Pentium 4 changed hard drive size from 400GB to 131GB

[Mick Kernodle]

How can I ghange the drive back tp 400GB ?

 

[sminlal]

If you're using Windows XP and an IDE drive then you need at least SP1 to access drives larger than 137GB.

 

[Paperdoc]

This does sound a bit like a 48-bit LBA issue. From my recent post in another thread that specifically is using Win XP:

To be able to use any HDD over 137 GB (by disk maker's measures, or 128 GB by Microsoft's counting system) you need a feature called "48-bit LBA Support" in three places: the HDD unit itself, the hard drive controller (usually in the mobo and controlled by BIOS code), and the Operating system. Any disk over that limit will obviously have this feature built in. ANY SATA controller system will have it. Almost all IDE controller systems on machines built after about 2000 will have it. On those that don't or are older, if you are using the mobo's built-in HDD controllers and ports, you often can ensure the feature is there by updating the mobo BIOS to the latest version from the manufacturer. For the OS, the very first version of Win XP did NOT have this feature included; it was added in Service Pack 1 and maintained in all versions of Windows since then. SO if you are trying to install from a Win XP Install disk that has NO Service Packs included, you should not; you should get a more recent Install disk.

Now, how was that 400 GB unit being used?

If you are installing your Win XP Operating system on this drive to be your C: drive you boot from, then you really need to Install again from a version of XP that already includes at least SP1 on the Install disk. On the other hand, if you have Win XP original version already installed on a different boot drive, and the 400 GB unit is an additional data storage device, you have a simpler alternative available. First update your XP installation to the latest version, SP3. Once that is done it will allow you to use any disk size you like AFTER it is loaded - it just won't be able to BOOT from a disk over 128 GB. THEN you use Disk Management in Windows to Delete the Partition you have already created and re-start, making a Primary Partition of the size you want, all the way up to the full HDD capacity.

All this has assumed the reason for your size dilemma is an old version of XP. If that is wrong - if you have installed or are installing a Windows more recent than original XP - then the problem is different. I really doubt that any Pentium 4 mobo had a BIOS on board so old it did not include 48-bit LBA Support, but I guess you should verify that. If the 400 GB unit is SATA, this is NOT an issue because ALL SATA systems support these large HDD's. The other possibility is that the tool you used to create the Partition offered a default size you could have changed, but did not. In that case, assuming your system actually is able to make a larger Partition, you should make sure any data on it are saved safely elsewhere and Delete this Partition, then Create new Primary Partition of the size you want.

 

[Mick Kernodle]

Best answer selected by Mick Kernodle.

 

[Mick Kernodle]

This does sound a bit like a 48-bit LBA issue. From my recent post in another thread that specifically is using Win XP:

To be able to use any HDD over 137 GB (by disk maker's measures, or 128 GB by Microsoft's counting system) you need a feature called "48-bit LBA Support" in three places: the HDD unit itself, the hard drive controller (usually in the mobo and controlled by BIOS code), and the Operating system. Any disk over that limit will obviously have this feature built in. ANY SATA controller system will have it. Almost all IDE controller systems on machines built after about 2000 will have it. On those that don't or are older, if you are using the mobo's built-in HDD controllers and ports, you often can ensure the feature is there by updating the mobo BIOS to the latest version from the manufacturer. For the OS, the very first version of Win XP did NOT have this feature included; it was added in Service Pack 1 and maintained in all versions of Windows since then. SO if you are trying to install from a Win XP Install disk that has NO Service Packs included, you should not; you should get a more recent Install disk.

Now, how was that 400 GB unit being used?

If you are installing your Win XP Operating system on this drive to be your C: drive you boot from, then you really need to Install again from a version of XP that already includes at least SP1 on the Install disk. On the other hand, if you have Win XP original version already installed on a different boot drive, and the 400 GB unit is an additional data storage device, you have a simpler alternative available. First update your XP installation to the latest version, SP3. Once that is done it will allow you to use any disk size you like AFTER it is loaded - it just won't be able to BOOT from a disk over 128 GB. THEN you use Disk Management in Windows to Delete the Partition you have already created and re-start, making a Primary Partition of the size you want, all the way up to the full HDD capacity.

All this has assumed the reason for your size dilemma is an old version of XP. If that is wrong - if you have installed or are installing a Windows more recent than original XP - then the problem is different. I really doubt that any Pentium 4 mobo had a BIOS on board so old it did not include 48-bit LBA Support, but I guess you should verify that. If the 400 GB unit is SATA, this is NOT an issue because ALL SATA systems support these large HDD's. The other possibility is that the tool you used to create the Partition offered a default size you could have changed, but did not. In that case, assuming your system actually is able to make a larger Partition, you should make sure any data on it are saved safely elsewhere and Delete this Partition, then Create new Primary Partition of the size you want.