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500gb HD only says 127gb

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-1nf1n1ty-

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My friend reformatted his computer and is wondering what happened to all of his space he has a 500gb hard drive and yet windows only reads it as 127gb? is there a way to fix this?
 
newtekie1

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The disc he used to install Windows did not have SP1 slipstreamed into the install.

What this means is that Windows will not recognize more than 127GB of the drive.

There are several ways to fix the issue:

1.) After Windows is installed, install Service Pack 2(and then Service Pack 3 optionally). Then go into Disk Management, and create a second partition on the drive to allow access to the rest of the drive. This will give him two drives under My Computer that he can store files on.
2.) After Windows is installed, install Service Pack 2(and then Service Pack 3 optionally). Then use a 3rd party partition management software, such as Acronis Disk Director or Partition Magic, to extent the original partition to take up the entire drive. This will give him a single drive under My Computer, which is preferred by most people.
3.) Slipstream SP1, SP2, or SP3(I recommend SP3, why not just go with the latests), then re-install Windows using the new Windows disc you have created. This should enable you to create one large partition from the beginning, avoiding the extra steps to extend the partition or create a second partition later.
 
Last edited:
rangerone766

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install service pack 2 for win xp. should fix it.
 
newtekie1

newtekie1

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rangerone766 said:
install service pack 2 for win xp. should fix it.
Click to expand...

It will fix the bug, however the drive will still only have a single 127GB partition. There is more to the problem than just fixing the underlying cause.
 
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newtekie1 said:
The disc he used to install Windows did not have SP1 slipstreamed into the install.

What this means is that Windows will not recognize more than 127GB of the drive.

There are several ways to fix the issue:

1.) After Windows is installed, install Service Pack 2(and then Service Pack 3 optionally). Then go into Disk Management, and create a second partition on the drive to allow access to the rest of the drive. This will give him two drives under My Computer that he can store files on.
2.) After Windows is installed, install Service Pack 2(and then Service Pack 3 optionally). Then use a 3rd party partition management software, such as Acronis Disk Director or Partition Magic, to extent the original partition to take up the entire drive. This will give him a single drive under My Computer, which is preferred by most people.
3.) Slipstream SP1, SP2, or SP3(I recommend SP3, why not just go with the latests), then re-install Windows using the new Windows disc you have created. This should enable you to create one large partition from the beginning, avoiding the extra steps to extend the partition or create a second partition later.
Click to expand...

Perfect explanation... + a billion
 
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Homeless

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You need 48bit lba installed. The above methods all provide a solution to this
 
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