| Q: |
Why doesn't my PC see the full capacity of my 137 GB+ drive? |
| A: |
To allow computer systems access all the data on drives larger than 137 GB,
the T13 AT Attachment standards committee developed 48-bit addressing. 48-bit addressing increases the
maximum addressable space to 144,115,188,075,855,872 bytes (144 Petabytes).
Computer systems manufactured before development of the 48-bit address method do not natively support
drives larger than 137 GB (but can, if upgraded as described below).
If you have recently purchased your computer system, we advise you to check with your manufacturer
to see if your system has native support for 48-bit addressing before pursuing one of the workarounds listed below.
If you have already installed your drive and the capacity lists as 137,438,953,472 bytes (137 GB or 128 GB),
please follow one of the workarounds below to make use of the remaining space.
Windows 2000/XP - Existing Installation
Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) or later and Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3) or
later add 48-bit addressing support to the operating system (OS). This support will allow
access to drives larger than 137 GB (128 GB).
Once the OS is installed (to a partition smaller than 137 GB), download and install the
latest service pack for your operating system. After installing the service pack, you will be able to
partition the remaining space into a new partition.
If you are adding a secondary drive that is larger than 137 GB (128 GB) to Windows 2000/XP, be sure to
download and install the latest service pack prior to connecting the drive. This will ensure proper support
is available once the drive is detected. Once connected, you should be able to partition the drive to the
maximum capacity.
See the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles for more information:
Windows 2000/XP - Installation
In order for Windows 2000 and Windows XP to detect the full capacity of a drive larger than 137 GB during installation,
the operating system CD will need the correct service pack integrated (see above for correct service pack) into
the CD. To obtain a Microsoft Windows operating system CD with the latest service pack integrated into the CD,
you will need to contact Microsoft (if the CD was purchased separate from the system) or your system manufacturer
(if the OS came preinstalled).
Utility to Enable to 48-Bit Addressing
The following site is dedicated to assisting with the transition from the older 28-bit addressing to the newer
48-bit addressing. They provide a utility called EnableBigLBA Tool (as well as other resources) that will test the
operating system for support and enable it if possible.
Windows 95b or Later/98/ME/N
For these operating systems, add in a new ATA controller card and driver with 48-bit addressing support.
These operating systems do not natively support drives larger than 137 GB (48-bit addressing).
The only way to add support would be to connect the drive to a controller card whose drivers support 48-bit addressing.
Some ATA adapter card manufacturers:
Additionally, Intel has a program available for users of certain Pentium 4 chipsets that resolves the 137 GB
capacity limitation called the Intel Application Accelerator. This download is provided by Intel
at http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/IAA/index.htm.
The VIA 4-in-1 drivers are reported to have similar functionality (for VIA chipsets).
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| Q: |
Can I install a Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Hard Drive even though
my system is not the compatibility list? |
| A: |
While we make every effort to test the compatibility of our hard drives with a wide variety of systems,
it is not possible for us to include all makes and models. This does not mean that the drive will be incompatible with your
system. If your system is not listed, it simply means we have not been able to test that configuration. Our drives
follow industry standard specifications and should work in most systems. If your system is not listed on the
compatibility document for a certain drive, try contacting the system manufacturer to see if they have performed
any compatibility testing.
Our compatibility reports can be found at the following URL:
http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/compatibility.htm.
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| Q: |
How can I test my drive to see if it is defective? |
| A: |
If you are experiencing problems with your drive or would just like to test the drive’s integrity,
download and run the Hitachi Drive Fitness Test.
If possible, we recommend that you backup any important data before running the test.
Run the quick test first. If you are experiencing problems, but receive the result 0x00 try running the Advanced
Test option. When you have completed the test, please
contact the Support Center with the results and our agents
will be able to assist you on resolving the problem.
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| Q: |
Where can I purchase Hitachi Global Storage Technologies hard disk drives? |
| A: |
You can find purchasing information and sales links in the
Buy Online section of our web site.
|
| Q: |
I am trying to locate jumper settings, installation information and other drive
specifications for my drive. Where can I find this information? |
| A: |
See the following pages:
|
| Q: |
How do I partition and format my new drive? |
| A: |
Depending on the operating system being used, there could be multiple steps involved
in partitioning and formatting a drive.
For more information, please see our
Partitioning and Formatting Reference Guide.
|
| Q: |
Do you recommend upgrading my operating system or performing a fresh install? |
| A: |
We recommend a fresh operating system install whenever possible. A fresh installation will leave out
any old programs which are no longer used and will start you out with a clean registry. A fresh installation can also
correct potential legacy problems (corrupted data, registry issues, conflicts, file fragmentation, etc.) that can
accumulate over time.
This would involve the following steps:
- Backup any important data (just data, not installed programs).
- Partition and format the new drive.
- Install the operating system and applications.
- Transfer or restore your old data to the new drive.
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| Q: |
Is it possible to obtain a firmware upgrade for my hard drive? |
| A: |
Generally, firmware updates are provided only when a firmware update is required to resolve
a specific issue. If your hard drive is working normally, there is no need to upgrade the firmware.
If you feel a firmware update is necessary or you have a question about firmware, please
contact the Support Center.
In order for us to determine whether a firmware upgrade will be beneficial, please be prepared to provide
a complete description of your system configuration, along with a detailed account of the problems you are experiencing.
We will need the serial number(s) and part number(s) of the hard drive(s) in question and the current firmware level.
To obtain drive and firmware level information by using Hitachi’s
Drive Fitness Test:
- Click on the Utilities menu and select Drive Info
- Scroll down until the firmware level (“Microcode level”) is displayed.
