Tom's Hardware > Forum > Storage > Hard Disks > HDD Size Problem
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KimD26   08-14-2008 at 02:26:08 PM

Hi

BIOS reporting IC35L060AVER07-0 (Hitachi) HDD as 33.8gb when it is a 60gb disk with 55gb of data on it. Can't change the size parameters using Hitachi's HDD tools and Spinrite won't recover the data due to the inconsistency between BIOS reported size and data held on drive.

I don't want to spend £100's for pro data recovery not without exhausting all alternatives.

Anyone with any ideas?

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nvalhalla   08-14-2008 at 02:31:39 PM
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Sound like the BIOS is not detecting the HDD correctly. Make sure everything is auto detect for the drive, and if it is try and set the parameters manually. You'll have to do some research as far as platters/heads/tracks on the drive.

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nvalhalla   08-14-2008 at 02:34:51 PM
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I was assuming the drive is from some other computer. Was this drive working correctly in this computer and then stopped for seemingly no reason? If so the drive has probably been damaged and you will need someone to remove the platters to recover the data.

This is why regular backups are important. Especially on HDDs as old as yours.

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MrLinux   08-14-2008 at 08:27:15 PM
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What's the make & model of PC/MoBo?
Was the drive working OK in another PC?

Some older PC's have a HD size limit of 32Gig, also some HD's have a jumper setting to limit capacity (for compatability) to 32Gig, might be worth checking both...

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jtt283   08-14-2008 at 09:04:54 PM
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+1@MrLinux. Check for a limiting jumper on the drive. If from another system, it may also have had a driver that loaded with it to get the full capacity.

------------------------------ There is ALWAYS a drone. Exactly where, or how many drones you will encounter may vary, but that there will be at least one will not.
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KimD26   08-15-2008 at 12:28:54 AM
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Hi
Thanks for the replies.

Yeah, it's on my friend's old Dell 4300 machine with last BIOS which supported large drives.
It worked for years and then started "clicking" (variation of the click of doom?) on boot up - no xp just scan disk.

Would use the Hitachi utilities to destroy the MBR, repartition, reformat and use Spinrite (GRC software) recover the data, anything to avoid the £££s cost.

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xsever   08-15-2008 at 01:35:54 AM
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No need for that.

Download Seatools and boot it from a floppy or CD. There, there's an option called "Set Native Max Capacity" or something like that.

It did the job for me and restored the original size

Hope it helps.

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