HDD Size error

[Supergoal]

After building a new system, I have been bamboozled by this problem.

My HDD is 250Gb is size, however windows and the BIOS both report it as being around 33Gb!

Anyone have a clue?

 

[RyanMicah]

Try updating your bios and the firmware for your HDD. System specs would really help. Specifically, hard drive brand and model, perhaps a link to the manufacturer's website, or even better the exact hard drive listing page. Motherboard and bios version will also be helpful.

 

[Supergoal]

Yesterday Built...

E6600 C2D
Asus P5B Deluxe

using a HDD called, 6L250R0 250GB UltraATA133

Matrox? I belive....

Also after more reading, some people mention that their harddisks are locked at 32Gb due to soemthing called "Clipping mode" whatever that means...

Is there some kind of Jumper setting that does this that I may have set by accident..?

 

[RyanMicah]

I can't imagine that your jumper on your HDD would have anything to do with it, it usually either works under the way you have those set or not. As for the jumpers on your mobo, I have no idea. Someone who knows more about this board and jumper settings could help you. You pulled your hard drive out of a Dell, didn't you? Dell has a way of getting things to not work with out systems...LOL It might be that your motherboard is somehow set to optimize newer or sata drives, and it causes a problem with older IDE drives. I'd give your mobo manufacturer a call tomorrow if you're in a rush, unless someone else can provide a good solution yet tonight.

 

[Supergoal]

Hey here's an update...

I switched the jumper around on the HDD, and now it says during the POST screen 250Gb..

However Windows still says it has 30 or so GB of space available.

Maybe if I re-install windows with the BIOS giving the correct size think that'd work?

By the way, tonight you say?

It's mid afternoon where I am

 

[RyanMicah]

Same difference. This is why I don't know why we don't have "Earth time" Who cares if it's 14T in the afternoon where I am and 14T in at night where you are? At least we both know it's 14ET. Right? I wish scientists could get their shit together. THEY can study up and use a point of geographical reference. For those of us just trying to communicate across the globe in our daily lives, we need some FRICKIN STANDARDS. :-\

Did you update your bios? It shouldn't make a difference really, as your HDD is older tech it should already be able to read it. What's your drive space once you're in your OS? Maybe the BIOS is just mis-posting what it actually sees. If Windows can see 200+gigs then it should be fine. Remember, Windows steals some hard drive space both for itself and your recycle bin.

If you're using one hard drive you should set it to MASTER.

Another option, check other IDE settings in the bios too. Fiddle with those, just write down their default settings before you do and switch it back if one doesn't help. Try one at a time and be sure to reset anything to default that doesn't make a difference. Reason being is that some things you try might have an effect on performance.

 

[Supergoal]

It's the BIOS that now can see the correct size, Windows is not showing the correct size.

I read though, If I installed an OS onto a formatted drive that was CL limted by the jumper, I have to re-format the drive with the correct jumper setting to get that correct reading in Windows....Hopefully 8O

 

[RyanMicah]

Ahh, yes. Try a reinstall. Make sure to reformat the entire drive, but you probably knew that. I edited my previous post to include more help as an afterthought, but now it's useless advice.

 

[Supergoal]

Best way to format the drive is...Say using the Windows OS disk at boot up and waiting to be promted for new install?

 

[RyanMicah]

Yep. You want an NTFS file system if you're using XP or NT or Server2003. You also probably don't want to create a partition, it will create the largest it can be default. You probably need to delete the partition you have. BTW, did you get your HDD out of an old Dell? Were the jumpers set to "cable select?" I freakin' hate that. LOL

 

[RyanMicah]

If you want to, you could partition your hard drive. Give it about 10 gigs for your OS, and then use the remaining for everything else. If you put a lot of files in your "my documents" folder, you'll either need to use another folder, move the folder, or create a larger partition for your OS though. You can split your hard drive up into as many drives as you want, but they'll be smaller the more you have. There's not really a need for partitioning in your case probably, but some people say it can speed up your system a bit to have your OS in a seperate partition.

 

[Supergoal]

I bought the HDD new, but for around 9000 Yen. So i'm guessing that's fairly cheap.

The jumper/s were set to Master, I was just messing around, since the IDE cable was so short I had to use the Black Master end of the IDE cable to fit into the DVD drive instead of the HDD.

However it seems to work now...

By the way, my board supports SATA, is that better than my current HDD?

It seems so much easier to set up

 

[RyanMicah]

Yes, it is. I usually recommend raid-0 which give you a slight performance increase. This uses two hard drives like one - your system can read and write to both at the same time. You'll really only see an increase in performance when dealing with large files, such as game saves. How much is 9000 yen in US dollars? I'd look it up but I'm too lazy. Sata drives are faster, but not HUGELY. You can get a pretty good priced sata drive now though.

http://www.pricegrabber.com/p__WD_Caviar_SE16_250GB_Hard_Drive,__9047985

You would notice an increase in speed from that probably, and it's probably the cheapest hard drive (at least here in America) that you can find. Buy two and use Raid-0 and your games should load up in about a second considering that nice system you have. To use raid you will need a floppy drive for installation, although for Vista I imagine they may make it so you can use a CD.

 

[Supergoal]

9000 Yen is about 40 GBP, which in turn is about.......around 20 USD?

Should just use a converter...

Just a different question here, can static damage render a system half dead? ..

What I mean is, my machine all works fine after building it all myself and really being careful. So basically, if the machine works fine and loads an OS for example, then there has been no static damage?
I hear horror stories of folk blowing their CPU or Mobo just by touching it wrong!

 

[RyanMicah]

I handle my parts all the time without static protection. I think it's over-rated. It depends on where you live for one, dry climates tend to produce more static electricity, as water is a natural conductor and vapor in the air helps even out electrons between objects and the ground. Certain types of plastics and metals, like carpet or steel can produce static electricity. Very low charges are natural, even in the air. Generally, if you don't notice yourself getting shocked in your house a lot, all you really have to do is touch your power supply or a metal chair or table. Anything that shocks you when you've built up a static charge can be a grounder and dissipate your static charge. Doorknobs, plumbing, or anything large that is high in iron, like a steel oven is usually something that might shock you and thus, get rid of static buildup. I have a winter coat that is made of nylon or some sort of plastic material that causes me to build up static. Everytime I go to get in the car, which has metal handles, I get shocked. The car itself is on rubber wheels, however, it is grounded by the battery that is connected to the frame, and thus, the door handle. They say your power supply also has natural grounding abilities. I usually touch my dining room wire table and chairs, and then the powersupply just to be sure. Certain paints can block static, particularly rubberized and plastic paints. Latex paints "never really cure (dry)" as they are based on water but your PSU is probably an oil-based enamel finish. Still, if the paint is thin or has metal in it you might still be grounded just by touching it. If you touch the grounding connector part of your PSU, inside where the plug connects, you are sure to have been grounded. Safe computer building requires you to unplug your PSU anyway. During the winter, when it is especially dry here in Michigan, I take extra precaution, but during the summer when it's humid I'm not quite as anal about static electricity.

 

[RyanMicah]

A converter won't really help you get faster speeds. Your transfer speed is still limited by the speed of the drive. What it will do is free up IDE slots for additional drives if you need it, and also allow you to use your RAID controller, which may only work with sata. I believe though, that your IDE slots should also tie into your onboard raid controller.