# Ext 4TB HD not shown in Win XP



## Da Mail Man

Greetings all,

1)...Win XP PRO, SP3...Dell Desktop....3.4ghz.*...32bit*

2)...Obtained a new 4TB SATA hard drive...

3)...Purchased an external hard drive case with external power supply and usb cable...

4)...Placed HD into computer with no other drives "inline"...

5)...Used Hirens boot cd to format the drive NTFS...

6)...Reinstalled the 4TB hard drive into external enclosure and plugged into ac power and connected usb cable from the enclosure to WORKING usb port on computer Windows does not recognize it...

7)...Connected my working/usable win XP hd into system and rebooted...

8)...External drive doesn't show up in disk mgmt or in "control panel" page of XP...

9)...Any fix for this?....Do i have to install windows on it just to get a format (NTFS) which I thought
     Hirens did?


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## johnb35

XP won't see a drive that big, 2 tb is the limit.  If you had it partitioned into more then 1 drive, it may work. That may be a bios issue as well for an xp system.


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## Da Mail Man

Thanks for the reply!..

My intent is to make this Ex HDD  as a back up - to image or back up on win xp drive...Any ideas?

*Additional.*...Are you implying that IF i partition into *2 separate 2tb drives/partitions*, It MAY work?


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## Da Mail Man

*What is OR how to I do a format of the 4tb ext disk?..Have no clue as to what "GPT" is or how to get it-do it.**.....I am going to attempt to partition the Ext HDD in TWO 2-TB partitions and see what happens.......back after a bit.*

*The following came from Microsoft site:*
_"The 2-TB barrier is the result of this 32-bit limitation. Because the maximum number that can be represented by using 32-bits is 4,294,967,295, this translates to 2.199 TB of capacity by using 512-byte sectors (approximately 2.2 TB). Therefore, a capacity beyond 2.2 TB is not addressable by using the MBR partitioning scheme.

To make more bits available for addressing, the storage device must be initialized by using GPT. This partitioning scheme lets up to 64 bits of information be used within logical sectors. This translates to a theoretical limitation of 9.4 ZB (9.4 zettabytes, or 9.4 billion terabytes). However, the issue that affects GPT is that most currently available systems are based on the aging BIOS platform. BIOS supports only MBR-initialized disks to start the computer. To restart from a device that is initialized by using GPT, your system must be UEFI-capable. By default, many current systems can support UEFI. Microsoft expects that most future systems will have this support. Customers should consult with their system vendor to determine the ability of their systems to support UEFI and disks that have storage capacities that are greater than 2 TB."_


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## johnb35

You will need to partition the drive into smaller ones if you want to utilize this on XP.  Also make sure its formatted as a mbr partition instead of gpt since your old xp system most likely doesn't utilize UEFI.


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## Da Mail Man

*THANKS FOR THE REPLY...*

Just now getting back to this. Maybe I should have stayed on a bit longer to read this. I took the drive and wiped it, then, placed 2 almost equal NTFS partitions onto it but, after reinstalling into hd enclosure and booting computer, is still NOT recognized.


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## johnb35

You'll most likely need to use a bootable drive partitioning program to convert the drive to MBR instead of GPT.  XP can't see a GPT drive. Disk management will tell you if its a GPT drive.


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## Da Mail Man

johnb35 said:


> You'll most likely need to use a bootable drive partitioning program to convert the drive to MBR instead of GPT.  XP can't see a GPT drive. Disk management will tell you if its a GPT drive.



*************************************

So, you mean I have to change each partition to MBR? If i use the ext HDD to back up my entire computer, will it be able to to either partition?...Can I have 2 partitions MBR?....Back in a few - going to see how I can change each partition to MBR.


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## johnb35

Da Mail Man said:


> So, you mean I have to change each partition to MBR?


Yes, or you may just want to reformat it as MBR and then create smaller partitions under 2tb. You can try converting it first to see if that works.


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## Da Mail Man

johnb35 said:


> Yes, or you may just want to reformat it as MBR and then create smaller partitions under 2tb. You can try converting it first to see if that works.



*****************************************

Thanks for reply.*

I am using a program I didn't even know I had...It is called "Spotmau".....Each partition is below 2tb's....However, I don't see a way to convert from the 2 current NTSF file partitions on this disc to "MBR"...Gives me the option of NTFS or Fat32...Getting rather frustrated and confused here.


