Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted (edited)

In this post I intend for us all to make a list of devices that allow reading MBR +2Tb hard disks with Windows XP SP3. Also supporting GPT testing.
It is known that working with MBR +2Tb hard disks is possible in almost all operating systems since Windows 2000 SP3:
-Windows XP (only since SP2?)
-Windows 2003
-Windows Seven (only since SP1)
-Windows Eight
-Windows 10
-GNU/Linux (only since the new 2008 kernel)
-MAC??? (I have not tried it)

Currently +2Tb hard disks usually have a physical sector of 4096 bytes, but firmware emit a 512 bytes emulation (512e) to the operating system. In XP these disks are seen as logical and physical sector 512, this way XP will not work as an MBR or GPT disk . In theory, some +2Tb drives work on XP as MBR or GPT because the adapter firmware or the driver hard disk translate the logical sectors to 4096 bytes instead of 512 bytes.
It's not really a size question, it's a sectors question.
MBR and GPT on XP can only access a limited number of sectors that represent LBA 32 bits (2^32).
(4,294,967,296 sectors x 512 bytes = 2,147,483,648 KiB)
If the sectors are 512 bytes the limit is 2TiB, if the sectors are 4096 bytes the limit is 16 TiB. 
Although there are still many questions to be answered. Can XP access a hard disk with 4096 bytes physical sectors?
Supposedly the 512e emulation is established because systems prior to Windows Eight are not capable of working with 4096 bytes physical sectors. So why can XP access a disk with 4096 bytes logical sectors?
There are also other limits, I have found that some USB adapters are limited to 4Tb in MBR and these same ones to 5Tb in GPT.

¡¡¡Caution: If we format a 512e hard disk +2TiB with an adapter that reports 4096 bytes logical sectors to the system, this will only be accessible from adapters that reports 4096 bytes.!!!
¡With -2TiB my adapters always identify the disk in XP as a physical and logical sector 512 bytes, although their physical sector is 4096 bytes. This does not represent a problem compatibility if the disk logical sector is 512e!
¡But it could happen that some adapters read all hard disks as a logical sector 4096 bytes!

Typically, the adapter detects the hard disk physical sector, and if it occupies 4096 bytes, the adapter translates the logical sectors to 4096 bytes. If the hard disks physical sector measures 512 bytes, there is no logical sector translation.

Perhaps the problem has been solved with internal GPT, but I still want to test it further. Also, GPT does not allow compatibility with Windows 2000.
https://msfn.org/board/topic/181911-read-gpt-hard-disk-on-windows-xp/page/23/#findComment-1276273

Please add the devices that you have tested and their limits. That way we will not have to buy blindly and then find out that this do not work.
¡¡¡If you also know the chip model it uses, it is important to mention it!!!
Or mention the device Hardware ID listed in the device manager (USB Adapter is in USB Mass Storage Device).

Attention:
-Some devices with updated firmware lose the ability to translate logical sectors to 4096 bytes.
-Some devices only translate AF disks (Advanced Format).

DDO (software BIOS)
-BOOTMAN3 DDO
Inform @rloew
https://msfn.org/board/topic/177171-what-a-single-8tb-mbr-hard-disk-drive-looks-like-in-windows-xp/page/2/#findComment-1146558


DOCKING STATIONS
-Fantec MR-U3E (no tested)
https://superuser.com/questions/719844/do-hard-disk-drives-turn-on-512e-512byte-emulation-of-4k-sectors-as-needed-dep

-Sabrent DS-UBLK (no tested)
--> Only translates AF disks

EXTERNAL BOX
I've tried some a while ago, I don't know any that work with MBR +2TB

-StarTech.com 3.5-Inch eSATA USB Dual Removable SATA RAID External Hard Drive Enclosure (S352U2RER)
--> No tested
https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/57249/how-to-fix-512-bytes-per-sector-to-4096-bytes-per-sector-for-an-advanced-fo

-StarTech (no tested)
Driver chip: ASM1051e
https://goughlui.com/2013/10/02/experiment-usb-to-sata-bridge-chips-and-2tb-drives/#comment-17237


EXTERNAL HARD DISK
-There are several available on eBay that claim to work with Windows XP. Do they really work?

-Intenso 3TB USB 3.0 (no tested)
-Driver Chipset: ASM 2115 (only translates to 4096 with controller Intenso)
https://superuser.com/questions/1271871/4k-emulation-sata-usb-controllers

-Iomega (no tested)

https://superuser.com/questions/410606/logical-sector-size-changes-depending-on-whether-it-is-attached-via-usb-or-direc

-Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex (no tested)

-Seagate Backup Plus Desktop USB 3.0 3Tb (no tested)
https://superuser.com/questions/848512/seagate-expansion-desktop-drive-only-working-with-own-sata-usb-adapter

-Seagate Expansion Drive (3TB) (no tested)
https://superuser.com/questions/848512/seagate-expansion-desktop-drive-only-working-with-own-sata-usb-adapter

-Verbatim USB 3.0 SuperSpeed 3 TB (no tested)
--> It splits the disk showing 2 hard drives (one virtual).

