Cixert

Well I stopped the test before it finished, there was no point in continuing. Warning: Only 5717283 of 5723166 MByte tested. The media is likely to be defective. 1.3 TByte OK (2829123352 sectors) 1.6 TByte DATA LOST (3609817586 sectors) Details:1.6 TByte overwritten (3609817586 sectors) 0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors) 0 KByte corrupted (0 sectors) 157.8 MByte aliased memory (323352 sectors) First error at offset: 0x000001504f000000 Expected: 0x000001504f000000 Found: 0x000001504ef00000 H2testw version 1.3

I've been using MBR +2TiB for many years and so far I haven't had any problems with data corruption. The problem I'm encountering is getting new adapters on the market. I'm trying to switch to GPT but I'm running into a lot of issues on XP, for example the Paragon driver causes corruption if I use PAE to go over 4 GiB RAM on XP. I finally experimented from Windows Seven x64 with 512 byte cluster size on NTFS. The limit is 1.99 TiB per partition. NTFS uses 32 bits too. I think the calculation is 2^32 -1 cluster. The difference seems to be that GPT calculates physical sectors with 2^64. So partition sizes larger than 2 TiB are allowed if the cluster size is changed to 4kiB. But then I would not be able to read +2TiB MBR hard drives with 512 byte physical sector with these USB adapters. My new Toshiba 6Tb seems to work fine on XP with MBR. I will do a test to verify that there is no data corruption. NTFS PARTITION LIMITS Cluster 0.5 KiB = 1.99 TiB / 2047.99 GiB / 2097151.99 MiB Cluster 1 KiB = 3.99 TiB / 4095.99 GiB / 4194303.99 MiB Cluster 2 KiB = 7.99 TiB / 8191.99 GiB / 8388607.99 MiB Cluster 4 KiB = 15.99 TiB / 16384.99 GiB / 16777215.99 MiB Cluster 8 KiB = 31.99 TiB / 32767.99 GiB / 33554431.99 MiB Cluster 16 KiB = 63.99 TiB / 65535.99 GiB / 67108863.98 MiB Cluster 32 KiB = 127.99 TiB / 131071.99 GiB / 134217727.96 MiB Cluster 64 KiB = 255.99 TiB / 262143.99 GiB / 268435455.93 MiB Cluster 128 KiB = 511.99 TiB / 524287.99 GiB / 536870911.87 MiB Cluster 256 KiB = 1023.99 TiB / 1048575.99 GiB / 1073741823.75 MiB ...and so on to cluster 32768 KiB = 131040.00 TiB *Values from cluster 2/4/8/16/32/64/128/256 KiB have been calculated by the previous amounts and I have not verified their correct operation. I think the calculation is 2^32 -1 cluster.

After many years using MiniTool Partition Wizard, I recommend not using it. The program does not align the partitions when creating them, so when you press the align button, what it does is redesign the partitions, leaving gaps between them. On the other hand, I will comment that versions 11 and 12 (latest XP) do not work well and can cause data corruption. I recommend using Eassos DiskGenius. The last one I have tried is 5.5.0.1488 from 2023 and it works well with MBR on Windows XP. I use quite a few Seagate +2TiB disks with physical sector 4096 and the program reports it. Eassos DiskGenius allows you to choose the alignment when creating the partitions. You can choose 2048 or any other. I wonder what the problem is with choosing the 256 alignment. It doesn't seem to cause any problems with Windows XP's disk manager, unlike 2048. Always allow time for operations to finish in Eassos DiskGenius, it's not clear when they finish. Same when starting the program, wait for it to start properly before touching anything. The program also allows you to make a copy of the partition table to restore in case of failure.

From what I'm reading the NTFS file system is limited to 32 bits, so the above limits cannot be exceeded in any case. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/file-server/ntfs-overview In theory the difference between MBR and GPT is that GPT is capable of redirecting 64 bytes of physical sectors. So it is possible to exceed 2 TiB by formatting with a cluster size of 4 kIB on a disk with 512 byte physical sectors. Which would also be possible on an MBR with 4096 byte physical sectors. I'm going to test my Toshiba 6 TB with 512 byte physical sectors in MBR.

