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Article ID: 327202 - Last Review: February 1, 2007 - Revision: 2.1
The Fdisk.exe utility may not be able to create a hard disk partition that is larger than 128 GB
This article was previously published under Q327202
In Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, when you use the Fdisk.exe utility to partition a hard disk that is larger than 128 GB, Fdisk.exe may not be able to create a partition larger than 128 GB.
This behavior occurs because Fdisk.exe relies on the system BIOS to determine the capacity of a hard disk. IDE hard disks that are larger than 128 GB use 48-bit logical block addressing (LBA) as defined in the ATA/ATAPI-6 specification. If the system BIOS for the computer does not support 48-bit LBA, the BIOS will report a capacity for the hard disk that is equal to 128 GB. This behavior occurs even though the actual capacity of the hard disk may be larger. In this case, Fdisk.exe is limited to the disk capacity that is reported by the BIOS, and Fdisk.exe cannot use sectors that are larger than 128 GB on the hard disk.
To resolve this behavior, update the system BIOS if it is possible.
For more information about how to update the BIOS, or to determine whether an update is available, contact the manufacturer of the motherboard or of the computer.
This behavior is by design.
APPLIES TO
- Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
- Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
- Microsoft Windows 98 Standard Edition
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