"Robbie Hatley" wrote in message
...

Greetings again, group. This is my 6th post here.
My first 5 posts all asked the same question. And
though I received 7 answers, none of them were
relevant. But I'm patient, so I'll try again,
this time in a new thread.

My question is simple, really:

In the Microsoft Windows XP operating system, is any manual
registry edit required for safe usage of hard disks larger
than 137GB?

But in the last 60 days, I have received 0 relevant answers
to that question, even after asking it here 5 times.

As background, so you can see why I'm so insistant in
trying to get some folks to give relevant answers to
that question, you should know that I'm currently using
Windows 2000, in which the 137GB issue is a MIGHTY BIG
issue. With Win2K, even if your motherboard supports
hard disks larger than 137GB, you MUST make a manual
registry edit for such large disks to work right:
Go to HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\atapi\Param eters
and change "EnableBigLBA" from 0 to 1.
If you fail to do this, any data you attempt to write to
the upper portion of your hard disk (over 137GB) will,
instead, overwrite data on the lower portion (under 137GB),
DESTROYING YOUR OPERATING SYSTEM, PROGRAMS, AND DATA.
Which is not a good thing. (To put it mildly.)

Hence, I ask again:

In the Microsoft Windows XP operating system, is any manual
registry edit required for safe usage of hard disks larger
than 137GB?

Looking at the replies to your previous posts on the subject, it
certainly seems that you have received numerous relevant replies, that
you do not appear to understand. BTW, it looks more like "attempt 3",
not 6, as one thread is one "attempt".

Since you limited your question to the XP operating system, I will
reiterate what you have already been told:
If you install XP Gold (original version) with No Service Packs, you
will need a patch to utilize hard drives larger than the "137GB limit"
(which is actually 128GB if you define gigabytes correctly).

If you install XP at the level of at least Service Pack 1, it has native
support for drives larger than the limit to which you refer.

You can locate an XP CD with no service packs included, if you want to
do things the hard way, or you can try to buy an XP CD that includes at
least SP1 (or SP2 or 3 if you can find one that includes them).

None of that matters if you do not use a motherboard with a BIOS that
supports large disks (48-bit LBA). The ATA-6 standard (ATA/100)
increased the size of the LBA to 48 bits, eliminating the 128GB
limitation. So, if you buy a motherboard that supports ATA/100 or
ATA/133, it should state that it supports large hard drives, as long as
the manufacturer has supplied the correct BIOS revision to accommodate
the ATA-6 standard.

Capisce?
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009
A+
http://dts-l.net/