Solved W7 sees 5TB HDD, but I only have access to 2TB

[riffwraith]

Hi

Just installed a 5TB HDD. It is is split into two volumes in Disk Mgmt, and I can format 2TB of it (one of the volumes), but the rest I can not.

Is there some kind of limitation here? And if so, anything I can do?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I'm guessing you formatted as MBR, which has a 2.2TB limitation. You should have formatted it as GPT, which is essentially limitless (has a limit—I forget what it is—but you will never reach it anytime this decade). To fix it, go here for a tutorial on changing MBR to GPT. I've had my best luck with Option 2 but it's more work so you may prefer Option 1.

 

[Megahertz07]

As MBR, every partition size is limited to 2.2T. So you must make another partition to be able to use it.
For what I know, to use GPT you must have a UEFI BIOS and set it appropriate.

 

[AddRAM]

Nope that`s only if you are going to use it as a OS drive.

A data drive can be GPT and the whole thing will be seen by a MBR windows install drive.

I`ve done it.

The simplest way to fix it is with Partition Wizard.

And don`t have any data on the drive because you will have to wipe the entire drive to unallocated space first.

AOMEI claims it will do it without loss of data, but I would not trust any program, backup any data first.

Learn to Convert MBR Hard Disk to GPT without Data Loss through Powerful Software

Free Convert MBR to GPT Without Data Loss - EaseUS

And it`s very easy to do it with Diskpart, but I highly advise against this if you are a novice.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

As MBR, every partition size is limited to 2.2T. So you must make another partition to be able to use it...

Except you wouldn't be able to access another partition. You can't access any more that 2.2TB, no matter how many partitions you make. Been there, done that, didn't even get the T-shirt.

...For what I know, to use GPT you must have a UEFI BIOS and set it appropriate.

As AddRam said, that only applies to an OS drive. I have 21 4TB SSDs formatted to GPT and 20 of them are in service right now (one is a spare). I just retired 11 4TB HDDs, all of them are GPT, and all but two had data on them. All of them worked just fine either in my desktop (either permanently installed or in an internal dock with a direct to MOBO SATA port connection) or in an external dock connected to my desktop or one of my notebooks. The OS on all three of the computers I have in service are on 128GB or 500GB MBR SSDs.

 

[Megahertz07]

From Brink tutorial Convert MBR Disk to GPT Disk

Differences Between MBR and GPT Disks:

MBR disks are supported (readable) by all Windows operating systems.
GPT disks are only supported (readable) by Windows server 2003 SP1 +, XP 64-bit, Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows 8, and above.
MBR disks use the standard BIOS partition table.
GPT disks use UEFI.
MBR disks supports up to 2TB per single partition.
GPT disks supports up to 256TB per single partition in Windows.
MBR disks supports up to 4 Primary partitions or 3 Primary partitions and 1 Extended partition with up to 128 logical volumes in the extended partition.
GPT disks supports up to 128 Primary partitions.

 

[AddRAM]

"I have 21 4TB SSDs"

Oh stop it Jean, what do you have an SSD tree out back

Could I have 4 of those 4 TB hard drives ????

Oh pertty please

 

[riffwraith]

Hi

This is not an OS disk.

I did indeed format it as MBR, not knowing any better.

If I wind up with two partitions that have two different letters, that's fine.

My MB has UEFI BIOS, according to the ASUS site.

Currently, my Disk Mgmt looks like this, whereas #2 is the 5TB HDD. It seems as tho Windows split the drive automatically?



Thanks for the replies. Tho, TBH, I am a little confused as to what to do. :huh:

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

From Brink tutorial Convert MBR Disk to GPT Disk

Differences Between MBR and GPT Disks:

MBR disks are supported (readable) by all Windows operating systems.
GPT disks are only supported (readable) by Windows server 2003 SP1 +, XP 64-bit, Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows 8, and above.
MBR disks use the standard BIOS partition table.
GPT disks use UEFI.
MBR disks supports up to 2TB per single partition.
GPT disks supports up to 256TB per single partition in Windows.
MBR disks supports up to 4 Primary partitions or 3 Primary partitions and 1 Extended partition with up to 128 logical volumes in the extended partition.
GPT disks supports up to 128 Primary partitions.

