catgate Posted March 3, 2006 Report Share Posted March 3, 2006 Today I got a new 80Gg HDD and started to partition it, and format it, before filling it with the all usual rubbish that we seem obliged to have. I followed my usual procedure of feeding in %ages rather than actual numbers, but when I had finished, and looked at the actual numbers, Fdisk had only recognised/found 12624Mb of disk. A second run yielded the same result. The BIOS is quite happy about there actually being 80Gg for it to play with, so my question is where can the rest have gone? Is it possible for them to "duck" out of reach as Fdisk passes overhead? Or should I go and have a lie down in a darkened room? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scuzzman Posted March 3, 2006 Report Share Posted March 3, 2006 What about when you list the partitions on the disk? Does it show any empty ones?Have you tried any other disk utility, such as Acronis TruImage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catgate Posted March 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2006 What about when you list the partitions on the disk? Does it show any empty ones?Have you tried any other disk utility, such as Acronis TruImage?Since posting my query I have discovered that M$ Fdisk does not work properly on drives above 64G :-http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...b;en-us;Q263044I have since downloaded a couple of Fdisk progs. only to find out that they do not work in DOS (starting windows from a floppy). So I am now looking for a utility that will work from DOS on larger drives. It does look a bit weird to have to make a small partition in DOS, put Windows on it,and then go in with another partitioning prog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rong Posted March 3, 2006 Report Share Posted March 3, 2006 The best one is partition magic, but it's not free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scuzzman Posted March 3, 2006 Report Share Posted March 3, 2006 Might I reccomend a different approach?You can use Knoppix in live mode to partition the disk. Here's what you'll want to do:Boot the diskBecome root by using this command in the Terminal:suThen, use qtparted to carve up the disk:qtpartedAfterwards, reboot back into Windows :)The FS type you'll want to create (there will be a lot of options will be FAT32, VFAT, or MS-Dos/Windows (I'm not sure of the exact verbiage they use).BTW: QTParted is an open-source equivalent of Partition Magic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r4may Posted March 3, 2006 Report Share Posted March 3, 2006 When I get a new Hard disk I format and partition it using the manufacturer's utilities. In my case I normally buy maxtor drives and use their Maxiblast which allows me to test the drive and format /partition the drive how ever I wish including making different partitions different file formats. It can also be used to check old drives and reset them to the manufacturer's original factory setting. On testing it gives gives error codes for any problems on the drive which can be used to fault find/rectify using the manufacturer's service web site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan2273 Posted March 3, 2006 Report Share Posted March 3, 2006 This should help you with QTparted.http://www.cyberciti.biz/nixcraft/vivek/bl...tition-with.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catgate Posted March 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2006 Thank you, gentlemen. It just happens that the disk I am messing with is a Maxtor, so I have just downloaded Maxblast 4 and will try that. I have a Knoppix CD about somewhere, so that might have to bo found if Maxblast fails. I just wonder how I am going to use the keyboard with crossed fingers. :huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r4may Posted March 3, 2006 Report Share Posted March 3, 2006 I found Maxblast 4 very easy to use and did a great job.Good luck. r4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catgate Posted March 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2006 I found Maxblast 4 very easy to use and did a great job.Good luck. r4Yes it is surprisingly easy, and much quicker that Fdisk. I have managed to get my new HDD partitioned and formatted, and as I sit here, using this rapidly failing old faithful, the "new" machine is gobbling up an insallation of W98SE like there was no tomorrow. Thanks again all.....but please do not run too far away just yet. There's "many a slip twixt cup and a complete operating system"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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