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## johnb35

Never even heard of that software, not sure if it can convert to MBR or not.  Try using this software

http://download1.minitool.com/10.2.2/pw102-free.exe

See how it says convert gpt to mbr on disk 2 on the left side.


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## Da Mail Man

johnb35 said:


> Never even heard of that software, not sure if it can convert to MBR or not.  Try using this software
> 
> http://download1.minitool.com/10.2.2/pw102-free.exe
> 
> See how it says convert gpt to mbr on disk 2 on the left side.
> 
> View attachment 8885



**********************************************

I did read a bit on this software...will give it a shot.Thanks.


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## _Pete_

It would be a damn site easier if you got up to date and put Win 7, 8, 8.1 or 10 on. If it's an old machine then Win 7. If it's a newer machine then Win10. If it came with Windows XP bin it and buy a new one.


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## Da Mail Man

It would be a damned site easier if you allowed me to have *my *preferences in an operating system instead of adapting to your tastes.

This is what I choose to run, not you. I have the other os's but, this is what is on this (MY) computer so, live with it or leave. This site is for finding answers and fixes for the problem(s) that exist an not to "bail" and run away when a difficulty pops up.


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## Da Mail Man

johnb35 said:


> Never even heard of that software, not sure if it can convert to MBR or not.  Try using this software
> 
> http://download1.minitool.com/10.2.2/pw102-free.exe
> 
> See how it says convert gpt to mbr on disk 2 on the left side.
> 
> View attachment 8885


*************************************************************Thanks for the reply.
*
*Update:*
Have used the program you had mentioned and have attempted to split the hd to two sections below the 2gb max xp has and not doing well.

I have formatted the 1 partition below 2gbs as NTFS and the other remaining space in unallocated. I have placed the hd into it's new hd external enclosure and plugged it in via usb cable. XP sees new hardware connected (apparently) by a "safely remove hardware" icon appearing on/in the task bar but, does not show up in my computer still.

What am I doing wrong here?....Also, can 2 NTFS partitions exist on the same drive? I may tackle this tomorrow and take some picts to post.


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## johnb35

Did you check to see if the drive was done as MBR or GPT?  Partitions won't mean nothing if the drive is still in GPT...


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## Da Mail Man

johnb35 said:


> Did you check to see if the drive was done as MBR or GPT?  Partitions won't mean nothing if the drive is still in GPT...



*****************************
Thanks for the reply!*
A bit burned out at present. What I am going to do is start from scratch tomorrow late morning - format the entire drive as NTFS and see if I can split into 2 parts. This way I would have 2 partitions below the XP 2gb max....Will take picts each step...Time for a beer!


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## johnb35

Verify GPT or MBR first.  It must be MBR for XP to see it.


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## Agent Smith

How many Fing times does Johnb35 say you HAVE to format the damn drive as MBR? Stop trying to make NTFS work! DAMN!


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## Da Mail Man

Agent Smith said:


> How many Fing times does Johnb35 say you HAVE to format the damn drive as MBR? Stop trying to make NTFS work! DAMN!


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DAMN! - ease up will ya!?...I did format the drive!*


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## Da Mail Man

Ok-

Here is this mornings' tinkering with this POS. Following will be about 32 (yes, 32) screen shot picts I took. *I WILL be deleting them *in a day or so to save space. I did say I would post these.

*Here is picture key:*

1. Computer booting up.

2. Boot device menu

3. The device menu

4. Selection  the drive containing partition Wizard.

5. USB booting up and loading files.

6. Entering partition Wizard program.

7. Entering partition Wizard program.

8. Screen resolution selection.

9. Option to continue booting partition Wizard.

10. Partition Wizard booting up logo.

11. Partial menu of one partition of 4gb ext hdd.

12. View all of hard drive - disc 1, showing partitions. Note; I will go on to change these before the end of these pictures. In each case, I have fooled around with this, it appears that I have never been able to get two usable recognizable partitions.

13. I clicked on "check file system" to verify partition one is NTFS.

14. I've went so far as to click "set active" to see what effect this would have when I put the hard drive back into its external hd case and connect to computer.

15. Close up of the first partition apparently indicating is MBR.

16. A picture of me playing around with setting that partition active and inactive.

17. I attempted to click on the unallocated 1678.0GB partition to see if I could format it and got the following message displayed.

