HD size limit on (early) XP install?

[whitewater7]

I’m still having problems installing Windows XP my 320 gig SATA drive. I’m using a new motherboard, and trying to install an early version of XP, by booting the CD. Is there a size restriction in XP, because when I boot the XP CD to install the OS it comes up with a 131 gig drive?

As I mentioned in a previous thread, I formatted the 320 gig SATA using XP Computer Management and it said I had 300 gigs.

Right now, I’m trying to format the drive by booting a Win 98 boot CD and it come up with 43,09.81 M. It’s still formatting.

Do you think once I boot into the XP install again I will get my 300 gigs, or is it the version of XP too old?

 

[wolluf]

Pre SP1 XP does not use 48 bit addressing - so can only see c. 130GB max. You need to slipstream SP2 into your XP install and create a new install CD - lots of info on how to do this - just google (eg,

http://www.nliteos.com).

 

[whitewater7]

Thanks!
I'll try to find the info you mentioned.
Just at a glance, that site you mentioned looks like they want to buy something.

Is there a tread on this forum that explains this process? Can I make the Boot CD on another PC running XP SP2?

 

[whitewater7]

This one looks good:

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sp2_slipstream.asp

 

[smah]

Alternatively, just let it format & install to the 130 Gb partition. Then update to SP2 & expand the partition to fill the physical drive.

 

[whitewater7]

That’s a good idea. Can that be done in Windows (XP), or do you need a third party utility like Partition Magic?

Anyway, I managed to make a new boot CD following (carefully) the instructions from the website that I listed above. This was my first experience with “Image Buster” to extract Microsofts protected boot (img) file off of the CD.

Windows XP booted and recognized the whole drive, is currently formatting…and I’m done for the night!!

Thanks to all for your input.

 

[wahnula]

http://www.48bitlba.com

is a good site for reference.

Tony

"...an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind" - M.L. King

 

[wolluf]

you need 3rd party software to expand the partition - I wouldn't recommend that route.

nliteos is free - you can donate if you want to. For what you want it will basically just do it. All you need are XP install files copied to hard drive and SP2 copied. Select integrate service pack and bootable iso. Tell it where service pack is and at the bootable iso bit it will either burn Cd directly or create iso image you can burn later. You'll have a SP2 install Cd in 10-15 minutes tops.

 

[smah]

Not, really. When XP is installed & the remaining space is unallocated, you can expand the parttition using diskmgmt. However, XP's disk management will not allow you to shrink a partition - a third party utility is required for that.

 

[cdogg]

smah,
It is my understanding that Windows XP and all previous Windows operating systems do not have a built-in feature for resizing existing partitions. Windows Vista does, however.


lnauman,
Consider using a "free" third-party utility that looks a lot like Partition Magic and is fairly easy to use. It's called Parted Magic:

http://partedmagic.com/

I understand making a slipstreamed XP SP2 CD would be nice to have handy, but unless you plan on doing a lot of installs it's a waste of time compared to using a utility like Parted Magic.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
[tab][navy]For posting policies, click [/navy]here.

 

[wolluf]

The only way you can expand a partition with native XP tools is using dynamic disks - which basically stops you using any other tool on it and leaves you hosed if you have problems.

And I still would never recommend resizing the boot/system partition of an installation if you don't have to. It can always go wrong and leave you with an unbootable system. As creating a SP2 install CD is so easy, why do anything else?

 

[whitewater7]

Wolluf,
I'd agree with you there.
Microsoft would have invented a tool for re-sizing partitions if they thought it would work 100%
As a tech, I've seen too much go wrong with the integrity of a hard disk, under normal usage, ao I wouldn't mess with a third party partioning tool, unless I had a good backup.
Having an updated (slipstreamed) XP install disk will come in handy for future installs and repairs to the operating system too.
And...I didn't have to buy anything!

 

[cdogg]

Microsoft would have invented a tool for re-sizing partitions if they thought it would work 100%

They're one step ahead of you! Windows Vista has such a tool!!
But even if that wasn't the case, I'm not sure I would rely on that logic anyway. Mi¢ro$oft didn't develop an antivirus utility for Windows, so should we assume that having one is unnecessary or can't possibly work? Of course not.


I understand the hesitation to use a 3rd-party utility that you've never tried. In many cases, that's usually a good thing. However, when you see a recommendation from the "regulars" at this site, you can be sure to trust it. I was quick to recommend Parted Magic in this situation for a variety of reasons:

- You had just loaded a clean install of Windows, meaning you wouldn't be too concerned about the data getting corrupted during the resize

- After using this product 30-40 times, I have yet to see anything get corrupted

- It would have been faster to resize the partition than reload the OS (30 seconds versus 30 minutes)


____________________________________

I think it's great you took the time to make a slipstreamed CD for the reasons you mentioned, then had the patience to reload the OS again. That's certainly one way to solve the problem. From the perspective of someone who works on computers for a living, resizing the partition and making the "updated" CD later to save time would have been more appealing to a lot of people.

The number of steps you decide to take are simply just a matter of preference.


~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
[tab][navy]For posting policies, click [/navy]here.

 

[Santei]

just sharing my experience:

while trying to resize/split partitions XP lost all my data. so, i'm running partitioning utility now
(ADDS-

http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/diskdirectorsuite/)

and i'm quite happy (spent 40$ or so, but it's more expensive now)