Windows 10: 3TB disk showing as 1TB

Hi, I've just installed a 3TB Toshiba hdwd130 and it's only showing as 1TB?

I've used 2TB disks before, but this is the first 3TB disk I've tried to use.

The disk controller on the MB is an RS880P.

I've checked and the drivers all appear to be the latest. Any ideas please?

Thanks

:)

 

Disk Management

Hi BulldogXX

Many thanks for your reply. Could you please advise your procedure of expanding a formatted volume. The disk in question is a 3TB one which has been divided into 2TB & 1TB. 2TB is in use as a backup as D: & 1 TB shows as unallocated with no ID & I wish
use them as 2 separate entities naturally with discrete identification.

Keith

 

Will the update to Windows 10 delete my partitions?

I just updated from win7 to win10 and one of my partitions just went missing!!!! Where is it? I can't access it anywhere, almost as if it vanished. This disk has 3tbs one partition where the OS is had 2tbs and the other one had 1tb, that same one vanished
out of thin air. Any suggestions to get it and it's data back?

 

For disk > 2TB. You must initialize it as GPT disk.

 

Many thanks. I've converted it to a GPT disk but it's still showing as 1TB?

 

There might be an unallocated space that Windows 10 did not recognized.

You can try various tool to maximize the volume and convert it into GPT e.g. Windows DiskPart:

• Win+X, choose Command Prompt (Admin)
• diskpart - to initialize DiskPart
• list disk - to see all the connected hard drives
• select disk # - replace the # with the 3TB disk we are focusing at e.g. select disk 3
• clean - this will delete all partitions or volumes on the selected disk including the hidden etc.
• convert gpt - convert to GPT

Other tool like GParted also good to try. Burn it into CD or USB, boot the disk tool, select the 3TB disk and see if GParted recognize the whole volume. If it does, just use the Grow/Shrink options to expand the whole 3TB.

 

MiniTool Partition Wizard is another excellent free utility that installs right in Windows so no need to burn a disk to boot from:
Best Free Partition Manager for Windows | MiniTool Partition Free

You can also use just plain old disk management built into Windows - but that has the limitation of only moving/expanding partitions to the right on a disk - it won't handle anything if you want to move/expand partitions to the left. Also, MiniTool will show you partitions/hidden spaces that Windows disk management won't.

 

Many thanks to all of you....

This is very strange...

I've used diskpart from the command prompt and that tell me it a 1TB disk...

So I've tried Partition Manager - thanks for the recommendation NavyLCDR - and that also indicates it's a 1 TB disk.

Looking at some videos on Youtube they all show that when something like this happens that you can see the unallocated space - but need to do things to allocate it. I just see a 1TB disk with no additional unallocated space?

I even gone so far as checking that disk does say 3TB - it does, and I bought it directly from Amazon - so it should be legitimate.

Ahhhh - I just want my extra disk space!

 

Hi there.

Are you trying to use this as a BOOT disk. If you are then you will need to change the BIOS to boot in into UEFI mode. If you have an old BIOS machine (no UEFI) then you'll have to add another Non GPT drive --say a 110 / 250 GB SSD for booting -- these are very cheap these days. (MBR HDD's have a Max partition size of 2TB I think).

If your BIOS allows boot into UEFI mode then it's simple - convert the HDD to GPT and then restore your data.

Otherwise you are going to be limited to around 2 TB on your HDD with a lot wasted.

The trouble with a lot of You Tube videos is that they just show you what to do when stuff works --I'm of the Old School --give me a decent Manual any day rather than Videos. Then I can read at my leisure and look at all sorts of scenarios of what to do when it DOESN'T work !!!!.

I really dread it when I want to get some info and it's all on You Tube --sometimes the old fashioned way still works best. !!!


Cheers
jimbo

 

Thanks jimbo - no, not trying to use this disk as a boot disk (have a hybrid drive for that). I thought it could be the 2TB limit - but I'm only seeing 1TB on the disk at the moment (sorry, the thread title is wrong *Redface )?

I'm sure I've used 2TB disks in it before without problems.

 

Hi there

start up windows.
then do

CMD mode in admin mode

DISKPART

LIST DISK

SELECT DISK nn where nn is your 3 TB HDD.

CLEAN

CONVERT GPT

EXIT.

Now use control panel -->administrative tools - storage manager

You should see your HDD as a RAW HDD - create your partition

2TB HDD's are OK for MBR. 3TB and larger HDD's need GPT to use whole HDD.

Job done.

Cheers
jimbo

 

Thanks. Still no luck though *cry





And when I look in Windows Disk Management - disk 3 is still showing as 931GB:




Any ideas please?

 

Forgive me asking the obvious - Did you double check the drive itself and it's marked as a 130 model, not a 110 model?

 

Thanks!

I have now...




Yep, it's the 130.

Hoped it was going to be the 110 and I could just exchange it, but sadly not that simple *Sad

 

Actually, I meant the physical label on the physical hard drive. I'm kinda stumped - any chance it's mislabeled (by manufacturer or seller)? This would really p--- me off.*Mad