Member Avatar for dalchina

Hi, I have been advised by an HP chat technician that
My laptop (Vista, 32 bit, < 1year old)
a. will not access more than 320Gb via USB
b. will not accommodate more than 320Gb internally

Both he attributes to mother board limitations.

Now (b) I'm willing to accept, althought disappointed - my laptop's under a year old- but (a) surprise me.

What limits the size of external drive you can access?

a. USB2 limitation? - but there are bigger drives on the market
b. Windows limitation
c. motherboard limitation (even though it's connected by USB

In other words, should I believe the HP tech advice on (b)?

Thanks! David

  • 2 Contributors
  • 2 Replies
  • 233 Views
  • 9 Months Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by dalchina

Dani AI

Generated

Short version: there isn’t a fixed “USB 320 GB” ceiling — the things that actually stop a large external disk being usable are the partitioning scheme, the filesystem, the enclosure/bridge firmware (and whether the drive gets enough power). For capacity and booting rules the partition table (MBR vs GPT) is the usual limiting factor; for per-file limits the filesystem matters; for a drive that “doesn’t show full size” try a different enclosure or connect the drive directly. (plugable.com)

MBR vs GPT: MBR (the old partition table) cannot address past roughly 2.2 TB (2 TiB); disks larger than that must be initialized as GPT so the OS can see the whole device. Modern Windows versions can use GPT for data disks, but booting from a GPT disk normally requires UEFI/64‑bit firmware. If you plan >2 TB storage, initialize as GPT (backup first — conversion can destroy partitions). (learn.microsoft.com)

Filesystems and practical limits: FAT32 has a hard per‑file limit of 4 GB (and older Windows tools won’t format FAT32 partitions larger than 32 GB), so don’t use FAT32 for large backups — use NTFS or exFAT. NTFS supports multi‑terabyte volumes and is the sensible default for Windows hosts. (ftp.zx.net.nz)

Practical troubleshooting (what worked for and what hinted at): check Disk Management to see MBR vs GPT and the reported capacity; if the disk is smaller than expected try another USB enclosure (older bridge chips or firmware can misreport/limit sizes), try a direct SATA connection, and ensure 3.5" drives have their own AC adapter (bus‑powered USB ports often can’t supply enough current). If you still see odd behavior, update the enclosure firmware or use a different enclosure known to support large/Advanced‑Format drives. (plugable.com)

(Short checklist: back up first → check Disk Management for partition style → if needed reinitialize as GPT or reformat to NTFS/exFAT → swap enclosure or connect SATA directly → ensure external power for desktop drives.)

Member Avatar for Seten

if it has no additional power supply, then power.

I had 2 different 500GB USB-HDD (3,5") and no problem. I would only think of filesystem problem/limitation.

Maybe chips in the USB-Hdd (not the HDD itself)

Edited by Seten because: n/a
Member Avatar for dalchina

So it turns out, as I expected, that what the HP tech guy was saying was a load of nonsense. I recently bought a 500Gb 7200rpm drive, carefully checking the power consumption should be similar to the 5400rpm one I was replacing and..

- it works in the PC
- and of course it works as a USB drive.

I think the tech guy was simply looking at the spec. sheets for that model and regurgitating the max drive size it had ever been shipped with by HP.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.