Cixert Posted January 9 Author Posted January 9 (edited) I put together the two screenshots previously published with DMDE, to be able to compare them more easily. AS INTERNAL HARD DISK AS USB HARD DISK The surprise comes now. I leave Windows XP with this Logilink USB adapter and start Windows Seven with the GPT hard disk The result is the same. This Logilink USB adapter that I am testing with GPT works well with MBR +6Tb in both Windows XP and Windows Seven and NT10 (always formatted by the same one, of course. If I format GPT with the same it also works). The surprise is that I have bought 2 new USB adapters that do not work as MBR or GPT +2Tb in Windows XP and in Windows Seven they have recognized this GPT hard disk perfectly. I have also tested these 2 new adapters with a 5Tb MBR hard disk which was working perfectly with the Logilink adapter on all the operating systems. The new adapters do not recognize their partitions properly on any system. Edited January 9 by Cixert
Multibooter Posted January 9 Posted January 9 (edited) On 1/5/2025 at 7:49 PM, Dave-H said: I think the problem is not that the GPT disk isn't being recognized, it's the fact that it's over 2TB which is the issue. Windows XP is just not recognizing it as being a valid disk because of its size. I have a spare 250GB disk, so I will try formatting that as a GPT disk, and see if that works correctly with XP using the Paragon GPT driver. If it does, I think that will prove that it's the disk size which is the problem, not its format. Perhaps it is an issue of different NTFS file system drivers under WinXP and Win10? Maybe you can create on the 3TB HDD GPT disk fourteen or fifteen FAT32 partitions of 196.600MB each [=192GB, 32kB sector size each, aligned to cylinder]. Will then the data beyond 2TB be scrambled up or will it be OK? Old Partition Magic v8.05 has a max.FAT32 partition size of 196.600MB, no idea why, but this size has always worked OK for me, under Win98/XP/10. I don't have any HDDs >2TB, for compatibility reasons and to avoid huge data losses. I have not yet tried to replace the Partmgr.sys, Disk.sys and sp3.cab with those of Windows Server 2003 because I am a little afraid to risk damaging my software collection on my HDDs, maybe later when all experimenting is done and Dave-H and jaclaz give the green light. If the issue is shown to be a file system driver issue, I can eventually buy a 3TB HDD, look for my old WriteDVD! v1.0.0.4 (works under WinXP) and try to format the 3TB GPT disk to UDF. WriteDVD! v1.0.0.4 installs under WinXP the UDF file system driver saiudf.sys [its Property sheet displays "Company: Software Architects, Inc., File version: 6.2.8.1, Description: UDF File System for Windows XP"] Edited January 9 by Multibooter
Multibooter Posted January 9 Posted January 9 (edited) I have replaced Partmgr.sys and disk.sys with the Win2003 versions + updated sp3.cab under WinXP SP3 on my Inspiron 7500 (Pentium III, SSE-only, 240 heads disk geometry). I used, on a more modern desktop computer, TeraByte BootIt Bare Metal v1.73 (can partition pre-boot) to set a 1TB HDD to GPT and partitioned it pre-boot to 6 FAT32 partitions. The 1TB HDD was detected OK by Win10. The 1TB GPT HDD was also detected OK on the SSE-only Inspiron laptop. It was inside a different Sharkoon IDE/SATA combo docking station, with USB 2.0 and eSATA connectors, connected vie eSATA to an eSATA PC Card in the SSE-only laptop. My Computer and Hard Disk Sentinel v6.20 seem to work OK with the 1TB GPT HDD with WinXP under SSE-only, also Beyond Compare v2.5.3. TeraByte Image for Windows v2.92 also displayed OK the GPT disk and indicated that it is GPT, so I would speculate that there is a good chance that it could clone the 1TB GPT HDD under WinXP. MiniTool Partition Wizard v9.1 did display the GPT HDD, but did not display the partitions on it. Edited January 9 by Multibooter
Dave-H Posted January 9 Posted January 9 19 hours ago, Cixert said: You say that Disk Manager recognized the hard drive connected directly to the SATA port. This is important. Do you think it is safe to try it with Paragon Partition Manager 15 Professional x86 v10.1.25.779 without losing data? I don't know exactly what a caddy is. Is it a box to connect the hard drive to the eSATA port? I'm looking at what model of eSATA adapter you bought, but sorry I don't see if you finally say... What model you have? you can't get a cable and power supply to connect the hard drive directly to the eSATA port? Most likely the problem could be the box. This is the caddy/enclosure that I'm using. https://www.startech.com/en-us/hdd/s351bmu33et I will try a direct connection again when I can, but it may not be for a few days I'm afraid because of personal commitments. Now I have your recommended 10.1.25.779 version of the Paragon GPT driver installed, it will be interesting to see if I still get the file system corruption problems that I was getting before with the later version.