On the other hand, I have been testing the capabilities of the NTFS file system in Windows Seven x64 and I have found several important peculiarities. With any of these characteristics or perhaps the combination of both, the NTFS file system is limited to 32 bits with GPT hard disks. -BIOS legacy -IDE mode. -All Windows operating system 32 bits. I have tried to format a partition with cluster 512 bytes over 2 TiB from Windows Seven x64 and it results in an error "Windows cannot finish formatting". In theory GPT hard drives work with 64 bits unlike MBR. But the reality is that if you format it in UEFI systems over the cluster limits that I am going to point out the hard disk will work corrupting the data if it is set to: -BIOS legacy -IDE mode. -All Windows operating system 32 bits. I do not have a computer with UEFI system to verify that it is possible to format GPT with 64 bits. In any case I recommend not exceeding these cluster sizes in NTFS to maximize the compatibility of the GPT hard disk. If you have a computer with UEFI, please check if MiniTool Partition Wizard allows you to choose the format over these limits on Windows x64. The limit in the indicated systems is 32 bytes minus a few bytes. If you format a GPT or MBR partition with 2 TiB and cluster 512 bytes to NTFS the data will be corrupted. NTFS PARTITION LIMITS Cluster 0.5 KiB = 1.99 TiB / 2047.99 GiB / 2097151.99 MiB Cluster 1 KiB = 3.99 TiB / 4095.99 GiB / 4194303.99 MiB Cluster 2 KiB = 7.99 TiB / 8191.99 GiB / 8388607.99 MiB Cluster 4 KiB = 15.99 TiB / 16384.99 GiB / 16777215.99 MiB Cluster 8 KiB = 31.99 TiB / 32767.99 GiB / 33554431.99 MiB Cluster 16 KiB = 63.99 TiB / 65535.99 GiB / 67108863.98 MiB Cluster 32 KiB = 127.99 TiB / 131071.99 GiB / 134217727.96 MiB Cluster 64 KiB = 255.99 TiB / 262143.99 GiB / 268435455.93 MiB Cluster 128 KiB = 511.99 TiB / 524287.99 GiB / 536870911.87 MiB Cluster 256 KiB = 1023.99 TiB / 1048575.99 GiB / 1073741823.75 MiB ...and so on to cluster 32768 KiB (32 MiB) = 131040.00 TiB (NTFS real limit 255,99 TiB) *Values from cluster 4/8/16/32/64 have been calculated by the previous amounts and I have not verified their correct operation. I think the calculation is 2^32 -1 cluster.

I have installed the patch to get +4 GiB RAM. I recommend my method B which has several renamed hals and allows alternatively to boot with the original XP hal in boot.ini. That is, the system is not modified, except for updating several drivers so that they are compatible with +4 GiB RAM as @Dibya points out. 1-After booting with the hal modified the first thing I found is that the PCI Express video card with chip Nvidia GeForce 7300 LE no longer limits the system to 2 GiB RAM, now I can use all the RAM available in Windows XP. 2-Acronis Disk Director has stopped working, I know they have a special system called "Extended Capacity" to handle +2TiB hard drives in Windows XP, but I don't know if it is present in this version or was discontinued in 2015. https://forum.acronis.com/forum/acronis-true-image-home-forum-older-versions/cleanup-utility-and-extended-capacity?ckattempt=1 In any case Acronis installs a driver in Windows XP and the program has stopped working. I have to check if it also works on another computer, since even if I boot XP with the original hal it still doesn't work. 3- I'm testing the Toshiba 6Tb drive that has a 512-byte physical sector and the data is wrong after 1.4 TiB. I don't know what the problem is with this limit that several programs have already pointed out. Thank goodness @Andalu that you pointed them out, otherwise sooner or later I would have corrupted my data. The test has not finished yet. DO NOT USE GPT DRIVES WITH MODIFIED HALS TO GET +4 GiB RAM ON XP. The problem may also exist with any type of PAE or maybe the problem is with the drivers modified to work with +4 GiB RAM @Dibya

Thank you, what do you think about the WD 'Easystore' external drives which seem to work with Windows XP in MBR mode up to 16 TiB. https://msfn.org/board/topic/177171-what-a-single-8tb-mbr-hard-disk-drive-looks-like-in-windows-xp/page/5/#findComment-1276853 I have already mentioned that I have found several broken Western Digital drives. They were internal hard drives between 128 Gb (IDE) and 1 Tb (SATA).

I rectify, Paragon Hard Disk Manager works on XP up to version 10.1.25.1137 SP5 but I have not found a version with the GPT driver.

@D.Draker What you don't say is which brand of hard drive doesn't break easily and lasts for many years.

