intermittent 48-bit LBA issue

[richardhula]

Recently fitted a larger WD2500BEVE 250GB IDE hard drive to my Acer TravelMate 8006LMi laptop running XP Pro + SP3.

The drive was partitioned into three under NTFS. Initially after re-boot only the first 131GB (first two partitions) is seen, suggesting 48bit LBA issue. After putting machine into & out of standby, if I check again using PartInfo the drive errors I get relating to the third partition (start/end address beyond end of disc) above 131GB disappear & I can access it normally.

In fact to get the drive working within my machine I had initially to format & load system files across from my old drive using only the first 131GB, with the remaining space left unallocated.

All tests I run including using HDInfo from 48bitlba.com website indicate that BIOS, drivers & system all have 48bit LBA enabled. I thoroughly checked the drive before installing whilst in USB caddy, including the full Western Digital diagnostic taking nearly three hours. No errors found so I don't suspect drive itself, especially as the intermittent problem seems to reproduce every time after re-boot (on the 24/48bit LBA boundary) & then clears after using standby.

Any suggestions?

Regards - Richard Wood

[Steve R Jones]

XP Pro cd must have SP2 or SP3 included to be able to do one large partition.

Start->Run->Diskmgmt.msc

You should be able to see the unallowcated space - right click and you can create additional partition(s).

[richardhula]

Thanks for reply Steve but as you can see I have SP3 installed so OS is not an issue.

In any case all tools I use tell me that the whole machine should be 48-bit LBA ready.

Regards - Richard

[Steve R Jones]

Does your XP cd have SP3 built in or did you install SP3 later? (it must be built in to get one large partition)

When you look in DiskMgmt do you see UNallowctaed space?

[richardhula]

Hi Steve

The OS was installed years ago as Acer OEM & upgraded with SP2 & more recently SP3. Hence no it wasn't installed from XP/SP3 disc although I have slipstreamed one.

The drive worked perfectly when out of the machine in USB caddy hooked up to same machine. It is correctly partitioned into three - two primary taking up first 131GB & the third as logical partition. It is only the last one I have a problem with.

The problem I have now is of an intermittent nature. When I first boot, DiskMgmt shows the third partition in green as healthy, but this is a false indication. Clicking on properties for this partition shows it full but in any case it's contents are not accessible. Partition Magic shows third partition with ?U? designator. PartInfo shows partition error - start/end address beyond end of disk. HDInfo shows drive with only 131GB capacity.

If I then cycle machine through standby everthing returns to normal with no errors. Third partition & it's contents are accesible, although partition name is lost (defaults to "Local Disk").

Regards - Richard