how to get over 3TB limit in win XP 32bit (connected over usb)

[deejay.2001]

i would like to be able to use 3tb HDD (internal) in my winxp 32bit system
i know there is limitation to see 2TB in system so i was wondering if i could by creating a 2TB partition and then a 1TB partition (being 2 primary paritions on a 3TB drive) solve the problem?
i have sharkoon usb3.0 hdd dock which i would use it with 3TB drive so by plugging in to this dock i would be able to see 2TB and 1TB partitions.

is there a way to do it like this or not?
how i can format it to these partitions (2TB+1TB) if windows xp 32bit will not see it? (do i need ither PC capable to format it)

thanks for answers

[nic2k4]

This drive with XP is a big problem; the 2.1TB limit is MBR related, XP itself can handle 16TB partitions. It could go either way, it sees only 2TB or only 1TB. An add-on SATA controller with support for it or a board with the right BIOS and chipset would fix that and you could use the entire 3TB in 1 partition (the retail package for WD's 3TB comes with such a card). If the drive uses advanced format (4k sectors, used by WD, don't know about others), you need to align the sectors after formatting it or you will get degraded perfomance. The manufacturer has a utility to do that or you can use their install utility to clone, partition and align the drive in one operation.

All this applies to an internal drive setup. You'd have to find out whether your dock supports a 3TB drive. Seagate offers an external 3TB.

At this point you might as well upgrade to vista or win7. If you want to stick with an old OS and have lots of storage, you'd be better off with two 1.5TB and span them into one volume using XP's drive management tool.

[RabidDog]

Your mobo cannot boot from a 3tb drive (needs UEFI rather than BIOS), Use in an external caddy may be problematic.