Windows only recognizes 128gb of my 300gb hard drive.

[avillabon]

Today August 04 I bought a Maxtor Ultra16 300gb hard drive (Maxtor 6L300R0). For some reason windows only recognizes the hard drive as a total capacity of 128gb.

I followed all the instructions in the intallation manual followed by the installation of Maxblast 4 (which was provided with the hard drive). After that i noticed the problem and read all the help files in the maxtor website concerning my problem. Followed those instructions aswell (https://maxtor.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/maxtor.cfg/php/enduser/olh_adp.php?p_faqid=960&p_s...QAFiei&p_lva=#)
and still the problem remains.

Im very upset to find that the installation was not a "Quick, easy installation" as stated in the box of the product!

The specs for my computer are the following:
Hp Pavilion zd7000 (LAPTOP)
Windows XP Home Edition SP2
Pentium 4 3.0ghz
1gb ram
Im using the hard drive with an enclosure as an external hard drive.
I have tried everything in the maxtor.com help files (support section) what should i do next?!

I was doing some reading online and realize that many people have had the same problem but for the most part it was because of their OS or something similiar. I have win xp sp2 si its defenitely not that... any ideas?

hope someone out there has an idea.

Alex

[thevoelk]

I think you're problem is the enclosure. I have one that only recognizes my 250GB drive as 128GB. If install the drive internally, it's the full size. You can try looking for a firmware upgrade for the controller of your enclosure, but you may not have much luck. If you can, see if you can install it in a friends enclosure and see if the drive is recognized to it's full capacity. Also, look on the manufacturers website of the enclosure, they may have some limitations listed.

[avillabon]

Hm... I will try what you are saying but i have had this enclosure for a while and the last hard drive i had in it was a western digital 200gb hard drive and it worked like a charm! (all 200gb of data!) So i really doubt its the enclosure... ill try to get the latest firmware for it though.

Alex

[Ruut]

I guess you used the 'Powermax' utility from Maxtors site?
And how about the 'big_drive_enabler' from the same site?

Good luck!

[Ruut]

EDIT

[bmiller]

Unless you have SP 1 installed it won't recognize size properly

From Microsoft's knowledgebase:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;303013
"Note 48-bit LBA support is not enabled and therefore supported without Windows XP SP1"

The 48-bit LBA (logical block addressing) allows XP to see drives larger than 137 GB. Without SP1 it won't see it properly.

sorry,missed the part about SP2 already installed.So you're right that shouldn't be a problem.It may help for someone else though.

Try "right click" my computer,manage and format the new removable hard drive.

[budz]

You need to install the BIG DRIVE ENABLER from the Maxtor website as someone already posted. Also if that enclosure you're using may only be able to recognize up to 200gb. Check the manufacturer of the enclosure to see if it can be used with a 300gb hard drive.

[Wile_E]

FAT32 file system is limited to 128GB in Windows 2000/XP. This is an artificial limitation that Microsoft introduced, to get people to use the newer file system NTFS. You need to format the drive as NTFS.

Go to Control Panel/Administrative Tool. Open Computer Management and go to Disk Management. Find the drive and right-click and delete the partition. (This will erase everything on drive, so move your data over to the other drive). Then Create another partition and tell it to format using NTFS.

[ark]

Your investigation has to be step by step and patiently:-

1) To verify whether it is the external enclosure problem, why can't you install it internally and see if it is recognized for the full capacity.

2) If that does not work, try out one of the 3rd party softwares (not Maxblast) like Symantec Partition Magic. That ought to make the system see the complete HDD.

[ark]

Plus, like budz has mentioned, the drive must be formatted NTFS. With Partition magic, you would be able to see the HDD anyway, what is formatted, what is still available and can be put to use.

[avillabon]

Wow! thanks for all the posts, i never thought i'd get so much help!! I really appreciate it!

So, to answer all you questions an comments.

The powermax utility that is available on the maxtor site is to create some kind of recovery disk for booting the drive when it gives problems. I dont have a floppy drive so i cant use it and the website itself does not recommend it as a solution for my problem.

Yes, i did run the "big_drive_enabler" and the windows registry was updated successfully. (I know this because i downloaded another utility that checks window's compatibility with "big drives".