Cixert Posted January 14 Author Posted January 14 On 1/9/2025 at 6:20 PM, Multibooter said: MiniTool Partition Wizard v9.1 did display the GPT HDD, but did not display the partitions on it. Here I published a test of partition programs working with GPT https://msfn.org/board/topic/181911-read-gpt-hard-disk-on-windows-xp/page/3/#findComment-1249366
Multibooter Posted January 14 Posted January 14 (edited) GPT disks under SSE-only (Pentium 3) Thanks, my above posting referred to compatibility with SSE-only, i.e. compatibility with my old Inspiron 7500 (SSE-only Pentium III, e.g. 700MHz). For me, external HDDs set to GPT, regardless of capacity, would only be useful if they can be accessed under both SSE-only and under more modern computers. 1) The last build of Acronis Disk Director which has installed AND worked for me under WinXP SP3 and SSE-only was v12.0.3223 (30May2014). This build 3223 requires WinXP SP3, it does not install under WinXP SP2. Also, after installing build 3223 the Help file in the install-to has to be renamed to anything else to avoid crashing under SSE-only. Unfortunately, I don't have it installed anymore on my Inspiron 7500, so I cannot check whether it works OK with GPT HDDs, unless I re-install it. A more recent Acronis v12.5.0.163 is listed in your excellent posting as compatible with GPT >2TB, but this build v12.5.0.163 can most likely not be installed and run under WinXP SP3 SSE-only. 2) The bootable CD of Acronis Disk Director v12.5.163 (en, workstation, 26Dec2018), however, DOES work great under SSE-only. I also have the corresponding bootable server CD with the same build, which I had marked "works with Inspiron" [=SSE-only], but the following experiments were made with the workstation version. With this bootable CD I have created OK a FAT32 partition on a 1TB GPT HDD. The 1TB GPT HDD was inside a Sharkoon Combo [=for IDE and SATA HDDs] docking station, connected via eSATA to an eSATA PC Card in the SSE-only laptop. Data on the FAT32 partition was read and written to OK under Win10 on a more modern desktop, and then read and written to OK again on the SSE-only Inspiron. The bootable CD of Acronis Disk Director v12.5.163 could also format a partition to ext3 on the 1TB GPT HDD. ext3 partitions are not displayed under WinXP and Win10. "Ext2 Installable File System v1.12" (26Dec2015), has worked for me OK to display ext3 partitions under WinXP under SSE-only. It can be downloaded from http://www.fs-driver.org/download.html [http, NOT https] According to https://community.chocolatey.org/packages/ext2ifs it works OK with GPT HDDs. If a GPT HDD, with an ext3 partition >2TB does work OK under WinXP, then the chkdsk issue with Win10/WinXP NTFS partitions can be circumvented. It might show that this issue is a file system issue. Using the ext3 file system may be an alternative to trying the UDF file system (has no partitions) to help identify the cause of the Chkdsk issue. 3) MS Disk Management could reformat OK a FAT32 partition under WinXP SP3 on the SSE-only laptop, BUT: could format only to NTFS, not to FAT32 etc. Edited January 14 by Multibooter
Cixert Posted January 14 Author Posted January 14 (edited) 5 hours ago, Multibooter said: If a GPT HDD, with an ext3 partition >2TB does work OK under WinXP, then the chkdsk issue with Win10/WinXP NTFS partitions can be circumvented. It might show that this issue is a file system issue. Using the ext3 file system may be an alternative to trying the UDF file system (has no partitions) to help identify the cause of the Chkdsk issue. 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 Edited January 14 by Cixert
Cixert Posted January 15 Author Posted January 15 (edited) 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 Edited February 26 by Cixert 2
Cixert Posted January 15 Author Posted January 15 (edited) 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 Edited January 15 by Cixert
Dave-H Posted January 15 Posted January 15 @Cixert So sorry that I haven't been able to do my tests with different hardware configurations yet. I am now using version 8.0.1.0 of the GPT driver, but as stated in my previous post, a 250GB GPT disk works fine, but a 3TB GPT disk is unreadable by XP. This is when connected via an eSATA add-in card, or USB, with the disk in an external caddy/enclosure, so I must now test with a direct connection to the motherboard. Hopefully I will be able to do that tomorrow and let you know the result. 1