What is /All option? On another computer with 8GiB RAM I'm using the double PAE addon by Dibya. As this is for nLite I've written some instructions for using it by copy and paste. Sorry, it's in Spanish, maybe you can read it with the translator but there are quite long, extensive and complicated. I'll try it on this other computer to see if it works with GPT +2TiB. After testing I'll confirm. https://foro.elhacker.net/windows/como_superar_el_limite_de_4_gb_de_ram_en_windows_xp2000-t430302.0.html;msg2240419#msg2240419 Yes, it doesn't work with external USB drives. And apparently not with eSATA either. To find out why, we'd have to look at the code. It also doesn't work with bootable drives, so I'd rule it out for a laptop with only one internal SATA port. It is also not possible to use Windows 2003 drivers for boot drives even if the GPT drive is up to 2 TiB. Windows 2003 and XP64 only work with data GPT drives. For USB drives, you can only use up to 2 TiB with the Windows 2003 drivers. USB doesn't work with the Paragon GPT drivers. It's probably easy to fix, but we'll have to get into some code editing. Between 2011 and 2019, that drive lasted me 3 years of intensive use and another 2 of secondary use. It has now broken when I tried to test USB + 2TiB MBR adapters. I have another identical drive that I only use sporadically and so far it hasn't broken. I seem to remember that the physical sector size is 4096. I'll confirm that.

After so many years of trial and error, I am convinced that reading +2TiB MBR is possible because some USB adapters translate the physical sector size from 512 bytes to 4096 bytes. I have not tried formatting partitions with 512 bytes, if we use partitions with a minimum of 4096 bytes it seems to make sense. In this way the MBR limit is 16 TiB for a single partition. The problem now is that the new USB adapters I am testing do not have this physical sector translation, so I am looking for an alternative method. What I do not know is why GPT is able to read +2TiB. In Windows XP with the updated Paragon GPT driver, GPT drives are also limited to 2 TiB, however with the driver old version 8.0.1.0 there is no such limitation. So it seems that the limitation also affects GPT, although it is bypassed in some way.

@Andalu In NTFS one partition formated with cluster 4KiB I have tested up to 2.2 TiB with "H2testw" and the result is perfect. No problems, no data corruption, no BSOD. Afterwards I added 0.5 TiB with videos and tested Mediainfo, the information given by Mediainfo is correct. If your data is secure you should do a test with H2testw to clear up any doubts. Make sure in the Device Manager that the hard disk is working with the driver version 8.0.1.0. @Multibooter It's not unusual for you to be asked for .Net 4 and not for me. It's possible that I have some residual files from my previous installation of .NET Framework, I don't know. Other programs that require .NET 4 ask me to install it. I think the last version compatible with Windows XP is 813 for Hard Disk Manager, I haven't found an installer for Partition Manager (last 779). Only in WinPE version. @Dave-H Finally, I'm glad it works. Please keep us posted if you manage to get the eSATA adapter working as well. What physical sector size does your hard disk have? Model?

Yes, thank you very much. I have read about this patch for 3TB hard disks. https://msfn.org/board/topic/158361-2tib-external-usb-drive-and-winxp-of-course/ I understand that the partition style is MBR. So can I buy a WD "Easystore" hard disks up to 16TB and apply the patch on Windows XP? Is this hard disks readable by Windows Seven and 10 on the same computer?

This BSOD is described here, it seems that the 2 patches would have to be applied to improve the system http://hardwarefetish.com/524-paragon-gpt_loadersys-bsod-analysis-and-fix I am not very clear on how the patches are applied. It says that a bak file of gpt_loader.sys is created, but I don't know if the bak is the good one, the bad one, or if it needs to be renamed. It is necessary to apply the 2 patches and with each patch a bak file is created. http://hardwarefetish.com/777-paragon-gpt-loader-3

I read in some comments from the forum about an alternative partition system to GPT with the name EMBR that could work with inherited computers and hard disks + 2TB. I am not sure what it is and if there is an operational version. The info in this link says that it is not yet able to write in NTFS and other formats. I don't know if there is another version. https://www.fysnet.net/embr/index.php

Can you say that hard disks you have in MBR format and how have you managed to work in XP? Thanks @98SE Can you say what USB adapter did you connect the hard disk? I am having trouble finding a modern USB adapter that works with 5 TB

