nearly any partition size should be available. The disk would have to be larger than 120GB before problems occur, due to lack of support for 48-bit addressing. Note: FDISK may appear to incorrectly identify the size of the disk, but that is simply a bug that won't affect the actual size of the partition. The conversion freezes the cluster size at 512Kb, which can severely affect the drive's I/O performance. Try hard not to format a partition as FAT32, and then convert it later to NTFS from within Windows. The other partitions can be formatted from within Windows. If not, and you prefer NTFS, leave the partition unformatted, but in either case, set as active. If you intend on using FAT32, format the primary DOS partition with the boot disk. Next, partition the disk with a Win9x boot disk. Or, three: A PCI card can be installed that adds IDE slots and support for larger disks.Ĭonsidering that you are in the process of building the system, and that the mainboard is new (?), the first suggestion is probably all that is needed, if the BIOS has the disk size and parameters set incorrectly.
this is not a good, practical solution, as unusual problems often occur due to the use of software of this kind. If this doesn't work, overlay software from the disk manufacturer can be used to partition and format the drive, so that the correct size can be seen after the initial launch of the POST. One: Flash the BIOS to the latest version, in the hope that the newer BIOS will add support for larger drives, and/or correct any bugs in the software. If the disk is not identified correctly, then you have three options. First, make sure the disk is detected and identified correctly in the BIOS.