Member Avatar for netfisher

Hi to you good folks..firstly can I say I'm not very technically minded so if anyone can help will you please keep it simple..thankyou...... running XP pro. just put a second hard drive in as a slave for storage...went to disk management..storage and tried to make a single partition (fat32) but it only gave me 31.2gig. Can anyone please tell me how to patition and format to the full 160gig or as close as possible. A friend said I need to use NTFS but I dont have a clue what he's on about,,,niether does he I don't think.....many thanks for any help offered... Andy. ps. is there a freeware prog. that might do it. thankyou again...Andy

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Several good pointers are already on the thread from , and . The following is a concise, practical checklist that fills the gaps and gives safe, step‑by‑step options to get the full drive usable while protecting data.

First, always back up important files before touching partitions or filesystems. A simple copy to an external USB drive or another internal disk is sufficient for personal data; consider an image tool for a full snapshot.

Quick verification

  • Open Disk Management directly with Start → Run → diskmgmt.msc and note how Windows reports the physical disk and any unallocated space. If the disk shows its full capacity as unallocated, the problem is at the partition/filesystem layer; if the BIOS/OS reports less than the drive rating, firmware/jumper or BIOS detection should be checked.

Non‑destructive conversion (fast)

  • To convert an existing FAT volume to NTFS without moving data, run a quick filesystem check and then the built‑in convert tool from a command prompt:
chkdsk D: /f
convert D: /fs:ntfs

Replace D: with the actual drive letter. Conversion is in‑place but a backup is still recommended. Microsoft documentation for the convert command: Microsoft - convert.

If the OS or firmware is not seeing full capacity

  • Check the motherboard BIOS setup (press Del/F2/F1 on boot) to see the detected drive size. Inspect the drive label for a jumper diagram and search the drive model on the manufacturer site for any capacity‑limit/jumper notes. Manufacturer diagnostic tools and a live partitioning environment can help identify and clear such limits.

Tools and alternatives

  • For a GUI partitioning/rescue environment, the free GParted Live ISO is useful for inspecting partitions, deleting/creating NTFS partitions, and applying changes offline. Use third‑party tools only after backing up and verifying drive detection in BIOS.

Caution: any partition deletion or firmware flash carries risk. Backups and verifying drive model documentation before changing jumpers/firmware are essential.

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Member Avatar for nameless1der

Hello Andy. I saw this and was intrigued. I had to join to reply.

I don't know what operating system (OS) you are running or if you had upgraded from a previous OS but I will bet that it is not a problem with FAT 32. FAT 32 will theoretically support hard drives up to 2 terabytes. These are not even made yet. Still, I would recommend upgrading to NTFS if your OS supports it.

Now, why won't your pc recognize the 160 GB hard drive. It is likely your BIOS. In order for FAT 32 to create a partition larger than 32,XXX MB (32 GB), it must use 64 sectors per cluster. Your BIOS may only support up to 32 sectors per cluster which ends at 32,768 MB. Once you subtract the recycle bin and page file reserves, you might end up with the 31.2GB as you have.

Short of upgrading your BIOS (assuming it's flashable), you are left with a 32 GB limit for your partitions. I wouldn't be upset if I had a 32 GB hard drive.
You may be able to create logical drives by going to Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Computer Management->Disk Management.
Flashing the BIOS is risky. I wouldn't attempt it unless I was absolutely sure of what I was doing. Don't forget to BACKUP if you try.

Good luck.

Hi to you good folks..firstly can I say I'm not very technically minded so if anyone can help will you please keep it simple..thankyou...... running XP pro. just put a second hard drive in as a slave for storage...went to disk management..storage and tried to make a single partition (fat32) but it only gave me 31.2gig. Can anyone please tell me how to patition and format to the full 160gig or as close as possible. A friend said I need to use NTFS but I dont have a clue what he's on about,,,niether does he I don't think.....many thanks for any help offered... Andy. ps. is there a freeware prog. that might do it. thankyou again...Andy

Member Avatar for DMR

netfisher,

Check the jumpers on the drive itself. Many larger drives have a "32GB clip" setting which forces the drive to report itself as being only 32G in size to accomodate the 32G limit present in some BIOSes. If you know that your BIOS can handle drives larger than 32G, set the clip jumper to "off". Check your drive's documentation if the jumper settings aren't printed directly on the drive.

Member Avatar for netfisher

Thanks very much so far guys. Yes the operating system was upgraded from ME. Not to sure what this NTFS is, how do I try to upgrade to it, is it risky or dificult. Yes I will remove the drive and have another look at the jumpers to see if there's a 32gig clip. Thanks once again....Andy

Member Avatar for Catweazle

Start over, is your best shot. Remove the existing partition(s) and create new ones using NTFS file system. Windows XP won't allow you to create FAT32 partitions any larger than 32Gb.

Start -> Control Panel -> Performance and Maintenance -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management.

(There's quicker ways to get there but that'll do!)

Click on the 'Disk Management' section, and you can perform the job from there. Use the 'Help' function for Instructions to Remove the partition, create a new partition, and to Format it ready for use.

Member Avatar for DMR

Windows XP won't allow you to create FAT32 partitions any larger than 32Gb.

Right- I forgot about that, but it is true.


netfisher,

There you have it- the 3 places where you could hit the 32G limit are:

1. The BIOS
2. The 32G clip on the drive
3. The fact that XP won't create a FAT32 partition >32G. XP can handle FAT32 partitions >32G, it just won't let you create them (the max size of a FAT32 partition is 2TB).

Some of the differences between the FAT32 and NTFS filesystems are outlined here.

Member Avatar for netfisher

OK Guys....a huge thankyou. I'm prety sure I'll get it sorted out now......Andy

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