Fdisk.exe Unable to Partition Drives Larger Than 512 Gigabytes (280737)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 98
  • Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition

This article was previously published under Q280737
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SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to partition your hard disk by using the Fdisk utility, you may be unable to create a partition that is larger than 512 gigabytes (GB).

CAUSE

This issue occurs because the Fdisk utility is limited to creating partitions with a maximum size of 512 GB.

RESOLUTION

To work around this issue and create partitions that are larger than 512 GB, do not use Fdisk to partition your hard disk.

You can use the Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Setup boot disk that is provided with the full version of Windows Me to partition new drives before you install Windows.

Some third-party programs also contain programs that can partition drives that are larger than 512 GB. For example, Ghost from Symantec Corporation contains a program called Gdisk that partitions drives that are larger than 512 GB.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

When you use the Fdisk utility to partition a drive that is larger than 512 GB, you might not receive any error messages that state that the drive was not partitioned correctly; however, the drive might not be partitioned correctly. For this reason, use alternative programs when you partition drives that are larger than 512 GB.

The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:8/8/2006
Keywords:kbprb KB280737