18. I attempted to see if I could extend "D" middle partition and incorporate the unallocated space so that I would have only 2 partitions.

19. My attempt at merging partitions.

20. Another pict.

21. Another picture.

22. Another picture -- playing around with type of file system.

23. Made additional changes to see the effect. This one is the 4 TB hard drive, disc 2 the partition Wizard program on USB drive. Notice drive one indicating one part MBR and in the drive label NTFS.

24. Decided to see what would happen if I change MBR to GPT in drop down menu.

25. Another process pict.

26. Showing  partition as being GPT.

27. Another picture.

28. Close-up picture of first partition.

29. Close up picture of second partition.

30. Shutting down program to remove hard drive and place into external hard drive case and reinstall my main pre-existing hard drive which I want to back up to the external hard drive.

31. A picture windows XP hardware device manager -- showing both hard drives (my main original and external hard drive in enclosure).

32. All that pops up when I energize the external hard drive is the icon saying "safely remove hardware".
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Picts deleted to save space. *


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## Da Mail Man

*10 - 18

Picts deleted to save space. *


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## Da Mail Man

*19 - 27

Picts deleted to save space. *


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## Da Mail Man

*26 - 32

Picts deleted to save space. 
*


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## johnb35

It's possible that the system may be corrupt to where it won't properly identify the drive.  I've seen happen on windows 7 machines trying to detect usb flash drives.  Once you run some general system cleanup maintenance programs, it detects it just fine.  When was the last time windows was reinstalled on this machine?  Does the system detect other usb drives?  By all rights, the partitions should be detected since they are under the 2tb limit.  But I know this may also be a bios limitation issue. 
?


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## Da Mail Man

***CAPS ARE NOT YELLING AND ONLY SERVE TO SEGREGATE PARTS OF THE CONVERSATION***

It's possible that the system may be corrupt to where it won't properly identify the drive. I've seen happen on windows 7 machines trying to detect usb flash drives.
*ANYTHING I PUSH INTO A USB DRIVE THIS WILL SOUND OFF AS IT DETECTS IT*.

Once you run some general system cleanup maintenance programs, it detects it just fine. When was the last time windows was reinstalled on this machine?
*ABOUT 2-3 WEEKS AGO*

Does the system detect other usb drives?
*YES, IT DOES*

By all rights, the partitions should be detected since they are under the 2tb limit. But I know this may also be a bios limitation issue.
*WELL, AS I WAS REMINDED HERE, 2GB'S IS LIMIT ON XP AND SO YOU CAN SEE BY POSTED PICTS.

*THINKING I MAY START FROM SCRATCH AGAIN - YEAH, DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AND GETTING THE SAME RESULTS -BLAH BLAH BLAH....(grin).*


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## Da Mail Man

OmniDyne said:


> Uh, John said to format using MBR, not GPT.
> 
> NTFS is what XP uses for its file system, and has nothing to do with MBR or GPT in this scenario.



**************

*I did..*.I just "tinkered" with GPT to see what would happen...I have divided the hdd up into 2 partitions of less that 2gb's and formatted same as  being NTFS and still no recognition by computer........Going to start from scratch early this evening.


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## johnb35

Da Mail Man said:


> By all rights, the partitions should be detected since they are under the 2tb limit. But I know this may also be a bios limitation issue.
> *WELL, AS I WAS REMINDED HERE, 2GB'S IS LIMIT ON XP AND SO YOU CAN SEE BY POSTED PICTS.*


But what I meant is that I do believe some XP machines needed a bios update in order to even detect 2tb drives correctly. If you know of someone that has a 2tb external, you can try connecting it and if it see it then you know the problem lies with 4tb drive.


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## Da Mail Man

I don't know anyone with an ext hdd.........I have a smaller ext hdd less that 1gb but, that obviously doesn't count here...... I just got finished running a diagnostics ck on the HD and all checked ok........After a bit, i will start tinkering again - maybe think about my sledge hammer.....


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## Da Mail Man

Did a bit more tinkering _before quitting_ for the evening...Split up the hd making *all partitions smaller than 1tb.*.. MBR or GPT makes no difference (see attached picts)......

I Even affixed the drive directly into the computer instead of the EXT drive case with same results.....I currently have a 1 TB drive in my Dell which I am using now and it is the same manufacturer.

