topic Re: Second Hard Drive in PCs & Accessories

Second Hard Drive

poobob — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 18:19:45 GMT

Please can someone help.
I have purchased a 250 GB hard drive to use as a second storage devise. this being a samsung spinpoint series SP2514N. But it shows as a 137gb drive on my computer.for some reason the HD has been limited from a 250 to a 137. the HD has been checked using the correct utility tool from the manufacturers. Please help as i'm at a complete blank as what to do to get the computer to recognise the correct size of the disk
My operating system is WindowsXP Home with SP2
My computer is a Vaio RX406

Re: Second Hard Drive

itbroker — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 18:42:10 GMT

Try Format the same again.

Re: Second Hard Drive

seb21__ — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 18:51:19 GMT

Maybe a BIOS problem? If I boot my laptop with the Hitachi Feature tool, then it shows a maximal format-able size of 137GB too.:smileyconfused:

Re: Second Hard Drive

robpaxton — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 19:19:39 GMT

Yes, it's a BIOS limitation. See this page for details.

Knowing Sony, it's unlikely that there is a BIOS update for this but you could check Vaio-Link to confirm.

If there isn't a BIOS update then the only real solution is a PCI disk controller card that supports 48 bit addressing..

Re: Second Hard Drive

seb21__ — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 19:55:02 GMT

Hmmm, good to know. Because I aslo thought about to buy a extern harddisk. So 120GB seems to be the limit.:smileysad:

Re: Second Hard Drive

jammold — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 19:56:49 GMT

If you are using Windows XP then you must update your BIOS with the link Rob has provided, but you must also ensure you activate 48bit addressing inside Windows.

Microsoft Knowledge base - 48BIT LBA Addressing

The above article will guide you through a simple check to ensure your computer is compatible.

You could also use a Dynamic Drive Overlay from Samsung (if the hard disk came with a CD-ROM it probably contains such software). Using one of these often (but NOT always) elminates the need for a BIOS upgrade. This makes a simple adjustment that overcomes the BIOS limitations, allowing your computer to recognise this disk.

Re: Second Hard Drive

robpaxton — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 20:06:43 GMT

Thanks for that James, I forgot that the problem could be limited to the OS. I assumed the size was being reported incorrectly by the BIOS.

Re: Second Hard Drive

jammold — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 20:25:23 GMT

No problem Rob. Windows XP normally turns OFF 48-bit addressing which would require a patch to enable this support. The system BIOS can also have a problem, so its a case of elimination.

Re: Second Hard Drive

kee-lo_ — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 20:56:03 GMT

How about 50GB partitions?

Re: Second Hard Drive

robpaxton — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 21:21:51 GMT

No, that wouldn't solve the problem. The addressing mode has to be 48 bit to allow you to access all of the disc sectors.

Disk overlays should be avoided if at all possible - they can slow the computer and small errors can turn into total disasters. If the BIOS / OS mods don't work then the new controller card is the best solution. They aren't too expensive either.

Re: Second Hard Drive

seb21__ — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 22:46:26 GMT

Hmmm, what about Network drives?

A few routers can connect a extern harddisk or a printer. Anyway, there are extern devices with space of 1TB and more. How would they work with this limit? Or do they use their own controllers?

Re: Second Hard Drive

robpaxton — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 22:51:14 GMT

Network drives have their own controllers and a few have their own interface software..

Re: Second Hard Drive

seb21__ — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 22:59:45 GMT

Sounds interesting.:smileycool:

And its a easy way to share files via wireless without to access another PC. Or using a media-center without PC. Hmmm.:smileythinking: Or not:smileyliar: ?

Re: Second Hard Drive

jammold — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 02:27:57 GMT

I should mention here that 48 Bit LBA support must be present in BIOS (therefore a BIOS upgrade will be needed), Service Pack One (1) for Windows XP or higher must be installed (Service Pack 2 recommended), and 48 Bit support switched on inside Windows XP.

If you switch on 48 Bit LBA support in Windows XP, without an up-to-date BIOS you risk catastrophic disk corruptions, destroying your data.

Re: Second Hard Drive

kee-lo_ — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 16:07:09 GMT

Seb: it's called a NAS, I posted about it in General Chat but no one had any ideas

Rob: yeah I was thinking that would be the problem.

If you're going to get a controller card might as well upgrade to SATA