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Thread ID: 45022 2004-05-06 13:00:00 hard drive space missing visionaire (530) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
234794 2004-05-06 13:00:00 ive just inherited a compouter with a 20gb hard drive but in the properties it only shows as 5.2gb whats gone wrong. cables are set corrrectly and the jumpers. visionaire (530)
234795 2004-05-06 13:34:00 It may have been partitioned to that size, you will need to resize it to see the full amount.
Or are there any other HD's in My Computer, if there is it has probably been partitioned.
Or maybe it is a 5.2GB drive.
Or none of the above.

Rob ;\
Rob99 (151)
234796 2004-05-06 13:41:00 How old is the PC? mikebartnz (21)
234797 2004-05-06 14:41:00 > ive just inherited a compouter with a 20gb hard drive
> but in the properties it only shows as 5.2gb whats
> gone wrong. cables are set corrrectly and the
> jumpers.

What Operating system are you using?

What motherboard does it have? A post further down asks how old is the computer and a very good question I might add.

Some older motherboards will only accept up to 2.1 Gbytes for hard disk.

If it is even older you may only get 540 Mbytes.

From your post I take it that the computer boots ( starts ) but the hard disk only shows 5.2 Gigs. It looks like a partition problem to me based on your post here. There just may be a hidden partition although why the hidden one is there defeats me. It may be that the computer will dual boot into Windows and Linux for example. This is just a possibility.
Elephant (599)
234798 2004-05-07 02:15:00 FDISK /STATUS is a useful DOS command. That will show what the partioning is, and what the system knows about the drive.

Most hidden (or just "non-DOS") partitions are not very big. Certainly unlikely to be 15GB, unless there's another OS there. :D Be cautious about removing hidden partitions --- some manufacturers store recovery files in them, and Compaq often have the BIOS setup ("F10") software in one.
Graham L (2)
234799 2004-05-07 04:52:00 Yeah, i think basically same as above. I recently fixed my friends HP computer, where he was complaining that he had a 20GB harddrive, but on Windows it said only 15GB. I was upgrading to XP on it for him, and I noticed the extra partition on it, and deleted it. mejobloggs (264)
234800 2004-05-07 13:44:00 this is what ive discovered with the info you provided

compaq presario 5000
amd duron


drive Mb free usage
disk1 19092 14094 26%
C: 4998

also it had windows ME but now has Win 98SE
with all this info how do i get it back to 20gb or there abouts?
visionaire (530)
234801 2004-05-07 15:24:00 Looks as tho you need to do some deleting and uninstalling to regain some free space.

Rob '\
Rob99 (151)
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