300 GB Hard disc - Only 132 gb available

[djblade]

hi, did a fresh xp install, and my 300 gb drive was showing as 132 gb, now, after adding service pack 2, its showing the rest of the drive, i can create a prtition and use it, but i just want 1 big partition, but how ??

thanks in advance...

[bugster]

You have to delete the xisting partition, then create a new one filling up the whole drive.

Or you could try partition Magic

[djblade]

my operating system is on the partition......

[bugster]

Or you could try partition Magic

Or, as long as you have no valuable data on the partition that is not backed up elsewhere, you can create an install disk with Sp2 incorporated, then re-format and re-install the OS.

[djblade]

Hmmmmmmm

how do i do that ??

[studtrooper]

Get partition magic and extend the partition to fit the entire drive...

[ofbarea]

If the bios of your pc/ide card does not support more than 132 GB, you will not be able to create a boot partition bigger than that.

[djblade]

it does support it, as i used this drive on the prior install, but with a 20/280 partition.....

[Prot]

Post deleted.

[ofbarea]

it does support it, as i used this drive on the prior install, but with a 20/280 partition.....

Was the boot partition 20 GB?

[djblade]

yes, so the remainder at that time didnt matter, as i was able to use it after adding the service pack, but, this time i want to use it as 1 full drive.....

[ofbarea]

The limitation in the BIOS will only affect the size of the boot partition. After the system has boot, drivers in the OS will allow accessing the remainder portion of the disk.

Check this out:

http://www.abcd.com.au/hard_disk_drives.htm

Size limitation due to Motherboard BIOS

There are several size limitations imposed on the drives due to the motherboard bios. There is the very old 512meg limit which should not be in any of the computers in use today, I hope. Then there is a 8 Gig limit and again 32 Gig limit and then again at 137 gig. Some of these limitations can be overcome by installing drivers available from hard disk manufacturers. Visit our hard disk drive help page for more information. Other option is to upgrade the BIOS of the motherboard (Not recommended for the inexperienced)

[djblade]

Problem solved, i used Acronis PartitionExpert to extend/move the partition, i now have 1 big C drive, thanks for taking the time to reply folks......