BIOS shows disk size of 32 GB instead of 160 GB

[apnotify]

My HDD showed full capacity (160 GB) just a week ago. Then I tried to partition it (Ranish) and install Windows 2000. After these operations, SETUP shows only 33.8 GB. So does every partitioning software I have tried.

Here is my configuration:
Motherboard: MSI 915P MS-7058 ATX
BIOS: A7058IMS V 1.4 09/14/04
HDD: WD1600JD 160GB/7200rpm, SATA/150, 8MB

How to restore the full capacity? Or what might have gone wrong?

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[cdogg]

OK, first check to make the BIOS recognizes the full 149GB capacity (the "true" capacity - see thread751-1160823 for details).

If it shows up fine there, I suggest you delete all partitions, and start over. Make sure you are going through the standard format process and I would advise selecting NTFS as the file system.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[jurgen36]

cdogg
Why would you suggest NTFS? We did rune some lab tests and found that NTFS was actually 25 to 34 % slower as fat 32. Ok it is supposed to have higher security, but this might not be needed in a home system. Also if the drives give problems its usually much easier to recover from fat32. I am really curios.
Regards

Jurgen

 

[apnotify]

I agree that the first step is to make the BIOS recognize the full HDD capacity. But how to do it? The BIOS is new enough, it recognized the HDD before.

Is the problem in SETUP settings, or somewhere else? How does BIOS detect HDD size?

 

[cdogg]

apnotify,
Well, when you said "SETUP" in your first post, I wasn't sure that you were referring to the BIOS. Apparently, you are telling us that the BIOS does not see the correct size. Before, I thought you were just seeing the wrong size within Windows 2000.

I'm not sure what's causing the problem, but here's a checklist to run thru:

1) Visit the motherboard manufacturer's website and look up all driver downloads/updates
2) Make sure you have the latest SATA driver installed for your motherboard in Windows 2000
3) Download/install any other chipset driver updates
4) Check the manual for specific settings you might need to adjust for proper SATA detection
5) Try resetting the BIOS to its default settings if you made any changes to begin with

If none of that seems to help, wiping the partitions out and starting over with a clean format might be your best bet.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[cdogg]

Jurgen,
Without getting too off-topic here, I'll just say that NTFS performance varies. FAT32 seems to be stronger in smaller partitions sizes under 50GB. Over 50GB, you start to see the edge go in NTFS's favor. Either way, though, the performance difference is extremely minimal.

Windows 2000 and XP regard NTFS as the native file system. Searching, indexing, etc., may be better off in some applications. Security of course, is always a plus, even for a home user who just wants to secure a folder.

It's a matter of preference really. I see no reason to use FAT32 any longer. And for XP users, the OS cannot format a FAT32 partition larger than 32GB. So you would have to use a 3rd-party utility to do so. And the reason? I like to believe it's because Mi¢ro$oft knows that larger partitions benefit more from NTFS!

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884