Formatting Maxtor Diamondmax 10 with Windows 2000

Argh! This is frustrating.

I know this topic has been discussed many times as I've been browsing
usenet posts for the past 4 days, but any suggestions that I come
across produces no results. I just bought a Maxtor Diamondmax 10 300 GB
drive but my Windows 2000 Professional install CD won't format the
entire drive. It only sees 137 GB.

I know this is a Windows issue, having to do with a registry setting.
My BIOS sees the drive as 300 GB so it's not a hardware issue. My
Windows install disk is SP3 but it won't go past 137 GB.

I've tried using Maxblast 4. Maxblast seems to format the drive fine
but when I switch over to my Windows install disk I get the following:

Unknown Disk
There is no disk in this drive
131070 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on Bus 0 atapi
Unformatted or Damaged 286181 MB

So it sees the drive, it sees it at 300 GB, but it doesn't understand
the NTFS partition that Maxblast created. In order to continue with the
install, Windows attempts to format the drive itself at which point,
once completed, it returns with a really screwed up layout that won't
let me continue with the install.

I've even booted off with my current hard drive and mounted the new
Maxtor as a secondary. I used Maxblast for Windows and formatted the
drive as NTFS. When completed, Windows shows the drive as 300 GB. But
when I switch the Maxtor as my primary and try to run Windows install
CD, it gives me the same error message:

Unknown Disk
There is no disk in this drive
131070 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on Bus 0 atapi
Unformatted or Damaged 286181 MB

Maxblast doesn't seem to format the drive in a way that Windows install
recognizes.

Is there anyway that I can get my Windows install CD to see the entire
drive without creating multiple partitions and without using
third-party software such as Partition Magic?

Is there anyway that I can get my Windows install CD to see the entire
drive without creating multiple partitions and without using
third-party software such as Partition Magic?

It is not advisable to have a boot partition larger than 137GB with
Windows 2000. Why not multiple partitions?

Win2K CD slipstreamed with SP3/4 does not have the registry hack,
so it cannot see over 137GB. It is a very bad idea to work around this,
stick to a small OS volume.

wrote in message
ups.com...

I know this topic has been discussed many times as I've been browsing
usenet posts for the past 4 days, but any suggestions that I come
across produces no results. I just bought a Maxtor Diamondmax 10 300 GB
drive but my Windows 2000 Professional install CD won't format the
entire drive. It only sees 137 GB.

I know this is a Windows issue, having to do with a registry setting.
My BIOS sees the drive as 300 GB so it's not a hardware issue. My
Windows install disk is SP3 but it won't go past 137 GB.

wrote:
Argh! This is frustrating.

I know this topic has been discussed many times as I've been browsing
usenet posts for the past 4 days, but any suggestions that I come
across produces no results. I just bought a Maxtor Diamondmax 10 300
GB
drive but my Windows 2000 Professional install CD won't format the
entire drive. It only sees 137 GB.

I know this is a Windows issue, having to do with a registry setting.
My BIOS sees the drive as 300 GB so it's not a hardware issue. My
Windows install disk is SP3 but it won't go past 137 GB.

I've tried using Maxblast 4. Maxblast seems to format the drive fine
but when I switch over to my Windows install disk I get the
following:

Unknown Disk
There is no disk in this drive
131070 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on Bus 0 atapi
Unformatted or Damaged 286181 MB

So it sees the drive, it sees it at 300 GB, but it doesn't understand
the NTFS partition that Maxblast created. In order to continue with
the
install, Windows attempts to format the drive itself at which point,
once completed, it returns with a really screwed up layout that won't
let me continue with the install.

I've even booted off with my current hard drive and mounted the new
Maxtor as a secondary. I used Maxblast for Windows and formatted the
drive as NTFS. When completed, Windows shows the drive as 300 GB. But
when I switch the Maxtor as my primary and try to run Windows install
CD, it gives me the same error message:

Unknown Disk
There is no disk in this drive
131070 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on Bus 0 atapi
Unformatted or Damaged 286181 MB

Maxblast doesn't seem to format the drive in a way that Windows
install
recognizes.

Is there anyway that I can get my Windows install CD to see the
entire
drive without creating multiple partitions and without using
third-party software such as Partition Magic?


So a couple hours after posting this I continued my search of possible
solutions, including the probability that I may need to purchase
Partition Magic (for $70?? Ugh!).

Anyways, I found a post hidden within a bulletin board where someone
was having the exact same issue and wanting the exact same results as
me. He ended up figuring it out without spending any additional money
and it worked for me, too.

Here's what to do:

1) Create a 100 GB partition on the drive and format it (NTFS).

2) Install Windows on the Partition.

3) Configure Windows and get networking setup.

4) Download Maxtor Big Drive Enabler (maxtor.com) and run it. This
should work even if you aren't using a Maxtor drive as Big Drive
Enabler simply edits the registry to allow partitions to go beyond the
137 GB barrier. It has nothing to do with Maxtor drives. This is a
Windows problem, not a drive problem.

5) Reboot the system. When the system is up, you should see the rest of
the unallocated raw disk in Window's Disk Management.

4) Next, download Terebyte Unlimited's BootIt NG utility
(http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/bootitng.html). Create a bootable
floppy.

5) Reboot the computer and set the BIOS to boot off the floppy. BootIt
NG will start up and display your disk. There you'll see the 100 GB
partition where your Windows is installed plus the rest of the drive.

6) Select your Windows partition and click the Resize button. Resize
the partition to the maximium and save.

7) Reboot and set BIOS to boot off the hard drive again. Ta da! You now
have a functioning Windows installation on a hard drive that's over 137
GB.

It is not advisable to have a boot partition larger than 137GB with
Windows 2000. Why not multiple partitions?

I've never heard that and don't know any reason why it would be bad. I
understand partitioning as not only a way to seperate data but also as
a means of security and data integrity. I've been a systems admin for
several years and while partitioning an enterprise level server is
standard, in the Desktop world partitioning is an inefficient use of
disk space.

I already run scheduled bi-weekly defrags and multiple weekly backups
to an external drive, so a single partition is better for my needs.

It is not advisable to have a boot partition larger than 137GB with
Windows 2000. Why not multiple partitions?

I was thinking about recovery. Try to simulate recovery on your disk
filled more than 137GB.


I've never heard that and don't know any reason why it would be bad. I
understand partitioning as not only a way to seperate data but also as
a means of security and data integrity. I've been a systems admin for
several years and while partitioning an enterprise level server is
standard, in the Desktop world partitioning is an inefficient use of
disk space.

That is true for "enterprise level Desktop" where most of the time nobody
tries to recover one, just re-image.
Is your desktop one of those?


I already run scheduled bi-weekly defrags and multiple weekly backups
to an external drive, so a single partition is better for my needs.


I hope those backups would work for you when you need them.