-Western Digital Essential
-Western Digital Easystore

-Western Digital My Book (self-encrypts data by hardware)
-Western Digital My Book Essential (self-encrypts data by hardware)
-Western Digital My Passport

--> MBR Limit: 16 TiB
report sectors 4KiB with WD_Quick_Formatter_Win_1_2_0_10 (only for one partion NTFS)
configuring the enclosure to report that the external mass storage device has a 4KB sector size rather than 512 bytes.
Inform @Comos
https://msfn.org/board/topic/158361-2tib-external-usb-drive-and-winxp-of-course/
https://web.archive.org/web/20111210043520/http://community.wdc.com/t5/My-Book-for-PC/Exceeding-2Tb-limit-questions/td-p/234694
Update 1:
https://superuser.com/questions/463952/is-it-possible-to-set-the-logical-sector-size-of-a-usb-hard-disk-drive/1508559
Update 2:
https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detailweb/a_id/16241


HARD DISKS FIRMWARE
-Intel SSD DC S3510 (no tested)
https://superuser.com/questions/719844/do-hard-disk-drives-turn-on-512e-512byte-emulation-of-4k-sectors-as-needed-dep


MOTHERBOARDS
-Asus M5A88-M (SB850)
& J&W Minix 780G (SB700)

in AHCI mode with this driver:
ahcix86.sys V3.1.1540.25 works
ahcix86.sys V3.1.1540.86 works
ahcix86.sys V3.1.1540.127 (newer) does NOT work and cannot be even installed
ahcix86.sys V3.2.1540.35 does NOT work
ahcix86.sys V3.3.1540.29 does NOT work
The hard disk may not be accessible from higher versions of Windows
Inform @Snear
https://msfn.org/board/topic/180915-i-can-use-a-5-tb-hdd-in-xp-how-is-that-possible/


SATA ADAPTERS*
*Only GPT. Require Paragon GPT Loader 8.0.1.0 driver
¡¡¡CAUTION!!!
Higher versions of the Paragon driver cause corruption exceeding the 2TB limit of data written to disk.
PAE enabled causes corruption exceeding the 2TB limit of data written to disk.
AHCI drivers cause corruption exceeding the 2TB limit of data written to disk (asahci32.sys which allows recognition of GPT partitions with disk.sys and partmgr.sys from Win2003 drivers).
-ASMedia SATA cards with switch for mode change. The switch must be set to "no boot" mode or "IDE Boot" for allow recognition of GPT disks with the Paragon GPT Loader v8.0.1.0 driver in an XP system with others hard disks configured in AHCI mode. Or on systems whose BIOS/UEFI does not have IDE mode.
Driver Chip --> ASM1061: correct recognition of GTP disks, safe disk removal feature working;
Models without switch for mode change and AHCI drivers have data corruption exceeding the 2TB limit of data written to disk.
Inform @Andalu
https://msfn.org/board/topic/186645-devices-list-compatibles-mbr-hard-disk-2tb/#findComment-1277568
https://msfn.org/board/topic/181911-read-gpt-hard-disk-on-windows-xp/page/28/#findComment-1277039
https://msfn.org/board/topic/181911-read-gpt-hard-disk-on-windows-xp/page/29/#findComment-1277268
The board must have a switch to toggle between IDE boot, AHCI boot or No boot.
2 ports SATA: Possible models with the label SU-SA3002
4 ports SATA: Possible models with the label SU-SA3004.v2 and label SU-SA3004
-Mugast SA3004 SATA Expansion Card
---> Made by SSU (SU-SA3004 model)
---> Drivers: https://www.ssu-tech.com/JSZC/showdownload.php?id=4
-Ubit-SA3004
If the card has 4 SATA ports only two work. This is confirmed by the datasheet of the ASM1061:
https://www.asmedia.com.tw/product/77BYq58SX3HyepH7/58dYQ8bxZ4UR9wG5


SOFTWARE
(some hard drive manufacturers claim to provide software that enables MBR +2TB compatibility)
-Asus Mobos with software Asus Disk Unlocker
--> No tested, possibly GPT virtual drives)
-Gigabite 3TB+ Unlock
--> (virtual drives) is for XP or Seven?
-Seagate Extended Capacity Manager
--> MBR Limit = It split a +2TiB disk into 2 MBR disks
--> I haven't tested it, some say it gives frequent blue screens

I know of another manufacturer, but I can't remember the name now, I have it written down on another computer.


