O.T: Hard disk size not recognised.

::
::
:::
:::
:::: I would appreciate your collective wit and wisdom to help me solve
:::: this one:
::::
:::: I have a failing Maxtor One Touch HD in a box I carry with me on my
:::: travels.
:::: Thinking I'd be really clever I bought a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10
:::: 750 GB ATA100 disk to replace it. That way I can carry all my junk
:::: with me.
::::
:::: No matter what I try the disk only reports as 137 GB. I can format
:::: and partition, but only 137 GB. I have 500 GB (SATA) disks in my
:::: PC that are recognized OK.
:::: I've downloaded the SeaTools util from the Seagate web site, but
:::: that does nothing useful. (I did not know that Seagate and Maxtor
:::: are one and the same. Does that mean the same quality of HD's?)
::::
:::: Any useful suggestions will be gratefully received.
:::: Thanks.
:::
::: Have a look at this link
:::
::: #
:::
::: Bearcat
::
::
:: Thanks for the suggestions guys. I have tried the following:
::
:: I have Googled the problem, found a few suggestions and tried those.
:: I have downloaded the util from Seagate, but that does not appear to
:: do anything.
::
:: What I have tried so far:
::
:: Installed the disk in PC's:
:: 1 off Asus P4c800E. Intel chipset = 875P. Old BIOS, but 160 GB ATA
:: disks running fine, as well as 250 GB SATA disks.
::
:: 1 off Asus P5W DH. Intel chipset = 975X. Old BIOS, but running 500 GB
:: SATA drives with no problems.
::
:: Both PC running XP SP2.
::
:: Atapi.sys is version 5.1.2600.2180
::
:: In both PC's the disk shows up in the bios as 137 GB. LBA is "on"
::
::
:: I feel cheated if this is all I can get out of the drive. I have not
:: yet tried calling Seagate or OverClockers, dread the 3 hour wait

Try swapping the jumper between cbl/slave/master, i had this with an
external enclosure that would only recognise the drive correctly if the
jumper was set to master IIRC

--
daZza
mr.dazza@"BUT_PLUG"gmail.com
(remove "BUT_PLUG" to reply)
*#

Try downloading "HIREN BOOT". It's a bootable CD pack wich contains lots of programs. There you will find "Active Killdisk". Note: It must be the only hard drive in your computer and it must be set on master. After starting the program simply select the hard drive and press enter. It will "Kill" it, meaning any partition, data, FAT, bad sectors, and any traces of previous smaller defects caused by software will completely be deleted. Note that it will take a very long time to complete (a HDD of 80 GB needs almost 2 hours to kill), but it will completely remagnetize your disk. After that use "Smart F disk" on the same CD, create your partitions, format them, restart your computer, install the Operating System and you;re good to go. If this doesn't fix it, the only explanation is that it's an electrical problem and no software can help you with that. Then you must replace the board on the back of the hard drive with one of the exact model, or take it to someone who is familiar with HDD electronics.

Bert,

I would put money on the problem being the firmware on the chip inside
the OneTouch box not recognising anything larger than 137GB.

Chances are it originally came with a 120GB or smaller drive.

I have a large selection of external casings that won't accept a 160GB
drive - for that very reason.

No amount of jumper changes or service pack installations will make a
difference.

Odie
--
Retrodata
#
Globally Local Data Recovery Experts

update the firmware from seagate official,it is very easy

Thanks for the support, all of you.

Redman - I am running XP with SP2 in both the desktop PC's I am trying
the HD in. Both are Asus MB's and both run OK with HD's larger than
137 GB (250's ATA and 500's SATA). So I assume the BIOS is happy with
larger disks.

Odie - The originnal OneTouch HD was 300 GB, so it should recognise at
least that size of disk. I thought I was smart buying the biggest HD
on the market

Bearcat - Thanks for the Seagate DiskWizard util. What you posted does
more that I could download off the Seagate web site. Thanks for that.
I am trying it out now:
It reports the correct size in LBA (750 GB, so at least the disk is
what it says on the label), but the "Translation info MBR partition
table" shows the size as 137.43 GB.
So far I have tried to "zero" fill to delete the partition, but still
can only make the partition 137 GB or smaller. Formatting will also
only allow 137 GB as the max.
MB bios reports the disk also as 137 or smaller.

Is it time to tape the phone to my ear and listen to endless adverts?

Thanks, I'll keep trying.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I have tried the following:

I have Googled the problem, found a few suggestions and tried those. I
have downloaded the util from Seagate, but that does not appear to do
anything.

What I have tried so far:

Installed the disk in PC's:
1 off Asus P4c800E. Intel chipset = 875P. Old BIOS, but 160 GB ATA
disks running fine, as well as 250 GB SATA disks.

1 off Asus P5W DH. Intel chipset = 975X. Old BIOS, but running 500 GB
SATA drives with no problems.

Both PC running XP SP2.

Atapi.sys is version 5.1.2600.2180

In both PC's the disk shows up in the bios as 137 GB. LBA is "on"

I feel cheated if this is all I can get out of the drive. I have not
yet tried calling Seagate or OverClockers, dread the 3 hour wait

...

If you are using Xp make sure you have at least SP1 installed, I thought I'd
lost lots of stuff on a drive that wasn't being recognised and ended up
reformatting it, bugger.

Redman