IF, and I say IF this Dell had windows 7 in it, would it "accept" the drive (I DON"T plan on changing OS"s)? ...Would not the bios be and remain the same with xp or 7?View attachment 8935 View attachment 8936 View attachment 8937 View attachment 8938


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## Darren

I hope you appreciate how much harder you're making this for yourself by trying to force technology from 2 different decades to work together. Just use a modern OS and save yourself the hassle, you've put more effort into trying to fix the problem than you would just eliminating it entirely and use an OS that isn't old enough to have a driver's license.


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## Da Mail Man

I hope you appreciate how much harder you're making this for yourself by trying to force technology from 2 different decades to work together.
*WELL LOOK! - IS THIS NOT MY COMPUTER?...OF COURSE IT IS!...IS ANYONE HERE USING IT? - OF COURSE NOT.....THEN WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP FORCING THEIR SPECIFIC TASTES ON ME?....JUST SIMPLY CONSIDER THE PROBLEM AT HAND AND GO FROM THERE...I APPRECIATE THE HELP BUT, NOT THE SNIDE COMMENTS.*

Just use a modern OS and save yourself the hassle,
*AGAIN - MY CHOICE OF OS'S AND NOT ANYONE ELSE'S AND YES, IT IS A HASSLE BUT, MORE MINE THAN ANYONE ELSE'S. *

you've put more effort into trying to fix the problem than you would just eliminating it entirely
*YES - I WANT TO FIND A FIX FOR THIS...CHOPPING UP A 4TB HD TO SMALLER PARTITIONS THAT XP SHOULD RECOGNIZE AS INDIVIDUAL DRIVES SEEMS TO BE AT THE FOREFRONT...I USE A 1TB HARD DRIVE IN THIS COMPUTER AND IT WORKS WELL.*

and use an OS that isn't old enough to have a driver's license.
*IMO, AFTER XP, EVERYTHING SUCKS BUT, I DON'T FORCE MY OPINION OR TASTES ONTO ANYONE HERE YET, THE REVERSE SEEMS TO NOT APPLY.*


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## Agent Smith

Da Mail Man said:


> What I am going to do is start from scratch tomorrow late morning - format the entire drive as NTFS and see if I can split into 2 parts.




That right there after you were told like three times to use MBR is what doesn't grab me right.


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## Da Mail Man

Agent Smith said:


> That right there after you were told like three times to use MBR is what doesn't grab me right.


**********************************
View attachment 8939


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## Da Mail Man

Da Mail Man said:


> **********************************
> View attachment 8939



View attachment 8940


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## Cromewell

The issue is that while you lose space above 2TB, 32-bit XP cannot access GPT drives. And 64-bit XP can only read from them. So if you want to use this drive on XP you don't have a choice, you have to use MBR.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/pr...windows-xp-read-write-and-boot-from-gpt-disks

If you were to switch to windows 7, you could use the disk as a data drive. You could boot from it if you were running 64-bit windows 7 and have a UEFI based system rather than BIOS


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## Da Mail Man

Isn't  that what I have done as reflected by posts 34 and 35?...It appears that, according to those picts, I have MBR.

Earlier this morning, I took the 4tb disc and installed it into computer directly...I placed an XP disc into optical drive and successfully loaded same into partition the xp cd disc created....

Right clicking on the xp icon for that hard drive is indicating used space is 3.21 GB, free space is 1.63GB, and capacity is 1.63 TB...I have not yet put in SP3.


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## Cromewell

Da Mail Man said:


> Isn't that what I have done as reflected by posts 34 and 35?...It appears that, according to those picts, I have MBR.


It looked like you were trying to call out the missing space above 2TB. The disk is clearly visible in your tool. Does this run in windows or is it a bootable utility?


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## johnb35

Does "my computer" show the partition that is 2tb?  


Da Mail Man said:


> Right clicking on the xp icon for that hard drive is indicating used space is 3.21 GB, free spa


 So are you saying you installed xp to this partition?


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## Da Mail Man

The picts posted 34/35 were taken with


Cromewell said:


> It looked like you were trying to call out the missing space above 2TB. The disk is clearly visible in your tool. Does this run in windows or is it a bootable utility?



***********************************

*My total intent in/at doing all this is to be able to do occasional incremental back-ups of my entire hard drive*....Without my xp computer recognizing the hd or it's separate partitions It still remains a problem....

