Re: Adding 200 GB Western Digital drive to machine

From: Art (noonehere_at_someplace.com)
Date: 12/28/04 

Date: Tue, 28 Dec 2004 17:20:11 -0500

> "Glenn" <Glenn@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:8305A1B7-C2EA-4DC2-AA0C-66F68C630346@microsoft.com...
>>I have just added a 200 GB Western Digital hard drive to my machine. I
>>tried
>> using EZDrive to set it up and it tells me my Bios won't support the
>> drive. I
>> tried updating my bios and it is the same. Is my problem with my
>> motherboard
>> or with Windows XP Pro?
>> --
>> Glenn

"Ron Sommer" <rsommer@nospam.ktis.net> wrote in message
news:eutbZDR7EHA.2196@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
> Buy a PCI card to connect the new hard drive.
> --
> Ron Sommer

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 21:43:57 +0200, "Kenny S" <hotmail@coldmail.com>
wrote:
>Wrong.
>windows without SP1 cannot handle any hard disk.
>there is a 137 barrier.. and even with SP1 or 2 you need to
>enable large disks

Mikhail Zhilin writes...
"How to enable 48-bit Logical Block Addressing support for ATAPI disk
drives in Windows XP"
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q303013

<Quote>
"Windows XP SP1 includes 48-bit LBA support for ATAPI disk drives. With
this support, you can use hard disks that are larger than the current
137 GB limit. _By_default, _support_is_enabled_in_SP1_."
</Quote> 

--
Mikhail Zhilin
http://www.aha.ru/~mwz
>From Harry Ohrn...
The BIOS is part of the motherboard and not a part of Windows. If you are
being told that the BIOS doesn't recognize the drive then it is your
hardware not Windows that is the problem.
As an aside note that while Windows XP with SP1 or SP2 will partition and
format a drive as large as yours the original version of XP (version 2600)
has a 137 GB limit
http://york.gose.org/pipermail/yorkcc/2003-December/000075.html .
If you have an original version of XP then you should create a slipstream
with either SP1 or SP2 embedded
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/slipstream.htm
Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp
Glenn:
There's been so much distortion and out-and-out misinformation on this 
subject it makes one want to cry. For reasons that I and others have never 
understood, Microsoft did not provide support for large-capacity disks, 
i.e., disks whose capacity exceeded 137 GB, when the original version of XP 
was released. This was so even if the motherboard's BIOS supported 
large-capacity disks. When SP1 and/or SP2 is installed, the operating system 
will recognize large-capacity disks.
There are two basic requirements for Windows XP to recognize the full 
capacity of large-capacity drives, i.e., drives having a capacity greater 
than 137 GB...
1. Your mainboard's BIOS must support large-capacity disks, and,
2. SP1 and/or SP2 has been installed.
If you install your 200 GB drive in XP that has not been upgraded with 
SP1/SP2, then the OS will recognize only 137 GB (approx.) of that drive. 
This is so even if your motherboard's BIOS supports large-capacity disks. If 
you subsequently install SP1/SP2, then the full capacity of the disk will be 
recognized; however, the remaining disk capacity of the drive above 137 GB 
will be reflected as "unallocated space", which of course you can format. So 
in that situation two partitions will be created, the original 137 GB and 
the remaining disk space. Note how this differs if you install the 200 GB 
drive at a time when the XP OS includes SP1/SP2. In that situation the full 
capacity of the disk will be recognized and you can have a single partition 
if that's your desire.
Note that in every case your motherboard's BIOS must support large-capacity 
disks. In the event your motherboard does not support large-drive 
capability, you can purchase a controller card such as the Promise ULTRA133 
TX2 to support this capability. They're not terribly expensive, running 
about $35.
You mentioned the EZDrive program provided by Western Digital. This is a 
so-called "overlay program". I strongly recommend that you do not use an 
overlay program. Without going into a technical discourse on the subject, I 
can assure you that by-and-by they're sure to cause problems. I'm virtually 
certain that anyone who has worked on computers over the years will give you 
the same advice. In your case the issue is moot since your motherboard's 
BIOS does not support large-disk capability.
The Microsoft article you were referred to (303013) affects a tiny number of 
cases involving an older version of the Atapi.sys file that may cause a 
problem with the OS recognizing large-capacity drives. It has no relevance 
to your situation.
Art

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