Fdisk.exe Limits Non-MS-DOS Partition End to 8 GB (245213)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 95
  • Microsoft Windows 98
  • Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
This article was previously published under Q245213

SYMPTOMS

On drives larger than 8 gigabytes (GB), the Fdisk tool (Fdisk.exe) reports that any non-MS-DOS partitions end at 8 GB.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs because Fdisk.exe does not use Logical Block Addressing (LBA) when computing partition table information for unknown partition types.

RESOLUTION

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that this article describes. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The English-language version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later: 
   Date       Time      Size     File name   Platform
   -------------------------------------------------------------------
   01/10/00   10:08pm   63,132   Fdisk.exe   Windows 95 OSR 2
   12/15/99   09:48pm   63,932   Fdisk.exe   Windows 98
   12/15/99   09:26pm   64,156   Fdisk.exe   Windows 98 Second Edition

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Windows 95 and Windows 98.

An update to the original release of Windows 95 (version 4.00.950) for this problem will not be developed. This release was a FAT16 environment, and was developed before large drives (8 GB and larger) were available in the marketplace. Support for large drives (which requires support for INT13h extensions) is introduced in Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2) and later, along with FAT32 support.

MORE INFORMATION

The update allows Fdisk.exe to use LBA when computing partition table information for unknown partition types on LBA drives.

For additional information about Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition hotfixes, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

206071 General Information About Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition Hotfixes

For additional information about Windows 95 hotfixes, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

161020 Implementing Windows 95 Updates

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/18/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbbug kbfix kbQFE KB245213
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