# Windows XP can't "see" my new 5TB external HD



## luckylavs (Nov 11, 2011)

I just bought a new Seagate 5TB external hard drive from Amazon:

Seagate Expansion 5TB Desktop External Hard Drive USB 3.0 (STEB5000100)

But I have an old computer which only has USB 1.0 ports. Previously, I had been told that USB 3.0 can "work" in a USB 1.0 port, it just will operate at the slower USB 1.0 speeds. The box/manual says that this hard drive will work with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0, but says absolutely nothing about whether the hard drive will work in a USB 1.0 port. I asked other customers on Amazon, and they told me this hard drive "should" work on USB 1.0.

On my machine, in "My Computer" -- it just doesn't see my new hard drive. I tested the hard drive on another laptop (which has Windows 8/USB 3.0) and the hard drive was fine -- visible and accessible. But on my own machine, in "My Computer" -- it's not there.

What is odd, however, is under the "Safely Remove Hardware" Icon, it lists: "Seagate USB Expension Desk" (that's the hard drive!) And when I click "Properties" it says that this device is functioning properly.

So it sees it for "Safely Remove Hardware", just not for "My Computer."

Thought it was the system just failing to assign it a drive letter, but I don't even see the hard drive under Computer Management either...

NOTE: There's no special disk/drivers that need to be installed to operate this hard drive. Apparently you just plug it in, and it should work...

Does anyone know how to get my hard drive recognized by my computer?

Here's my specs (FYI -- the C and D drives are just partitions of the internal HD, the external is not listed)

Tech Support Guy System Info Utility version 1.0.0.2
OS Version: Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 3, 32 bit
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6850 @ 3.00GHz, x86 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 11
Processor Count: 2
RAM: 2046 Mb
Graphics Card: ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series, 1024 Mb
Hard Drives: C: Total - 49999 MB, Free - 7618 MB; D: Total - 665395 MB, Free - 44445 MB;
Motherboard: ASUSTeK Computer INC., P5N32-E SLI
Antivirus: Webroot SecureAnywhere, Updated: Yes, On-Demand Scanner: Enabled


----------



## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

> Motherboard: ASUSTeK Computer INC., P5N32-E SLI


*ASUS P5N32-E SLI* motherboard
It has 4 - USB 2.0 ports on the rear panel which are backwards-compatible with USB 1.1 devices.

Which BIOS version is installed for that motherboard?
Version 0802, which was released on or about March 2007, provides enhanced compatibility for hard drives.
Successive versions provide additional enhancements and fixes.
Version 1903, which was released on or about December 2009, is the most current version.

---------------------------------------------------------------


----------



## luckylavs (Nov 11, 2011)

Ahhh so I was wrong about that port being a USB 1 port, the new hard drive is actually plugged into USB 2.0 port that is on the motherboard. The hard drive manual says it works with USB 2.0, so really USB is not the issue... just a red herring. 

Think my BIOS need to be updated?

When I go into system information, under the category: "BIOS version/date," it says:

Phoenix Technologies, LTD ASUS P5N32E- SLI ACPI BIOS Revision 0704, 1/26/2007

That's looks to be even older than the March 2007 version you mentioned.

Could that be the issue?


----------



## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

I'll defer to flavallee on all things XP, but I'm pretty sure XP has a 2TB limit on any drive, external or not.


----------



## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

> I'm pretty sure XP has a 2TB limit on any drive, external or not.


Thanks for bringing that up, T.
I knew there was a size limit in Windows XP, but I don't remember what it is.
I've never used larger than a 750 GB capacity hard drive with Windows XP.


> When I go into system information, under the category: "BIOS version/date," it says:
> Phoenix Technologies, LTD ASUS P5N32E- SLI ACPI BIOS Revision *0704*, 1/26/2007
> That's looks to be even older than the March 2007 version you mentioned.


I don't know for sure if updating to the most current BIOS version will allow that external hard drive to be detected.
As long as you know how to update the BIOS without winding up with a non-working computer, it won't hurt to try.
I'm guessing that it'll recognize that external hard drive, but only up to the size limit that Windows XP allows.
What do you think, T?

------------------------------------------------------------


----------



## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

oddly enough, before I posted I did double check it; when one looks like a fool as frequently as I do, that becomes second nature. 

This is from technet itself;



> You heard correct in relation to the 2TB limit.
> 
> On the external hard drive that you have which is 3TB, Is that a single partition formatted at 3TB or is it more than one partition?
> 
> ...


----------



## plodr (Jun 27, 2014)

2TB is the limit on XP.

I found this


> Disks exceeding 2TB must use GPT which extends the limit significantly, however Windows XP does not have this support currently.


Looks like we were reading the same article.


----------



## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

The problem he appears to be having is that external 5 TB hard drive not being recognized at all, so I'm wondering if updating the BIOS will resolve that issue.
There were several BIOS updates for that computer which address several issues, including the hard drive.

--------------------------------------------------------------


----------



## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

plodr said:


> 2TB is the limit on XP.
> 
> I found this
> 
> Looks like we were reading the same article.


I believe the term is something along the lines of 'great minds'........


----------



## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

flavallee said:


> The problem he appears to be having is that external 5 TB hard drive not being recognized at all, so I'm wondering if updating the BIOS will resolve that issue.
> There were several BIOS updates for that computer which address several issues, including the hard drive.
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------


That I do not know; my guess would be it would not, as it is a fault in the OS, and not in BIOS.


----------



## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

Okay. I'll leave to you 2 "great minds"  from here.

I need to go run some errands.

-------------------------------------------------------------


----------



## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

flavallee said:


> Okay. I'll leave to you 2 "great minds"  from here.
> 
> I need to go run some errands.
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------


lol.....


----------



## luckylavs (Nov 11, 2011)

I have since updated the BIOS to the latest version (1903), but even with the update, the hard drive still isn't being recognized. Tried rebooting the machine... still no luck.

Right now, the blue LED on the hard drive is flashing on and off.

Should I just return the hard drive at this point? I have understood you to mean that a 5 TB hard drive needs to be in GPT format -- but since Windows XP doesn't have support for GPT format.. there's just no way this thing is going to work.

Is that basically correct?


----------



## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

You said that hard drive is detected and accessible in your Windows 8 laptop, so there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with it.

Have you tried that hard drive in a different USB port in that Windows XP desktop?
Have you tried some other USB device in its USB ports to make sure they're not defective?

--------------------------------------------------------------


----------



## luckylavs (Nov 11, 2011)

Yes, my 4 USB ports all seem to work. When I plug in the new external hard drive in a different USB port, I get the exact same behavior -- can't see the drive it in "My computer" or in disk management, but I can see it in "Safely Remove Hardware". Meanwhile the first USB port functions properly when a completely different USB device is plugged in there... So I don't suspect USB is the problem here. 

I'm thinking it's the 2 TB limit that was mentioned earlier....
but I don't know how to get around that.


----------



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Yes XP has a 2TB limit.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2581408

How to Break the 2TB (2 TeraByte) File System Limit

http://www.disk-partition.com/gpt-mbr/mbr-2tb-partition-limit-1004.html

Looks like 64 bit OS can do more.

So the others can help because this gets over my head.


----------



## metallica5456 (Apr 1, 2013)

Indeed 2TB IS the MAX limit in XP


----------

