160GB?

[tinkertech]

I have a Maxtor 160GB ATA HD. At least that's whats writen on the label on the drive yet when I go to format it using Win2K Pro, NTFS, the screen tells me it is formating 131070 MB. It seems to me that I am loosing just under 30GBs. Can some one explain this to me?

For every problem there is a solution, for every solution there is a tech behind it.

 

[IslandCustom]

You might want to read this threat, and try the reg hack.

 

[cdogg]

First of all, the drive is advertised as 160GB but is really only 149GB. The reason?

Manufacturers quote 1,000,000,000 bytes in a GB. But as we all know there are 1024 bytes in a KB, then 1024 KB in a MB, and so on. By the time you work your way up to GB, you'll find that there are 1,073,741,824 bytes in a gig (or in other words, 1024^3).

In short, you have to take what they've sold you (160,000,000,000) and divide it by 1024 which gives you 149GB. It's sad but true.


As for the 131070 formatting problem...is this drive the only drive in the system, or are you formatting it as a secondary drive?


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[tinkertech]

This is the only HDD in the system; the other drives are a ffd and and a DVDRW/CDRW. By the way, both IDE devices are on the same bus (primary master and slave).

For every problem there is a solution, for every solution there is a tech behind it.

 

[nipester]

The reason you see it as around 130 gigs is because Windows 2000 had a limit of 130 gigs until service pack 3 came out. I would bet that your windows 2000 CD does not have service pack 3 or 4 integrated. One solution is to create a slipsteamed windows2000 CD and install off that. Windows installer would then see the full drive. This is the most foolproof way. Google for "slipstream windows 2000".

 

[inquirer5]

If you don't want to burn a cd in order to get the service pack.
You can always get it from microsoft since it's free.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/downloads/servicepacks/sp3/default.asp

 

[tinkertech]

Thanks gang; I will have to do the CD burn since I got to get this order out the door ASAP and who knows how long MS will take to send this new CD. Thanks again for all the assistance.

For every problem there is a solution, for every solution there is a tech behind it.

 

[cdogg]

Well, you can always wait until after Windows 2000 is installed. Then you can upgrade to the latest service pack (SP4) which should enable 48-bit LBA showing you the entire drive.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[tinkertech]

I have done the full installation without the sp. If I go on line and download and install the sp. Will my HD show two partitions or will Win2K reformat itself to see the full 160GB?

For every problem there is a solution, for every solution there is a tech behind it.

 

[cdogg]

More information here:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;305098

After installing the Service Pack and following the directions in the link above, the missing space will be unallocated and not part of the primary parition. You can either format it and leave it separate or use a 3rd-party tool like Partition Magic to enlarge the primary partition.

Of course, another option is to go back to square 1 and follow nipester's suggestion of reinstalling the OS off a slipstreamed Win2K CD that has SP3 or later. Sounds too tedious at this point, but that's just me. I'd settle having more than one partition which is usually a good idea anyway.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884