Andalu Posted January 16 Posted January 16 (edited) @Cixert Hi, thanks for your tests. Unfortunately, even with the GPT Loader v8.0.1.0 from Paragon Partition Manager 15 Professional x86 v10.1.25.779, data corruption occurred in my system configured in IDE mode when the files copied exceeding the 2TB limit. During the installation of Paragon Partition Manager 15 Professional, only the GPT_Loader driver was installed. I used a Seagate ST4000LM024 4TB disk initialized as GPT in Win10 with one NTFS partition only and with the files copied previously in Win10 for a total of 1,933,348,982,784 bytes. Before testing, I checked the integrity of all files. Disk.sys and Partmgr.sys installed are versions of XP, v5.1.2600.5597 and v5.1.2600.5512, respectively. I started copying the files in XP until to reach 2,199,981,613,056 bytes. Checking file integrity: no problems detected. When 12 more files for a total of 13,656,097,175 bytes were copied to the disk, I noticed that one has become corrupted. After a reboot, all 12 files are now corrupted. As a final note, during the first stage of copying files in XP, the bsod 0x00000024 occurred for gpt_lo~1.sys Edited January 16 by Andalu 1
Cixert Posted January 16 Author Posted January 16 (edited) 2 hours ago, Andalu said: @Cixert Hi, thanks for your tests. Unfortunately, even with the GPT Loader v8.0.1.0 from Paragon Partition Manager 15 Professional x86 v10.1.25.779, data corruption occurred in my system configured in IDE mode when the files copied exceeding the 2TB limit. During the installation of Paragon Partition Manager 15 Professional, only the GPT_Loader driver was installed. I used a Seagate ST4000LM024 4TB disk initialized as GPT in Win10 with one NTFS partition only and with the files copied previously in Win10 for a total of 1,933,348,982,784 bytes. Before testing, I checked the integrity of all files. Disk.sys and Partmgr.sys installed are versions of XP, v5.1.2600.5597 and v5.1.2600.5512, respectively. I started copying the files in XP until to reach 2,199,981,613,056 bytes. Checking file integrity: no problems detected. When 12 more files for a total of 13,656,097,175 bytes were copied to the disk, I noticed that one has become corrupted. After a reboot, all 12 files are now corrupted. As a final note, during the first stage of copying files in XP, the bsod 0x00000024 occurred for gpt_lo~1.sys 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. Edited January 16 by Cixert
Multibooter Posted January 16 Posted January 16 (edited) I still have the (rejected) file replacement with the Windows 2003 Server files disk.sys and partmgrs.sys running on my old Pentium 3 laptop (SSE-only). When I inserted a 2TB MBR HDD into a Sharkoon Combo docking station, connected via eSATA to an eSATA PCCard, a Found New Hardware Found bubble come up and then I got the message: "Hardware Installation. The software you are installing for this hardware Disk drive has not passed Windows Logo testing to verify its compatibility with Windows XP." The HDD had probably been detected already earlier in this docking station, before I used the replacement disk.sys and partmgr.sys. This msg "has not passed Windows Logo testing" may be related to the file replacement, it has been displayed when inserting 2 other MBR HDDs since I replaced disk.sys and partmgr.sys. No such msg has been displayed when I inserted maybe 5 other MBR HDDs. Any idea what may be going on? Edited January 16 by Multibooter
Multibooter Posted January 16 Posted January 16 (edited) 5 hours ago, Andalu said: Unfortunately, even with the GPT Loader v8.0.1.0 from Paragon Partition Manager 15 Professional x86 v10.1.25.779, data corruption occurred in my system configured in IDE mode when the files copied exceeding the 2TB limit. Paragon Partition Manager 15 Professional x86 v10.1.25.779 is the most recent build of v15 I have come across. Paragon Hard Disk Manager 15 also has a "GPT Loader" selection in its installation menu. I have various builds of Paragon Hard Disk Manager 15 in my archive, among them: v10.1.25.779 (Suite, 32bit, 9Sep2015) v10.1.25.813 (Professional, 299-PRE, 19Nov2015) and v10.1.25.813 (Premium, 299-PME, 11Nov2015) v10.1.25.1125 (Professional, 799-PRE, 12Apr2017) v10.1.25.1137 (Professional, 799-PRE, 24Apr2017) Maybe the more recent build 813 contains an improved GPT Loader? A new release 813, only 2 months after build 779, indicates serious issues with build 779. Build 813 is the last build for SSE-only. I had installed build 813 on my SSE-only Pentium 3 laptop, but removed it again because the Linux ext3 partitions created by Paragon Partition Manager 15 were displayed as BAD by Symantec PartitionMagic 8.05, i.e. the ext3 partitions created by Paragon HDM 15 are not compatible with PartitionMagic, i.e. not backward-compatible with Win98 software. Edited January 16 by Multibooter
Cixert Posted January 16 Author Posted January 16 (edited) @Andalu tell me what method you used to copy and verify files. I will try to replicate it to check what happens. 3 hours ago, Multibooter said: "Hardware Installation. The software you are installing for this hardware Disk drive has not passed Windows Logo testing to verify its compatibility with Windows XP." 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 Edited January 16 by Cixert
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now