And yet I was able to use 32 4TB GPT drives for DATA drives on Win 7 machines with the OS installed on MBR drives.

This, from >> MBR vs GPT: Which if Better For Your Hard Drive? (next to last sentence).

"Windows 7 and onward, however, can use GPT. Just not as a boot drive (without a UEFI BIOS)."

This, from Sean's tutorial that we both linked here (up at the top)

"While all Windows can boot from a MBR disk, you can only boot from a GPT disk if your motherboard has an enabled UEFI BIOS and you have an operating system (Windows 7 or Windows 8) that supports booting to GPT that is installed with UEFI.

You can still have a separate GPT disk as a data disk if your operating system (see below) supports reading a GPT disk, even if your system disk that Windows is installed on is still a MBR disk."

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

"I have 21 4TB SSDs"

Oh stop it Jean, what do you have an SSD tree out back

Oh, I wish I had an SSD tree out back (or anywhere else, for that matter)! I had a choice between going from mostly HDDs to all SSDs or buying a new pickup truck. I'm going to be driving my old truck for quite a few more years.

...Could I have 4 of those 4 TB hard drives ????

Oh pertty please

Nope!

 

[AddRAM]

Yep I just threw in this 320 GB drive, as you can see it`s GPT (Last one Drive I)

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Hi

This is not an OS disk.

I did indeed format it as MBR, not knowing any better.

If I wind up with two partitions that have two different letters, that's fine.

My MB has UEFI BIOS, according to the ASUS site.

Currently, my Disk Mgmt looks like this, whereas #2 is the 5TB HDD. It seems as tho Windows split the drive automatically?

View attachment 394886

Thanks for the replies. Tho, TBH, I am a little confused as to what to do. :huh:

As you have already been told more than once, convert the disk from MBR to GPT. You will then be able to expand the first partition into the unallocated space.

 

[AddRAM]

Convert MBR Disk to GPT Disk

Just use Option 1

Actually he has to delete the entire drive to unallocated space, so there will be no expanding needed.

Using Disk Management is fine, but then you won`t know if the disk is aligned until you check it.

Partition Wizard makes doing all this so easy.

Best Free Partition Manager for Windows | MiniTool Partition Free

 

[jumanji]

And I just converted my 750GB MBR external drive to GPT without data loss using Partition Wizard. ( Windows 7 32 bit Standard BIOS machine) I had done it a hundred times before for that is my trial drive which I use to learn and give data recovery instructions.

 

[AddRAM]

I would love to do that, but I don`t wanna loose anything, I have 100`s of movies LOL I mean I trust PW 100% but.....

I think you better expand your C partition

I want to see the OP come back and say he`s done

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

And I just converted my 750GB MBR external drive to GPT without data loss using Partition Wizard. ( Windows 7 32 bit Standard BIOS machine)

View attachment 394890

Pay attention to this guy! He's forgotten more about drives than the rest of us will ever know!

It would still be a good idea to back up any data you may have on the drive before doing the conversion, just in case things go pear shaped (stuff happens).

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I would love to do that, but I don`t wanna loose anything, I have 100`s of movies LOL I mean I trust PW 100% but...

I don't trust anything 100%; that's why I have and recommend backups.

 

[jumanji]

Hi........I did indeed format it as MBR, not knowing any better...

A 5TB internal drive would have come formatted as a GPT drive only. You only needed to create more partitions. I am still wondering how you made it into an MBR drive!!!!!! (unless it had come out of an old advance formatted external drive)

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Hi........I did indeed format it as MBR, not knowing any better...

A 5TB internal drive would have come formatted as a GPT drive only. You only needed to create more partitions. I am still wondering how you made it into an MBR drive!!!!!!

New drives (in the U.S., anyway) come uninitialized and unformatted. You get MBR of any size drive, including 5TB, the same way you would make a smaller drive MBR; just select MBR instead GPT when initializing and formatting it. The only problem is it will give you a usable partition of only a little over 2TB; the rest will be unallocated and unaccessable.

 

[riffwraith]

As you have already been told more than once....

Actually, unless I am missing something, there seems to be some difference of opinion here.

Going to give it a shot now.

Thank you.