Again, i have SP2 on my machine so windows update is not a solution. It's already up to date.

BUDZ You said "you're using may only be able to recognize up to 200gb. Check the manufacturer of the enclosure to see if it can be used with a 300gb hard drive. " If that where the problem then it should recognize it as a 200gb hard drive not a 128gb. But good thinking! Ill ave to check the limit for my enclosure.

The drive is and was all the time formatted to NTFS. I already went to "Control Panel/Administrative Tool. Open Computer Management and go to Disk Management. Find the drive and right-click and delete the partition. (This will erase everything on drive, so move your data over to the other drive). Then Create another partition and tell it to format using NTFS." I did the same thing with partition magic.

As some of you suggessted i should try to install it on a computer (internally) but the problem im having is that i own a laptop, not a desktop so that option is not on the table for me.

The drive is working finr though... there are no other issues just the capacity issues. Windows recognizes it but not to its full capacity.

any more ideas?

Again, thank you so much every one

Alex

[aedipuss]

check the jumpers on the drive. maxtor used to have one to limit drive capacity for older systems. it was never on by default that i know of but maybe worth a peek to make sure it is jumpered correctly.

[avillabon]

im not to sure how to do that... ill try the manual to see what it says...

[burnman99]

avillabon, is your BIOS recognizing your HD as 300 GB? If not, you will probably need to update it if that is possible. If it does, try going to this link here: http://www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/1115/
This should help you edit your registry to enable LBA. Just be careful because messing w/the registry can do baneful things.

Note: You CAN format file sized greater than 32GB in Windows but you need a utility called fat32format. It's free and can be found here http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/download/fat32format.zip

HTH and good luck

Roger

[avillabon]

how can i check to see of my bios is upto date? or even find the version of my bios?

And about changing the registry there is no need because lba is already enabled.

[budz]

The motherboard BIOS should be fine since LBA is already enabled and he used to have a 200gb hard drive in that enclosure. My guess is that enclosure cannot read a hard drive bigger than 200gb. What brand is the enclosure?

[avillabon]

The enclosure is this one:

USB2.0 to IDE 3.5” hard disk enclosure
http://www.bafo.com/support.asp

Its the only one under that name in that site.

[avillabon]

Update...

Ok so i opened the enclosure and checked the jumper. It was set to "CS Enabled" and i set it now to "Slave". And i checked my older 200gb hard drive that used to be in that enclosure and that one was also set to slave when it used to be in the enclosure so at least i know the configuration is the same so far.

After doing that i plugged it back in and still 128gb.... Went to disk management, deleted the partion but it only lets me reformat it to the 128gb partition (NTFS) Nothing higher than that number.

[budz]

Why are you setting the drive to "SLAVE" position? I use 3 hard drive enclosures and they are all set to "MASTER" position. Try setting the jumper to "MASTER".

[avillabon]

The reason i set it SLAVE is because my last hard drive in that enclosure (200gb) worked perfect under that setting. Btw, if i set it to master will it compete with the original hard drive in my laptop? or any other computer i connect it to in that case?

Here i post an image of what this looks like after partition magic and windows disk management.



what do you think?

[Skith]

No, it will not compete with your laptop HD if you set it to master, since it is connected to the computer via USB. Check your enclosure's documentation, but in general, most enclosures require drives to be set to "Master" for them to work properly. Some enclosures require specific brands to have a specific setting, it all really depends on the controller used in the enclosure.

I would suggest setting the drive to "Master" since that seems to be the most common required setting.

[avillabon]

Thanks for your post Skith..

Ok so i already tried at Slave, Master and CS Enabled.

So far no luck as shown on the picture on my previous post. Right now i left it as master. So after that i tried again to format and delete partition and all that stuff... anyways, same results.

[budz]

I've asked what brand is that enclosure that you have. It would help if you answered the question that way other members could assist you. Different enclosures come with different chipsets. Oxford 911 chipsets supposedly are better for hard drives.

[redwudz]

He linked to the company that made the enclosure, it's a BAFO enclosure: http://www.bafo.com/support.asp , but looking there for their 'USB2.0 to IDE 3.5” hard disk enclosure' isn't much help as their .pdf for the unit doesn't really give much info.