For more specifics about operating DFT, consult the
Drive Fitness Test User's Guide.
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| Q: |
Do I need to use the Ontrack Disk Manager CD that came with my drive to set it up? |
| A: |
The Ontrack Disk Manager CD is intended to be used on systems which have a capacity
limitation or in cases where the drive needs to be partitioned and formatted prior to installing the operating system.
Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows 2000, Mac OS X and Linux all have the ability to partition
and format a drive during the operating system installation, as well as overcome most current capacity limitations.
These operating systems do not require additional support to overcome capacity limitations so Disk Manager should not be used.
|
| Q: |
Will Ontrack Disk Manager allow me to create a partition larger than 137 GB? |
| A: |
If your system has a limitation at 137 GB, Disk Manager will not be able to bypass that
limitation. You will only be able to create a partition up to 137 GB in size. To get around that limitation,
please see our FAQ “Why doesn't my system see the full capacity of my 137 GB+ drive?”
If your system does not have this limitation (i.e., BIOS sees the full capacity), than Disk Manager
can be used to create a partition larger than 137 GB.
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| Q: |
Why did I receive the message "Format did not complete" or “The disk may be damaged” when formatting
my drive in Windows XP running Service Pack 2? |
| A: |
Using a UDMA 6 drive on a system that is only capable of up to UDMA 5 speeds, may not
allow you to perform a complete format. To get around this, you will need to download our Feature Tool
utility and lower the UDMA mode of the hard drive to UDMA 5. You will then be able to format and use your drive.
Please note, leaving the drive set to UDMA 5 will NOT cause a noticeable performance loss as this is the highest
UDMA mode supported by the system.
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| Q: |
Where do I find drivers for my Hitachi drive? |
| A: |
All operating systems (OS) have hard disk drivers built into the OS by default.
No additional drivers are required for the drive itself.
If you are being asked for drivers by the installation software or your drive is not detected during
the OS installation, you may need to download the most current version of your controller or motherboard
drivers. To obtain the most current version of your controller or motherboard drivers, please contact the
manufacturer of your controller or motherboard or visit their web site for more information.
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| Q: |
My drive became locked with a password or I forgot my hard drive password. How do I gain access to my data? |
| A: |
Unfortunately, there is no way to bypass the security password feature of Hitachi hard disk drives. If the password
is not known or has been misplaced, Hitachi will not be able to assist in gaining access to the data on the drive.
|
| Q: |
How do I make an exact copy my old hard drive and put in on the new hard drive? |
| A: |
There are several alternatives available depending on your hardware platform and operating environment.
PCs
Many laptops only have one internal drive bay. One solution is to mount the drive into an external enclosure and clone the drive.
Apricorn and CMS both offer reasonably priced packages. Please visit the following sites for details:
The advantage of using an external enclosure is that you can use your original drive as additional storage once the cloning
process is complete.
Mac
The most popular software is Carbon Copy Cloner by Mike Bombich:
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| Q: |
How do I find an older Hitachi Global Storage Technologies drive? |
| A: |
If you are looking for a drive that is no longer being manufactured, you will
have to contact a reseller that specializes in older, obsolete drives. Some of the companies:
|
| Q: |
Will Hitachi Global Storage Technologies repair my hard drive upon request? |
| A: |
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies does not provide assistance with the physical repair of hard drives.
|
| Q: |
Where can I find information on RoHS compliance and Hitachi GST drives? |
| A: |
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies provides a web site specifically for RoHS/WEEE information:
If you have further questions regarding RoHS/WEEE, please contact our Corporate Environmental Programs
personnel at eppc@hitachigst.com.
|
| Q: |
Is there a way to make my drive quieter? |
| A: |
Hitachi Deskstar and Travelstar drives are designed to work at their highest performance
level without modification. Our drives have been optimized to perform as quietly as possible at their current
performance level, but some environments may require the drives to be even quieter.
If you wish to quiet the drive even more you may use our Feature Tool utility. Under the Features menu
is an option called “Change Acoustic Level.” Using this option will give you the ability to customize the
noise level of the drive.
Download the Feature Tool utility and its user’s guide from the
Downloads and Utilities site.
|
| Q: |
Where do I find the Cylinder, Heads, and Sector (CHS) information for my Hitachi Global
Storage Technologies hard drive? |
| A: |
CHS has an inherent limitation of 8.4 GB, which means no matter how it is calculated, it will
never exceed 8.4 GB. Because of that limitation, CHS is not used on drives larger than 8.4 GB.
In place of CHS, Logical Block Addressing (LBA) has been implemented as the latest standard used to
define the capacity of a drive. Current LBA specifications (48-bit addressing) allow for capacities of
up to 144 PB (petabytes).
If you are looking for CHS information because you are having problems with your drive not
being detected or accessing your drive, please contact the Support Center for troubleshooting assistance.
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All information is provided by Hitachi Global Storage Technologies on an "AS IS" basis only. Hitachi makes no representations or warranties, whether express or implied, regarding the information, including the warranty of non-infringement and non-interference and the implied warranty or terms of merchantability, and fitness or use for a particular purpose.
Use of information that is provided by Hitachi is at the recipient's own risk. Hitachi provides no assurances that any reported problems may be resolved with the use of any information that Hitachi provides. By furnishing information, Hitachi does not grant any licenses to any copyrights, trademarks, patents or any other intellectual property rights.
Any trademarks and product or brand names referenced in this document are the property of their respective owners. Please consult your Hitachi product manuals for complete trademark information.
Any references to third parties are provided as reference only and are not recommendations of any products by Hitachi GST. Hitachi GST makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these companies or products.
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