Using the partition tool (PT) I "worked" that 4tb hd to 2 - 4 separate partitions AND with MBR as indicated by the 34+35 posts.....The computer still did not recognize the ext hd in any respect....BUT, when i installed the hd in the computer and loaded/installed WIN XP from cd into it, the computer "saw" it...NOTE - i did not reinstall it back into the EXT hdd housing.

It would seem that I have 2-3 tb's unused as of this point *and need to use them/it.*....Either I am doing something incorrectly or----?....The PT said was formatted yet, feeding it back through a working usb port found same results.....I am wondering what the XP DISC did that I am missing or, teh PT didn't do.


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## Da Mail Man

johnb35 said:


> Does "my computer" show the partition that is 2tb?
> 
> So are you saying you installed xp to this partition?


********************************

(if I understood you)...YES - 

1)installed 4tb hd into computer.

2) inserted win xp disc into optical drive.

3) xp "went in w/out incident.


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## johnb35

So when you installed xp to external did the OS see the remaining part of the drive?  Did you use disk management to partition/format the balance?


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## Da Mail Man

Short answer - "NO".....Went to disc management and it gives me really no options (in effect) - saying that there is only 1 partition and that partition is "used"....

I show 1 partition where the newly installed xp is and nothing else. (see attached picts). Strange though, it shows that the rest  of the drive is "used"....Drive shows up in "my computer" as a single drive containing xp.


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## johnb35

Can you show the whole screen for disk management?


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## Cromewell

Source https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca...port-for-hard-disks-that-are-larger-than-2-tb


> *Overall requirements for a bootable system volume*
> Assume that you want to meet the following conditions:
> 
> Have a storage device on which you can install Windows.
> Make the storage device bootable.
> Enable the operating system to address a maximum storage capacity for that device of greater than 2 TB.
> To meet these conditions, the following prerequisites apply:
> 
> The disk must be initialized by using GPT.
> The system firmware must use UEFI.
> The Windows version must be one of the following (64-bit only, but including all SKU editions):
> Windows Server 2008 R2
> Windows Server 2008
> Windows 7
> Windows Vista



You can abuse larger cluster sizes to get all 4TB on a data drive on XP. But as a boot drive you are out of luck.


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## Da Mail Man

johnb35 said:


> Can you show the whole screen for disk management?



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It took 2 picts but, here it is: (see attached)
View attachment 8945 View attachment 8946

*Picts deleted to save space. *


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## Da Mail Man

Cromewell said:


> Source https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca...port-for-hard-disks-that-are-larger-than-2-tb
> 
> 
> You can abuse larger cluster sizes to get all 4TB on a data drive on XP. But as a boot drive you are out of luck.



****************************
Not *looking to make a bootable drive - only to make a drive that i can utilize all/most of its space t*o do occasional full back-ups* of my computer as previously stated....Only want for full back up and program/picture storage.


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## johnb35

Right click on the unallocated part and see if you can create simple volume.    Disk management is showing some weird numbers though.  I understand this is when its bootable and doesn't help as far as a data drive.  

So you may have to sell this drive and get a 2tb drive in order to use it with XP.  It's an OS limitation, has nothing to do with the hardware.  You can always confirm this by going to a library with newer computers and plug the drive in to see what it registers or use a friends pc that has a newer OS.


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## Da Mail Man

Right click on the unallocated part and see if you can create simple volume.
*OK...WILL AFTER A BIT (gotta shut down as lightning and storms rolling in (florida)..*

Disk management is showing some weird numbers though.
*WELL, THEY DEFINITELY DON'T "JIVE" WITH WHAT THE USED PART IS COMPARED TO WHAT SHOULD BE "FREE/EMPTY".*

I understand this is when its bootable and doesn't help as far as a data drive.
*BUT, I DON'T WANT A BOOTABLE DRIVE.I WANT A DRIVE THAT I CAN BACK UP MY COMPUTER TO AND POSSIBLY STORE SOME PROGRAMS AND PICTS AND BE ABLE TO RESTORE BACK INTO MY COMPUTER SHOULD THE NEED BE. I DON'T EVEN WANT XP ON THIS DRIVE, JUST SOME PROGRAMS AND PICTS.*

So you may have to sell this drive and get a 2tb drive in order to use it with XP.
*UGH!*

It's an OS limitation, has nothing to do with the hardware.
_$HIT!_

You can always confirm this by going to a library with newer computers and plug the drive in to see what it registers or use a friends pc that has a newer OS.
*NOT SURE THEY WILL ALLOW IT.

