Reference number: CH000273

Not able to see over 8.4GB hard drive.

Issue:

Not able to see over 8.4GB hard drive.

Cause:

This issue can be caused by one of the below causes.

1. BIOS limitation
2. Computer utilizing MS-DOS 6.22 or lower.
3. Windows 95 / 98 and FAT16 do not support over 2GB
4. Running Windows NT 3.5.
5. Original Windows NT 4.0 will not support hard drives over 8.4 GB on install.
6. OS/2 Warp 3 and 4 may be limited to either 3.1 GB or 4.3 GB.

Solution:

BIOS limitation

Verify that the hard disk drive is being fully recognized in your CMOS. If the hard disk drive is not being fully detected by CMOS it is likely you are encountering a BIOS limitation. This issue can be resolved one of two ways.

1. Obtain BIOS update from your manufacturer. It is only recommended that you upgrade your BIOS if the update explicitly states that it will resolve this limitation.
2. Utilize the DDO (Disk Drive Overlay) diskette included with the hard disk drive or obtainable through the hard disk drive manufacturer.

Information about CMOS and how to enter CMOS can be found on our CMOS page.

Computer utilizing MS-DOS 6.22 or lower.

If you are currently running MS-DOS 6.22 / Windows 3.x or lower, these operating systems will not support these hard disk drives.

Windows 95 / 98 and FAT16 do not support over 2 GB.

Refer to document CH000032.

Running Windows NT 3.5.

Windows NT 3.5 does not support 8.4 GB or larger hard disk drives.

Original Windows NT 4.0 will not support hard drives over 8.4 GB on install.

The original release of Windows NT 4.0 will not support drives larger than 8 or 8.4 GB on installation of Windows NT. To utilize larger hard disk drives it is required that ATAPI.SYS be copied from Service Pack 4 or obtained through our download site. Once obtained, refer to document CH000275 for instructions on how to apply this file.

OS/2 Warp 3 and 4 may be limited to either 3.1 GB or 4.3 GB.

If your version of OS/2 Warp is not detecting a hard drive larger than 3.1 GB or 4.3 GB it is recommended that you contact IBM for the latest Device Driver Pack.

Related Issues:

• See document CH000032 for additional information about why you may only be able to see a two gig partition or drive.
• Additional information about why you may not be able to see over 33.8GB can be found on document CH000274.
• See document CH000276 for additional information about why Windows 95 does not support hard drives over 32GB.