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is it possible XP will not allow more drives

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by chaosrn, 2005/01/01.

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  1. 2005/01/01
    chaosrn Lifetime Subscription

    chaosrn Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    is it possible XP will not allow more drives?
    I have XP with a 250G maxtor,
    it only "sees" about 200G (138G = c:\ , 62G= f:\)
    with my d:\ = DVD-ROM & e:\ = CD burner.
    When I tried to add USB card reader or an Ipod clone it doesn't allow my D-link USB hub to activate.
    (part of this is being asked in a different post. The reason for the post is because it is more detailed and slightly different then the original post)
    Now i recall eons ago one had to designate the "last drive available ", does XP take care of that on it's own? and does the fact that XP set the "second" HDD to F:\ prevent anymore from being added?
    :confused:
     
    chaosrn,
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  2. 2005/01/02
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    How does it look in Device Manager? Does the Maxtor have two partitions with all space allocated or is there free space of some 50 GB?

    What did You use to partition and format?
    If You used an original XP-CD (without any SP) it only sees some 138 GB and the rest will show up as unallocated space.
    The 62 GB F: ...... :confused: ...... did You use FDISK from a Win98 floppy to create that one? FDISK doesn't see more than some 62 GB.

    When XP is installed, the system partition becomes C: and if no other partitions are created, the opticals become D: and E: respectively. They will stay that way until You change them in Device Manager. When You go there, You will see that "last drive" is Z:
    Any added drives (partitions) will come after the opticals, unless You change the drive letters for the opticals higher up in the alphabet. I use X: and Y: respectively.

    Christer
     
    Christer,
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  4. 2005/01/02
    sparrow

    sparrow Inactive

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    chaosrn,

    Hard drive recognition is a matter for the BIOS; you may find that a BIOS upgrade will allow XP to see the whole drive.
     
    sparrow,
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  5. 2005/01/03
    chaosrn Lifetime Subscription

    chaosrn Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    how do i go about updating/upgrading the bios?

    how do i go about updating/upgrading the bios?
    and is it possible to do more damage tthan good in doing so?
    :confused:
     
    chaosrn,
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  6. 2005/01/03
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    BIOS flashing is a bit of risk taking but in most cases, it goes well. Try answering my questions first, though. When those have been sorted, we will let sparrow loose on the BIOS!

    Christer
     
    Christer,
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  7. 2005/01/03
    martinr121 Lifetime Subscription

    martinr121 Inactive

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    My 2 cents: XP does not limit number of drives. With 2 USB, I have 12 plus card readers, web cam, scanner, CD tower.

    Martin
     
    martinr121,
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  8. 2005/01/03
    sparrow

    sparrow Inactive

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    re: BIOS

    Before going further, check your mobo manual for a discussion of the BIOS and how to upgrade it. If you wish us to follow along and possibly discuss options, it will help if you tell us the specifications of your computer re: the motherboard model, date, and other info about your machine. The currently installed BIOS revision number is important. If you can't find the information in your documents, you can download and run the free everest program.
     
    sparrow,
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  9. 2005/01/05
    chaosrn Lifetime Subscription

    chaosrn Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    How does it look in Device Manager? Does the Maxtor have two partitions with all space allocated or is there free space of some 50 GB?

    What did You use to partition and format?the OEM XP disc
    If You used an original XP-CD (without any SP) it only sees some 138 GB and the rest will show up as unallocated space.
    The 62 GB F: ...... ...... did You use FDISK from a Win98 floppy to create that one? FDISK doesn't see more than some 62 GB.no i didn't, XP let me "ad" the extra 62G after install was done

    When XP is installed, the system partition becomes C: and if no other partitions are created, the opticals become D: and E: respectively. They will stay that way until You change them in Device Manager. When You go there, You will see that "last drive" is Z:
    Any added drives (partitions) will come after the opticals, unless You change the drive letters for the opticals higher up in the alphabet. I use X: and Y: respectively.i guess that should answer some of your questions, it is late for me and i'm just finishing up two days of double shifts.. thanks for the assist, will check back tomorrow
     
    chaosrn,
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