Unallocated space on 3TB HDD not accessible.

neter

neter

New member
I have a 3TB HDD where I installed Win 7 64Bit on. (Brand new Baracuda XT 3TB 6Gb)

(All in NTFS)
1st Partition = 100Mb (Created at Win installation)
2nd Partition = 120Gb (Windows)
3rd Partition = 950Gb (Drive T)
4th Partition = 950Gb (Drive Z)
And a 5th Partition of 765Gb that is unallocated. I'm not able to do anything with this partition, when I right click on it, all I get is "Properties" and "Help".
I have tried to extend the 3rd or 4th partion to include the unallocated space or assign a drive letter, but without success.
I have re-installed windows and at the drive selection menu, tried to delete all partitions in order to recreate everything from scratch, but once again that last partion is untouchable.
I've tried Partition Magic, Acronix, Partition Manager...you name it. None of those are able to see this wasted space of 765Gb.

Any help would be appreciated :)
 
When you initially installed the HD, did you choose standard MBR or GPT ?

For anything over 2.2TB, you will need to use the newer GPT (GUID Partition table), since MBR has a 2.2TB limit.
In addition, another limit to MBR is that you can have at most only four primary partitions.

Here is a nice paper from hitachi in regards to this, but it is applicable to all brand of drives:
http://www.hitachigst.com/tech/tech...002600FC/$file/FinalHiCap_2.2TB_TechBrief.pdf

And here is an FAQ from MS on GPT:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/gg463525


BTW: during a clean install, getting Win7 to create a GPT disks is a little tricky and requires some manual intervention. Use google to get some hints on HOW to do a clean install on Win7 on GPT drive (you probably have to hit shift+F10 to get a command prompt and do a diskpart manually. I've used GPT on some drives, but usually on secondary disks, since my primary OS drives are often relatively smaller drives, and that is quite simple directly from the Windows disk management panel...

Good luck..
 
if it helps you i use this program to format or partition almost every drive i have

SWISSKNIFE

google it or look for a torrent
 
Buy another 3 TB drive. Format properly. Copy data over. Regain use of 765 GB partition. Sell first drive. Optional: fill first drive with virus free porn before selling.
 
So I got my asnwer
Win7 on MBR do not support drives over 2.2TB unless the OS is installed on another drive.
 
are you sure, because you can only have 4 primary partitions. the rest have to be extended...
but either way, you need UEFI pc to use it as a whole.


i read today that WD ships their 3TB with a HPT sata controller.
 
IllusionX said:
are you sure, because you can only have 4 primary partitions. the rest have to be extended...
but either way, you need UEFI pc to use it as a whole.
Click to expand...

MBR for sure does not support above 2.2TB. Check my link further up for the details. And off course, 4 primary partitions with MBR is still a limitation.

IllusionX said:
i read today that WD ships their 3TB with a HPT sata controller.
Click to expand...

On retail models, yes.. since that allows legacy OS/machine to access the full size of the drive.
Seagate however took another approach. They enable to see the full drive, by using thier Diskwizard software (which is really just a rebranded version of Acronis' Disk Director suite ): http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/beyond-2tb/?tag=txt
 
Emporium said:
When you initially installed the HD, did you choose standard MBR or GPT ?

For anything over 2.2TB, you will need to use the newer GPT (GUID Partition table), since MBR has a 2.2TB limit.
In addition, another limit to MBR is that you can have at most only four primary partitions.

Here is a nice paper from hitachi in regards to this, but it is applicable to all brand of drives:
http://www.hitachigst.com/tech/tech...002600FC/$file/FinalHiCap_2.2TB_TechBrief.pdf

And here is an FAQ from MS on GPT:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/gg463525


BTW: during a clean install, getting Win7 to create a GPT disks is a little tricky and requires some manual intervention. Use google to get some hints on HOW to do a clean install on Win7 on GPT drive (you probably have to hit shift+F10 to get a command prompt and do a diskpart manually. I've used GPT on some drives, but usually on secondary disks, since my primary OS drives are often relatively smaller drives, and that is quite simple directly from the Windows disk management panel...

Good luck..
Click to expand...

I'm gonna try to install in GPT.
 
IllusionX said:
yeah but GPT is not supported with BIOS systems. Does it?
Click to expand...

Well in most cases it is a pain. This is why I usually use a Raptor or Velociraptor drive as my primary OS drive (still haven't switched to SSD).

However the following could make for good reading.. Seems like there can be a workaround, and works in most cases (not for everybody).. I guess maybe we'll see workarounds built into OSs shortly.. ;)
http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/bios.html


Cheers
 
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