Windows 2000 Hard Drive Limitations

When formatting a large capacity hard drive in Windows 2000, you may run across a few barriers to “Ultra High Capacity Bliss.” Windows 2000 only supports a hard drive up to 137GB, but to get around this issue, you must make changes to the registry. This is the easy part. And I found this article detailing the procedure:

You must enable the support in the Windows 2000 registry by adding or changing the EnableBigLba registry value to 1 in the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\atapi\Parameters

To enable 48-bit LBA large-disk support in the registry:

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) or Run: regedit.

2. Locate and then click the following key in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Atapi\Parameters

3. Locate “EnableBigLba” subkey and change the registry value to “1” If the subkey is not present, you will have to create one:

a. In Windows 2000 SP2-3: On the Edit menu, click Add Value, and then add the following registry value:
Value name: EnableBigLba
Data type: REG_DWORD
Value data: 0x1

b. In Windows 2000 SP4: On the Edit Menu, click new ->DWORD,

Value name: EnableBigLba

Value data: 1

4. Quit Registry Editor.

The Second Issue is your motherboard bios must support large capacity drives (48-bit LBA-compatible BIOS). If your motherboard’s BIOS doesn’t support this function, your options are:

· Check with the motherboard manufacturer for a 48-bit LBA-compatible BIOS update.

· Purchase and install a 48-bit LBA-compatible hard drive controller.

You can check for compatibility by referring to your motherboard documentation, checking the manufacturer’s website, or by contacting the computer manufacturer’s technical support. Additionally, you can check the motherboard manufacturer’s website.

The hard drive controller card simply requires you to purchase a PCI controller card, install the driver software, and allow the hard drive to be detected and installed.

For more information about this procedure, please consult Microsoft Knowledge Base Article – 305098.