Windows XP....sucks

[PostCode]

After dinkin around with Linux on this 200GB drive, I decided to install XP on it and see how it ran. Well, leave it to Microsnot to screw it up. XP, out of the box, only supports drives up to 137GB in size. I found an article on their website on how to get 48Bit LBA support for Atapi Disk Drives. It's KB article Q303013 if anyone needs it. Looks like a bit of registry hacking and theinstall of SP1 to fix it. Lovely...

 

[Gonzo]

Wasn't that one of the selling points about XP, superlarge disk support? I had no problems helping someone with 2x100GB HDDs.

 

[Nixy]

My programming teacher was teaching us about continuous loops and he said "We won't be using them in this course but they have some practical uses. For example, an operating system, such as linux, unix or windows, would be a continuous loop. Well, maybe not windows......."

I laughed at that!!!!

*hangs head in shame*

I am becoming such a geek....

oh wait! I like that!!!!

GEEK GROUP HUG!!!!!!

 

[PostCode]

The issue is one drive over 137GB though. Two drives, each at 100GB, isn't a problem because each drive is only 100GB. One drive over 137GB is an issue though.

 

[PostCode]

This is probably going to be a story type thread, as we still haven't figured out a solution yet. Ok. Windows XP does not natively support drives larger than 137GB. Upon installing XP on my 200GB drive I discovered that it sees no more than 137GB. At first I thought maybe the BIOS was the issue. Nope. The board sees the entire drive. So, I jumped over to the MS support pages and discovered that Windows XP, both Home and Pro, do not natively support drives larger than 137GB in size. This can fixed...in a way. After installing Windows, you then apply service pack 1, then enter the registry and edit on key by adding a DWORD value. Ok. Great. On a reboot, looking at the drive in Computer Management, I see the rest of the drive as unpartitioned space.

Now, how to get Windows to see the entire 200GB as one drive. Well, according to this article, certain criteria must be met. One being that a drive larger than 137GB in size must be in the system. So, we plugged an 80GB drive in, then using DrivePro2002 we copied it over. Switched the cable ends to the 80GB was the boot drive and rebooted. Reentered the Management Console and deleted the first partition on the drive then created one 190GB partition. Formatted the partition, then powered down. Reconfigured the drives and booted to DrivePro again. Copied the 80GB drive to the 200GB drive. Well, it worked...or so we thought.

Now, I have a drive that's 200GB, actually 190GB, in size, that is labeled drive E:.

Ok. Let's try this again. It's starting to remind me of the NT4 days and the 4GB limitation with installing it on unpartitioned drives. So, I booted to Windows on the 80GB again and formatted the 200GB drive. Pulled the 80GB drive and tried an install of the 200GB drive from clean. Nope. Won't work, as Service Pack 1 hasn't been installed. Ok...time to call Microsoft. Guess what. They don't have a frigging clue on what to do. they told us to use 2K's prep tool...Now, why didn't I think of that? Oh, I know why...because 2K can't see a 200GB anymore than XP can! I wonder how much they pay these guys...I want their job. Well, it was time to go home for the day, so well take this one up first thing in the morning with another call to MS. At least they aren't making me pay for this one.

 

[PostCode]

If your wondering why I'm pounding my head against a wall in what appears to be a waste of time, I need to figure this out because what happens when a customer wants to buy a system with a drive larger than 137GB and XP... I'm going to have to know the answer to it.

 

[fury]

How did the drive end up as Drive E: if you took the 80 gig out and put in the 200 as the master?

 

[PostCode]

Because the 80GB was drive C:, the CD-ROM was drive D:, and the 200GB drive was drive E:. I could make it D:, but not C:. Once the OS loads, you can't change the drive letters for boot devices, ie., the drive where the OS is installed and loading from. I ahd to boot from the 80GB drive to create one partition on the 200GB drive, since it had SP1 installed and the registry was edited. However, either copying the drive, or installing the drive, it still comes back up as drive E:. I think I will try Partition Magic and resize the partition tomorrow. See if that works.

 

[fury]

Have you tried installing on the 80 gig with no other drive in there then copying the drive over to the 200?

 

[Gonzo]

You don't want or can't do 2x100GB partitions? Load XP wherever you can & use PM, it's saved me crap before.

 

[PostCode]

Sure I could, but the point of the exercise is to create on large 200GB partition that has a drive letter C:. I can create one partiton up to 137GB, then after installing SP1 and making the registry change, I get the rest of the drive, some 50+GB. I can eaily make the rest of the drive another partition. But, I don't want to. I wanna find a way to make one 200GB partition that's named C:.

 

[HomeLAN]

Please let me know how it turns out. I can foresee this as an issue in my future.

 

[PostCode]

I will. I'll post today's results when I can.

 

[fury]

Did you see my post just above Gonz's?

 

[PostCode]

Yes. That's one of the first things we did. The exception being the CD-ROM drive was in, regardless though. One the drive was created, the partition was in place the drive had a name. But...it got me thinking... What if I created the partition using the 80GB drive, but don't actually format it? I booted to the 80GB drive, created the 200GB partition and made it active, BUT, I didn't format it. Presto. It frigging worked. It saw a 200GB partition, named it drive C: and formatted it during the install of Windows. The iffy part was this. It saw a 200GB partition, but said it formatted a 137GB partition, so I wasn't sure if I would have a 200GB partition once Windows installed. I did though. After this, I dumped SP1 on and then added the value to the registry. Working like a champ now. Installed a few games that came with the video card, video drivers, sound drivers, and a few other things. Everything in Windows is working correctly, devices are responding really, really, really fast, the OS is loading in fucking amazing time. This drive rocks. Anyway, my only question is data lose or corruption. This isn't something I can really test until the drive gets full, which isn't going to happen all that fast. Only time will tell on this. I'll run a few UT2003 benchies on it today and post the results.

From the time I press the power button, to the time Windows XP finishes loading....35 seconds. Not to shabby.

 

[BigDadday]

Me with my lil 20GB drive and thought that was nice.

OK I take this what you are doing is an exercise on how to do it as why would a person want 1 drive that is 200GB anyway? Curiosity is me!

 

[PostCode]

Exactly. Someone is bound to want one eventually.

 

[HomeLAN]

I can think of a couple reasons for wanting a single 200GB partition. For example, my bro-in-law does a lot of video work. He's got a home video recorder which he brings in through a firewire card, edits the films, saves several versions, etc. Massive space requirements, and he doesn't want to mess with more then one HD partition.

 

[Gonzo]

POsty, are you using FAT32 or NTFS? If I understand correctly, NTFS will support up to 2TB. Have you tried that?

 

[fury]

So does FAT32, IIRC, it's Windblows XP that doesn't do real well with over 137gb