I would try the enclosure on a different computer, preferable a desktop model and see if it 'sees' the whole disk size. That would rule out the enclosure as the problem. You don't need to install any software in the other computer, just plug it in. As long as it is a newer computer and has XP and USB 2.0, it should work. It will probably work on a USB 1.1 for reading the size, but it would be really slow.

I suspect the enclosure is the problem, though. Or it may be the hard drive itself. Some hard drive controller circuitry may not be compatible with all enclosure interfaces. You will likely need to sort out where the problem is, whether in the computer, the hard drive or the enclosure before you will be able to solve the problem.

And you might do a Google search for that enclosure to see if anybody has reported a similar problem, or try BAFO's site, but I doubt they will be able to help you much.

[avillabon]

I agree... the website for the enclosure is really bad! No info whatsoever!

Why would i try connecting it to another pc? Mine is already winXP and it is not an old model.

Is there a way i can find more info on my enclosure? Maybe through windows when it is pluged in?

[budz]

I didn't see that he posted a link for the enclosure. The enclosure seems to be a prolific chipset controller. I wonder if he flashed it with the latest firmware from the prolific website if it will recognize the hard drives correct size.

This is what I found on that bafo website.

[Version]
signature="$Windows NT$"
Class=SCSIAdapter
ClassGUID={4D36E97B-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
Provider=%Prolific%
DriverVer=10/22/1999

[Manufacturer]
%Prolific%=Prolific

[Prolific]
; DisplayName Section DeviceId
%PLSCSI.DeviceDesc%=PLSCSI, PLbus\PLSCSI

;
; General installation section
;

[PLSCSI]
AddReg=PLSCSI.Reg

[PLSCSI.Reg]
HKR,,DevLoader,,*IOS
HKR,,DontLoadIfConflict,,"Y"

; Service Installation
[PLSCSI.Services]
AddService = PLSCSI, 0x00000002 , PLSCSI_Service_Inst, PLSCSI_EventLog_Inst

[PLSCSI_Service_Inst]
ServiceType = 1 ; SERVICE_KERNEL_DRIVER
StartType = 3 ; SERVICE_DEMAND_START
ErrorControl = 1 ; SERVICE_ERROR_NORMAL
LoadOrderGroup = SCSI Miniport
ServiceBinary = %12%\sci0pl.sys
AddReg = PLSCSI_Pnp_AddReg

[PLSCSI_Pnp_AddReg]
HKR, "Parameters\PnpInterface", "1", 0x00010001, 0x00000001

;The NT EventLog entries are the same for all SCSI miniports.
[PLSCSI_EventLog_Inst]
AddReg = PLSCSI_EventLog_AddReg

[PLSCSI_EventLog_AddReg]
HKR,,EventMessageFile,0x00020000,"%%SystemRoot%%\S ystem32\IoLogMsg.dll"
HKR,,TypesSupported,0x00010001,7

[Strings]
SCSIClassName="SCSI Controller"
Prolific="Prolific"
PLSCSI.DeviceDesc="SCSI Adapter"
;instd1="USB to IDE Bridge Install Disk 1"

[avillabon]

I dont understand what you say...

"I wonder if he flashed it with the latest firmware from the prolific website if it will recognize the hard drives correct size."

What do you mean by flashing it with the latest firmware? prolific website?.. Could you please elaborate?

[budz]

the prolific chipset is used in the enclosure that you have. they have firmware upgrades for their chipsets. do a google search for prolific chipsets. some brands of enclosures use either prolific or oxford chipsets.

here's a link for the prolific chipset:
http://www.prolific.com.tw/eng/Download-2.asp?ID=18

[avillabon]

Hey BUDZ thanks for helping me so much and being sooo patient!!

Ok, so i went to the site you provided for the prolific chipset firmware download... but there are so many i dont know which one to download? once i get the correct one what do i do? im guessing installing it with the usb enclosure connected to the machine right?

sorry i have so many questions....

[bevills1]

Does Maxtor come with setup utility to partition and format the drive? Western Digital and Seagate do, but I'm unfamiliar with newer Maxtor drives. I'm running Windows 2000 SP4 and had similar problems with internal IDE drive if I tried to just use Windows to partition and format, but full capacity was seen when I used the manufacturer's setup utility first.