Harddrive too big

After searching all of Nerd Culture I could not find a solution to my problem so here I am...

I just bought a Western Digital 120 gb Hard Drive for my computer. When I FDISK, it only reports that I have 40 something gigs. I know win98 only recognizes up to a certain amount. My question is how do I get it to show that I have 120 gigs? Or do I just go on with the fdisk and format as usual?

 

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I believe that Windows 98 SE fixes this problem If i remember correctly (I havent used Windows in a while). Else, there is usually some program that can fix the problem. Usually comes as a disk with the harddrive. It essentially replaces your bootloader.

-AntonK

 

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or u could upgrade too linux,,, only joking

 

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I am using win98 SE forget to mention the SE part earlier hehe. The HD came with a disk for that but all it does is diagnose. It tells me I have 120 gigs but when I do fdisk it still tells me I only have 40 something gigs. Am I doing it all wrong? Should I just fdisk, format and hope it sees 120 gigs? Or perhaps I am using the wrong bootup disk...

 

maybe you need to patch your windows 98 SE further from the windows update website? i thought the disk that the person was referring to meant there was a patch for windows on that disk,, but if not,, i think you should refer to the web site download.. (for hours on end)

 

Try flashing your bios on your motherboard too. find out the maker and go to their website. Its a risky thing to do sometimes if you do it wrong. But if you do it right you should be fine.

-AntonK

 

The problem most likely lies with your motherboard. The IDE on it could be only ATA 33 or 66. You'll probably want to check your BIOS settings.

Is this drive factory new? If it is used or something, it already have a 40GB partition on it. Also, you'll want to check the jumper switches on the back of the drive and make sure they are not set to a "40GB clip option" Some drives, like the IBM GPX Deskstar series, have an option to cap the amount of datable useable on the drive, via jumpers.

 

What exactly does flashing a motherboard entail? It is a new motherboard.

No it's a new HD so I don't think it was already partitioned. The jumpers seem to be fine. I will check the IDE when I get home today.

 

That size of a hard drive is almost surely ATA-133. It should run on an ATA-100 port, but I'm not sure about 66 or 33. I don't think it would work.

Flashing the motherboard entails upgrading the bios to the most recent revision. If it's a non-custom built system, like Dell or Compaq or whatever, you should find the appropriate junk (if there is any) at the manufacurer's website. I'm guessing you bought a hard drive that is not compatible with your motherboard though. If you want to avoid the pain of upgrading your motherboard, you can probably find a PCI ATA-133 controller card, but I bet you're probably not gonna like the cost (I'd guess 50 bucks).

 

Hmmm how would I know wether or not my HD is compatable with my MB?

It is in fact a custom built computer. My friend is kinda half assing it this time around so I gotta figure it out. I wish I had more experience with this stuff. The MB is new and my computer is in a million pieces so it wouldn't be too much of a pain to get a new MB since everything is already taken apart. Hopefully, I can still return the product. After all it has been about a week. Once I get home I'll see what MB I have and post it tomorrow.

 

Upgrade to Linux? Isn't that kind of an oxymoron? Linux: based on the very best operating system that 1969 had to offer!

 

Maxtor is the only company in the world who makes ATA 133 drives. ATA 133 is a cumstom interface. Samsung, IBM/Hitachi, Western Digital, Sea Gate, and all other companies only make ATA 100 or below on the IDE parallel interface (regardless of the drive size)

If your motherboard is new (technology wise, like a Via KT 400, an Nvidia nForce, SiS 746, Intel 865, etc....) I don't know what the problem would be. I would still think the jumper positions. Look on the label on the drive for different jumper settings (all drives can have jumpers configured to set the drive as master, slave, or cable select, some drives have alot more options than that - also check the drive manual)

 

I stand corrected. My bad, I forget sometimes that i generally fail to look at other types of hard drives. Seems like when I need one, Maxtors are all that's around... so, thanks for the info.

 

I checked my stuff last night. I have a ECS K7S5A Pro Motherboard. Checking out their website I find:

Q: I want to install a hard drive with more than 37 GB. What do I have to keep in mind ?
A: You should have BIOS version 5.3 or higher installed on your PC as hard drives of this size incur relevant changes in the BIOS basic structure.

I don't quite understand this. I have nothing on my harddrive so how would I get BIOS 5.3 or higher installed if I can't even set up the drive?

I have the jumper set to Master.

Here is my motherboard:
motherboard

 

You can setup the harddrive and install Windows 98, and download the newest BIOS. You will of course be limited to 40 gigs at this point, but it shouldn't matter once you get the new BIOS.

Get the instructions for flash writing your BIOS, then do so. This should solve the problem - you will however, be forced to go through FDISK again to make another partition and reformat (unless you have another partitioning program like Partition Magic 6.0 or something)

Also, you may want to check your BIOS settings right now, before resorting to this flash writing process. Do so. If your drive is running under CHS mode, instead of LBA, for example, this could be your problem.

 

that happened to me too halo, i got a 30 gb hard drive and it says i only have 26 or so, but it cant be cuz its too big because im running win98 se

dunno what happend to them memory

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The version of FDISK that you are using may not support drives that large. Here is a version that supports up to 128 gig drives, http://www.23cc.com/free-fdisk/ .

If you have the MaxBlast software that comes with Maxtor drives, use it instead. It is much faster and easier to use that FDISK.
Don't forget, you must partition before formatting the drive.

If at all possible, consider getting Windows 2000 or XP. They are better than 98 in just about every way, and make formatting and partitioning your drives much easier.

If the drive size is reported correctly on boot, or in the BIOS settings, you do not need to do a BIOS upgrade.

Duke, the file systems use some space, so you never get all of the advertised space on a drive. 26 gigs is what you get out of a 30 gig drive. Some file sytems are more efficient than others.

 

Oh, I guess that makes sense that system files would take some space, but I didnt think it would be that much. I think i might have lost a few when i did a partition on an old drive then ghosted it to this one.

 

Repo Man and all:

Yeah, I downloaded a newer FDISK.exe and it worked just fine

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But as soon as I conquer one problem I face another and another. Now I am getting errors related to my motherboard. Grrrrrr.

Anyways, thanks everyone for your help.

 

What type of problems are you getting with your motherboard?