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The drive is larger than 32GB, but the operating system only recognizes 32GB.

Troubleshooting in case the operating system, BIOS or DiscWizard can only recognize 32 GB of the ATA/IDE drive.

If the operating system, BIOS or DiscWizard can only recognize 32 GB of the drive it may be caused by one of the following:

  1. Drive Jumpers: Applies to Mac and Window users. On drives that are larger than 32 GB there is a Capacity Limitation Jumper (CLJ), also known as the Limit Capacity Jumper or the Alternate Capacity (AC) Jumper setting. This jumper will limit the capacity of the drive to 32 GB and should only be used when the BIOS hangs when trying to auto-detect the drive. If you have two jumpers shunts on the drive you will need to remove the CLJ or AC jumper.

    If you format the drive with the CLJ or AC jumper then the drive capacity will be limited to 32GB. After removing the CLJ or AC jumper the drive will still be recognized as 32GB. You must reformat the drive without the CLJ or AC jumper to gain the full capacity of the drive. The other option is to create a second partition with the remaining unallocated disc space.

  2. BIOS: On older systems (pre- November 1998) the BIOS may not support drives that are larger than 32 GB. In the BIOS setup please set the drive type to AUTO detect. If the BIOS detects the full capacity of the drive then the BIOS will support the capacity of the drive. If not please perform one of the following:
    1. Check with the system or motherboard manufacturer for any BIOS upgrades for the system.
    2. (Recommended) Purchase a PCI ATA controller card that will support the capacity of the drive. The two benefits of ATA controller cards are:
      • The ability to support large capacity drives
      • The ability to support the faster transfer rates of the drive.
         
  3. Operating System: Windows have a 32 GB format limitation for FAT 32. That means if you formatted the drive in FAT 32 with Windows, the largest partition supported is 32 GB. You will need to format the drive in NTFS if you want to partition the drive larger than 32 GB.  The other option is to create a second partition with the remaining unallocated disc space.
     
  4. Incorrect Reporting to the BIOS:  The drive itself may be reporting the incorrect size to the BIOS. In order to correct this, you will need to download SeaTools for DOS, boot into the SeaTools disc, and run the Set Capacity utility.

    It is recommended that you only have the hard drive reporting the incorrect capacity connected to your system while performing the following steps. Any other hard drives should be disconnected.

    It is recommended that you back up any important data on the hard drive before using SeaTools to set the drive size. This is a potentially data destructive procedure. Seagate is not responsible for any lost data.

    After correcting the drive capacity, the drive may still show a partition size of 32GB but with unallocated space. You must delete its current partition then repartition and format the drive to gain the full capacity of the drive. The other option is to create a second partition with the remaining unallocated disc space.

    1. Insert the SeaTools for DOS CD or floppy disc into the appropriate drive, and restart your computer. When SeaTools boots up, carefully read the license agreement, and press Y if you accept it.
    2. Select the correct drive from the list using the mouse or keyboard.
    3. Choose Advanced Features .
    4. Choose Set Capacity to Max Native.
    5. Once the capacity has been set SeaTools has returned to the main screen, take the SeaTools disc out of the drive and completely power down the system. The system needs to be shut down so any cached information is cleared. If you simply reboot or reset your computer without completely powering it down first, the corrected capacity setting will not take effect.

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