No paragon version has asked me .Net Framework 4.0 These require C++. MD5 checksums of Paragon Hard Disk Manager 15 build 779: gpt_loader.sys > MD5: B0AFB269EBA85F9EC264035640319138 gpt_loader.inf > MD5: B04C4E8E712B6CB283C4AB1C53F06226 gpt_loader.cat > MD5: 9FC7222187B2A809C21E543E928686BE The values are the same, can you also upload the MD5 value of... install_xp.reg > MD5: ED75D2BD6084EAD84A9ADABD4BD241DD install.reg > MD5: 22AA73696C1D1E4FFF650FC606A2192F install_xp.reg Make changes in the registry to avoid BSOD on Fat32 Boot, maybe some more change. This is a fork version, it was commented here. https://msfn.org/board/topic/181911-read-gpt-hard-disk-on-windows-xp/page/22/#findComment-1263483 @Andalu I am reading other forum publications that report a 2TIB Limit for NTFS. I will verify that. What cluster size are you using to format, 4 KiB?

Once installed you can check the contents of the "gpt_loader" folder to see if it is different. I have downloaded the demo versions but these do not come with the driver.

@Andalu tell me what method you used to copy and verify files. I will try to replicate it to check what happens. That message appears when you install hardware that does not have a digital signature.You have to disable the option "do not install unsigned software drivers."My PC + Hardware + Driver Signature". You also have to include the Windows 2003 drivers in the sp3.cab file, I explain it here, now with the text crossed out... because the 2 TiB limitation https://msfn.org/board/topic/181911-read-gpt-hard-disk-on-windows-xp/?do=findComment&comment=1249360

Oops, sorry. I don't know what could be wrong. My disk.sys version is different, it's 5.1.2600.5512. Although this seems unlikely to be the reason. I currently have a Toshiba HDWD260 "6Tb hard disk" with 6 exFAT partitions. The physical sector size is 512 bytes, most likely on that Seagate it is 4096 bytes. I initialized the drive quite a while ago, I think from Windows Seven and then defragmented the partitions. The first partition is 1.42 TiB and the rest are smaller. I also have the hard disk connected directly to the motherboard with IDE mode. In some kind of initial test I also had the BSOD occurred for gpt_lo~1.sys but then it has not happened again.

You can try this universal driver "VueScan 9.2.25 x86". This is the latest version compatible with Windows 2000.

A while ago I found this driver to work with exFAT partitions in Windows 2000 vanilla but it didn't work for me. https://web.archive.org/web/20130808055452/http://www.merawindows.com/Forums/tabid/324/forumid/15/postid/35485/scope/posts/Default.aspx I even tried using the Windows XP driver dlls but I still couldn't read exFAT partitions. Right now if I connect an external USB hard disk with an exFAT partition then Windows 2000 won't boot, nothing happens it just keeps trying to boot. If I connect the hard disk after Windows 2000 has booted then other partitions can be accessed. Do you know of any way to read exFAT partitions in Windows 2000 vanilla? Thanks

Working with the GPT driver 8.0.1.0 included in Paragon Partition Manager 15 from Windows XP, I have completely filled a 6 Tb hard disk and successfully verified that the data written to it is correct both from Windows XP and Windows Seven with the backup program "EaseUS Todo Backup 13.5". I think that the issue of working correctly with GPT disks in Windows XP can be considered "solved", without prejudice to fixing any problems that may arise regarding hardware compatibility and software tools. Apparently, the 2 TiB limit affects both MBR and GPT. The difference is that in Windows XP MBR partitions larger than 2 TiB are correctly read if we find the appropriate hardware, so right now the limitation is in the hardware. Meanwhile, the 2 TiB limitation remains built into Windows XP with GPT hard disks. This limitation prevents the hard disks from working properly unless is installed the GPT driver 8.0.1.0 contents at Paragon Partition Manager 15. At the moment it is not possible to properly install the driver without running the program installer. However, in the installer you can choose to install only the driver. I have not yet tested how Paragon Partition Manager works when editing GPT partitions. Chkdsk does not work until Windows XP is booted. Also most software tools for editing hard disk partitions do not work on Windows XP with GPT hard disks. See test tools edit partitions at: https://msfn.org/board/topic/181911-read-gpt-hard-disk-on-windows-xp/page/3/#findComment-1249366

