48 bit addressed

[PappaG]

Hi All

Can anyone help i am running a HP compaq dc7100 sff. I have just bought a seagate 320GB sata drive the pc bios see's all 320gb but windows on install only ever formats 127GB and when i install on this drive with the 127GB every time i download anything of a decent size its always corrupted. i know this is fixed in sp2 but the machine only supports one drive and i am guessing there are tools availible to format and partition the drive prior to install so i get the full drive prior to install. Can anyone point me in the right direction as i cant find any tools for this??

 

[cdogg]

OK, first of all like you mentioned, SP2 resolves the issue. I'm assuming that you're problem here is that you have an older XP install disc before SP2 came out.

If that's the case, you have several good options:

1) Go here to get Parted Magic which is a free tool that you can burn to a bootable CD:

http://partedmagic.com/

It uses the linux OS and has a tool that looks a lot like Partition Magic (hence the name "parted"). By default, it tries to format the drive in the "EXT2" file system, so you have to use the drop-down and change it to "NTFS". There should be guides and instructions on the site to show you how to use it.

2) Repackage your XP Setup disc slipstreaming SP2 and other updates onto a new disc. This is a more tedious option, but in the long run, would be nice to have done in case you ever have to reinstall XP again to save you some time downloading well over a hundred updates. You can find a ton of info about slipstreaming all over the web, but I recommend checking this tool out first:

http://www.nliteos.com/

nLite gives you the ability to do a lot more than just slipstreaming Service Packs or patches. Even if you don't care about the other features, it makes the slipstreaming part easy.

And if you're curious to read more about the 48-bit problem in general, this link should help:

http://www.48bitlba.com

~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

 

[linney]

How to Enable 48-bit Logical Block Addressing Support for ATAPI Disk Drives in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;303013#appliesto

"every time i download anything of a decent size its always corrupted"

What size works and what doesn't?

The drive manufacturer will have free diagnostic software to thoroughly check the condition of your hard drive, it may well have other drive maintenance tools too.

A couple of RAM tests.

http://www.memtest86.com/

http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

RyanVM's Windows XP Post-SP2 Update Pack

http://www.ryanvm.net/msfn/updatepack.html

Slipstream Service Packs
thread779-900263

 

[PappaG]

Thanks Linney

I will try patition magic as my first step.
I have tested the disk using seagate dos tools and it passes ok. I used to use the disk with 2003 server build on it and had the same issue with corruption although i got it to install fine and it seen the whole disk i had assumed the corruption was caused due to the fact the disk was running incorrectly as it was when i tried using it for my xp pc and had the same issue i relised it was the disk causing the issue. I had assumed 2003 server had the same issue with 48bit addressing as i couldnt get sp2 for 2003 server to load as it was corrupted when trying to extract every time

 

[PappaG]

Thanks cdog for the info
linney ....sounds complicated

 

[Freestone]

I highly suggest running a memory test from either of the links Linney gave in an earlier post. Data corruption under 2003 Server pretty much rules out a 48-bit LBA issue and points to either a bad drive or faulty memory.

As unlikely as it may seem, I guess it could be faulty BIOS support for 48-bit LBA so you nmay want to see if there is a BIOS update for your motherboard too.

You won't have access to anthing greater than 127GB under XP without at least SP1 being installed, so Partition Magic at this point won't gain you anything under XP - see

http://www.48bitlba.com/faq.htm#FAQ1

 

[cdogg]

Sorry, there's one thing I should correct from above. SP2 is NOT the minimum requirement for 48-bit to work in Windows XP. Actually, it's SP1 as noted at this link:

http://www.48bitlba.com/winXPhb.htm

~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

 

[PappaG]

Thanks all i now at long last have sp2 installed and can see the full drive. I guess i now need to use a partationing tool to move the partition so windows see's this as one drive instead of two. Not sure if this has resolved my corruption issue as yet but just want to thank everyone for thier help so far.
The link for autostream is fantastic but this failed for me the first time it appears if there are any errors on the files it just writes the disk and ignores these and gives no warning, i downloaded a fresh copy of SP2 and have wrote a new disk which i will be testing shortly. Does anyone know if i use this new disk will it see the complete drive on install?

 

[linney]

Does anyone know if i use this new disk will it see the complete drive on install?

How is the hard drive setup at the moment? To see it as one partition, you may have to do some partition work involving resizing, or deleting and formatting new partitions and installing the slipstreamed XP.

HOW TO: Partition and Format a Hard Disk in Windows XP (Q313348)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q313/3/48.asp

Read the paragraph,
"How to Partition and Format Your Hard Disk by Using Windows XP Setup."


How to resize NTFS Partition?
thread779-1321037