Okay I have a major problem.. I just bought an IDE 320 GB hard drive.. installed windows xp, service pack 2 and my system only sees 137 GB. My Bios shows 320GB, I even updated it through the dell website. In the registry the large hard drive is enabled. My mainboard is a Dell Dimension 2550. Do you need to know anything else about my system? How do I get the full 320?
Hey, Im having the same problem, and Im trying to re-install windows on this thing...(Seagate SATA)...what read fine yesterday, now only sees 132GB, and even reformats wont show me the whole thing... sick.... if you find out anything, let me know please...
When installing an ultra large hard disk (bigger than 137gb), you must ensure your BIOS and service packs are up to date. Operating systems and system BIOS have separate limitations that are related to specific hard drive capacities that affect how your hard drive will be supported. 137GB barrier: The previous standard for IDE/ATA interface uses 28-bit addressing which cannot recognize more than 137.4 GB of storage. To overcome this capacity barrier, larger hard drives have adopted a 48-bit addressing system which must be used in newer computer systems with updated controller chips/cards, BIOS codes, and operating system service packs. W2K and XP users must have the latest service packs installed to access more than 137GB. Certain operating system utilities such as scandisk and defrag do not work properly with hard disks more than 137gb. To avoid problems, partition your hard disks with 137gb or less. If you still desire more than 137gb in a partition your hard disk must have the latest service packs and BIOS updates along with a 48bit controller card (if it isn't built into your motherboard. Newer motherboards needn't worry.) Before messing around look around your BIOS and see if you can enable Large Block Addressing in the BIOS aka LBA Mode.