I have tested the drivers for Windows 2003. For some unknown reason, Windows 2003 drivers for GPT hard drives have a 2TiB size limit. Until we figure out why, please do not use these drivers. If you use a single partition on the hard drive it will appear to use all the available space, but if you have partitions that start above 2 TiB these will be marked as unformatted. If a partition starts before the 2 TiB limit it will be visible, but if it ends after the 2 TiB limit it will write with errors. I have also retested all my versions with Paragon GPT Loader. Below is a summary results. I have to point out that the newest version available for Windows XP contains the 8.0.1.0 driver with important fixes!!! The 10.5.0.95 driver by some mistake only works up to 2 TiB. This was offered before the latest Paragon Partition Manager 15 release, so Paragon Partition Manager 15 with 8.0.1.0 driver is the newest official version of Paragon GPT Loader, with important fixes in the Windows registry for FAT32 users. Blue screens for me occur on FAT32 boot drives in the versions indicated with these asterisks. *(1) Blue screen "gpt_loader.sys" on FAT32 boot drives if a GPT disk is connected, if no GPT disk is connected Windows XP boots normally. I think it worked in the past by modifying the registry as indicated below, but now I get a blue screen even after modifying the registry. *(2) Blue screen 0x7B on FAT32 boot drives if gptloader.sys registry key is not modified by gpt_lo~1.sys Install Paragon GPT loader, but before rebooting run regedit and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\gpt_loader change the value of the key ImagePath from system32\DRIVERS\gpt_loader.sys to system32\DRIVERS\GPT_LO~1.SYS and then reboot, problem solved. RELEASED VERSIONS Paragon GPT Loader 8.0.1.0 original --> Not tested Paragon GPT Loader 10.5.0.95 original --> Not tested FORK VERSIONS Paragon GPT Loader 8.0.1.2 fork --> Blue screen = gpt_loader.sys *(1) --> Works +2TiB = NO --> Driver version = 8.0.1.2 (gpt_loader.sys) --> Digital signature date 2010-12-13 Paragon GPT Loader 11.0.0.175 fork --> Blue screen = NO --> Works +2TiB = NO --> Driver version = 11.0.0.175 (gptmount.sys) --> Digital signature date 2016-09-23 HFS VERSIONS Paragon HFS for Win 10.5.0.95 (2015-06-22) --> Blue Screen = 0x7B *(2) --> Working +2TiB = NO --> Driver version = 10.5.0.95 (gpt_loader.sys) --> Digital signature date 2015-06-22 Paragon HFS for Win 11.0.0.175 --> Not Windows XP compatible Seagate Paragon HFS4WIN --> Not Windows XP compatible SUITE VERSIONS Paragon Hard Disk Manager 11 Suite "Paid" (2011-04-12) --> Blue Screen = 0x7B *(2) --> Working +2TiB = YES --> Driver version = 8.0.1.0 (gpt_loader.sys) --> Digital signature date 2011-02-16 Paragon Partition Manager 15 Professional x86 v10.1.25.779 (2015-09-18) --> Blue screen = NO* --> Works +2TiB = YES --> Driver version = 8.0.1.0 (gpt_loader.sys) --> Digital signature date 2011-02-16 *Contains "install_xp.reg" to fix blue screen on FAT32 boot drives. FIXED PATCHES Paragon GPT Loader 8.0.1.0 patch 1 (gptpatch1) Paragon GPT Loader 8.0.1.0 patch 2 (gptpatch2) -->These are fixes for the 8.0.1.0 driver Is it necessary to apply them on FAT32 or are for NTFS errors? It doesn't seem like it, considering that these patches were merged into the 8.0.1.2 fork and this one doesn't work for me. In any case, I don't understand the explanation given for applying the patches What is the gpt_loader.sys.bak file created, the good one or the old one? When applying the two patches, these two files have been created in \WINDOWS\system32\drivers gpt_loader.sys.bak gpt_loader.sys.bak2 Considering that my current version installed with Paragon Partition Manager 15 works without problems, I would prefer to revert the patch application. Read the instructions carefully and consider whether you need to apply patches. They can improve performance and fix a problem. http://hardwarefetish.com/777-paragon-gpt-loader-3 http://hardwarefetish.com/612-gpt_loader-sys-revisited-file-read-problem http://hardwarefetish.com/524-paragon-gpt_loadersys-bsod-analysis-and-fix

Personally I do not think that there is a limitation with the file system beyond the cluster size that I have mentioned above. But I encourage you to continue performing the tests, the more it is experienced better