K8N SLI : 200GB HD, but only 136GB visible?!?!

[nurbz]

Hi guys,

I bought a second SATA HD for my computer, but the computer does not see its full capacity. Although it is 200GB, the BIOS reports it is only 136GB, and hence so does Windows?!?! It awfully sounds like the old big hard drive problem, whereby older hardware/OS could not see the full capacity of a HD. But my first HD is 160GB, and is working just fine! I am using XP with SP2, with a brand new GIGABYTE motherboard. I really cannot see where the problem could come from? Any ideas/suggestions/advices will be most appreciated.

Many thanks in advance

Alex

 

[antichrysler]

nurbs. If this new hard drive is SATA 2.0 and your motherboard is only SATA 1, you may want to jumper the drive to SATA 1. Also, if it is a SATA drive it could just be a weird quirk and you need to get a firmware update.

Hope that works.

 

[nurbz]

I think I found the problem. I found on the giga-byte FAQ for my mobo (K8N SLI)
"Why can't I enter WinXP after installing nvidia chipset driver when use with some Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 SATAII hard disk ?
Please update Seagate harddisk firmware from 2AAA to 3AAE will fix this issue."
While searching on the web, it seems to be a more or less common problem. Essentially, the firmware of the HD is very buggy, so it creates probllem like mine (not full capacity) or access time slowdown (reading slower than writing). One solution would be to update the firmware, but Seagate do not provide them. Or you can also limit the drive to SATA150, but it kind of defeats the purpose of having a fast HD.

In other words, stay away from Seagate 7200.9 SATA drives!!!!!! Don't buy them. Mine is already on its way back to the retailer.

I hope that will help other guys with the same problem.

Thanks again,

Alex

 

[martyjs]

Iv'e come across this several times, as previosly mentiond check the jumper settings on the drive. Also check the BIOS version on the motherboard! I know it should pick it up but some times early in a Motherboards life the Bios is a bit flacky :?
Good luck