**I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING AND NOT SURE IT WOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE OR NOT...SP3 IS NEEDED FOR LARGER DRIVES AND I HAVE NOT YET INSTALLED SAME...NOT SURE IF NEEDED TO "SHOW" A LARGER EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE.*


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## Cromewell

Da Mail Man said:


> ***I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING AND NOT SURE IT WOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE OR NOT...SP3 IS NEEDED FOR LARGER DRIVES AND I HAVE NOT YET INSTALLED SAME...NOT SURE IF NEEDED TO "SHOW" A LARGER EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE.*


If the disk has 512 byte sectors it doesn't matter. You can't address that much with 32 bit XP.


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## Da Mail Man

Ok, didn't know that...learn something every day.

*ADDITIONAL:*
If xp can take a large hd and have it partitioned in half and see 2 separate drives out of the big 4TBsingle drive, I am still confused as to why it cannot then see 4 separate drives out of that very same drive.....Does not the partitioning make the XP OS think there are 4 smaller drives below it's 2tb limit?

*OUT OF CURIOSITY;*
If I were running win 7 (_and won't be_), would I be having all these issues?

If i were running "7", and "7" could see the external hd as a 4tb drive or, even 2-2TBhdd's after partitioning, if i were to try and do a back up of win xp, would not that be full of issues also?


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## Cromewell

Da Mail Man said:


> If xp can take a large hd and have it partitioned in half and see 2 separate drives out of the big 4TBsingle drive, I am still confused as to why it cannot then see 4 separate drives out of that very same drive.


It's been mentioned before, but not in detail. It's part of how MBR works. This is why GPT is a thing.


> Since block addresses and sizes are stored in the partition table of an MBR using 32 bits, the maximal size, as well as the highest start address, of a partition using drives that have 512-byte sectors (actual or emulated) cannot exceed 2 TiB−512 bytes (2,199,023,255,040 bytes or 4,294,967,295 (232−1) sectors × 512 (29) bytes per sector).





Da Mail Man said:


> If I were running win 7 (_and won't be_), would I be having all these issues?


No.


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## Da Mail Man

*Can anyone break this down?...*
http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/006125en

I am too burned out right now with this....The drive I have came from a storage drive unit I purchased new - I simply removed the drive as the enclosure was defective.


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## johnb35

Basically the same thing we've been telling you.  XP can't utilize a GPT partition and has a 2tb limit.  So basically sell the drive to somebody running a newer OS and then buy a 2tb drive.


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## Da Mail Man

So,
There is no partition, 
or group of partitions, 
or type of partitions,
or anything on earth that I could use this 4tb xhdd, possibly partitioned into multiple partitions under 2tb's, that I could connect to my Win XP computer to do incremental back ups of win xp in case of computer crash or, to use to store data on same such as picts, programs, etc???


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## Da Mail Man




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## johnb35

As a storage drive XP will only see the first 2tb of the drive and thats it from what I've read and what Cromewell has posted.  I thought it just wouldn't read anything bigger then 2tb partition and you would need to partition the drive into smaller sections but thats not true.


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## Da Mail Man

johnb35 said:


> As a storage drive XP will only see the first 2tb of the drive and thats it from what I've read and what Cromewell has posted.  I thought it just wouldn't read anything bigger then 2tb partition and you would need to partition the drive into smaller sections but thats not true.



***********************************

yeah, I know!....I thought that a larger drive (4tb) on it's own, xp would not see (after I was reminded)but, figured it WOULD if that drive was partitioned into 2 2tb discs to which I thought that xp would now see 4 separate drives with different drive letters.


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## Cromewell

Da Mail Man said:


> figured it WOULD if that drive was partitioned into 2 2tb discs to which I thought that xp would now see 4 separate drives with different drive letters.


The MBR record cannot address a partition starting past the 32 bit limit. It's not a partition size limit - well it is - but it is also an address of partition starting point limit as well. The only way to be bigger is to have a logical block size larger than 512b but I am not sure if there are any tools set it up that way under XP.


Da Mail Man said:


>


My thoughts exactly.


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## Da Mail Man

Lastly (before I run this over with my vehicle),

Can I back up to it since it will "see" the 1st 2tb's?


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## johnb35

That's up to you. Should work fine.


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