USB ADAPTERS
-Digitus SATA to USB 2.0 (no tested)
https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/having-issues-connecting-an-ex-laptop-hdd-to-my-computer-with-a-sata-adapter.3504275/
-Logilink AU0028 (without letter "A")
--> Hardware Id.: USB\VID_152D&PID_0551\
--> Driver Chip: JMS551
--> MBR limit: No known. Work with 6 Tb
--> GPT limit: No known. Work with 6 Tb.
-Logilink AU0028A with old firmware v.915
--> Hardware Id.: USB\VID_ABCD&PID_6103\
--> Driver Chip: Innostor IS611
--> MBR Limit = 4 Tb
--> GPT Limit = 5 Tb
-Logilink AU0028A with updated firmware v.923
The update changes the logical and physical sector from 4096 to 512. It can be reverted in the file \Profile\IS611.ini changing the  "4k_sector=" value from 0 to 1. But the limit on XP will still be MBR 4Tb & GPT 5Tb. With the update there is no known limit for GPT on NT6-10. With this update the hardware ID also changes.
--> Hardware Id.: USB\VID_1F75&PID_0611\
--> Driver Chip: Innostor IS611
--> MBR Limit = 2 Tb
--> GPT Limit = 2Tb on XP; Work with GPT 6 Tb on Windows NT6.x-10 but not on XP.
-Oxford SATA to USB 2.0 (no tested)
---> https://goughlui.com/2013/10/02/experiment-usb-to-sata-bridge-chips-and-2tb-drives/#comment-1195.
-Ugreen
---> (model pending testing)


OTHER PARTITION SYSTEMS +2TiB COMPATIBLE
-EMBR
--> In development
https://msfn.org/board/topic/186660-embr-partition-systemhttps://msfn.org/board/topic/181911-read-gpt-hard-disk-on-windows-xp/page/9/#findComment-1259400



LIST DOES NOT WORK ON XP WITH +2TiB HARD DISKS

USB ADAPTERS:
The following USB adapters have been found not to offer logical sector translation to 4096 bytes, and will therefore not work with +2Tb drives on Windows XP:

-Driver chip 
JM20337:
All models with driver chip JMicron JM20337 [Hi-Speed USB to SATA & PATA Combo Bridge] (USB 2.0).
--> Hardware Id.: USB\VID_152D&PID_2338
--> Year: 2004

*There are reports that this model may cause data corruption with large files +20GiB. I am not sure if it is the chip or the adapter mentioned.
https://bigacid.wordpress.com/2008/12/08/jm20337-read-data-corruption-solution/
The adapter reports on all Windows versions that all hard disks are 512 logical sector and 512 physical sector. It works as GPT +2TiB on Windows NT6-10 but not on XP.
Some models are labeled like this:

-Aukson
-Coolmax
-Iggual
-NTY-M35HD
-R-Driver III
-Vcom


-Driver chip JMS578:
All models with driver chip JMicron JMS578 [SATA 6Gb/s].
--> Hardware Id.: USB\VID_152D&PID_0578\
--> Year: 2016
This model does not perform any translation of the hard disks logical sectors.
Work with GPT 6 Tb on Windows NT6.x-10 but not on XP.

Some models are labeled like this:
-Undentified USB 3.1 / SATA Adapter with chip JMicron Tech


SATA ADAPTERS
For GPT...
Models without switch for mode change
and AHCI drivers have data corruption exceeding the 2TB limit of data written to disk.
(asahci32.sys which allows recognition of GPT partitions with disk.sys and partmgr.sys from Win2003 drivers).

Driver Chip --> ASM1064 and AHCI drivers have data corruption on disks +2TiB .
Driver Chip --> ASM1166: no recognition of GPT disks.

Edited by Cixert

Posted (edited)

Does anyone else work with MBR +2TB hard disks?

A bit of literature:
-USB to SATA bridge chips and >2Tb drives
https://goughlui.com/2013/10/02/experiment-usb-to-sata-bridge-chips-and-2tb-drives/
-4ke (4k emulation)
https://superuser.com/questions/1271871/4k-emulation-sata-usb-controllers
-Convert unit 4096 to 512
https://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php?f=117&t=1832
-LBA 32 vs LBA 48 vs Advanced Format (1)
https://superuser.com/questions/852475/how-can-a-mbr-formatted-hard-drive-exceed-1-81-tib-capacity/866404
-LBA 32 vs LBA 48 vs Advanced Format (2)
https://blog.fosketts.net/2010/10/05/hitachi-gst-advanced-format-hard-disk-drive/
-What's the point of hard drives reporting their physical sector size?
https://superuser.com/questions/982680/whats-the-point-of-hard-drives-reporting-their-physical-sector-size
-Non-AF large drives get no translation.
https://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php?f=117&t=1832

Edited by Cixert
  • Cixert changed the title to Devices list compatibles MBR hard disk +2TB
Posted
On 1/9/2025 at 1:07 AM, Cixert said:

eSATA ADAPTERS

 

ASMedia eSATA cards with the asahci32.sys v2.0.3.2 driver installed:
--> ASM1061: correct recognition of GTP disks, safe disk removal feature working;
--> ASM1064: correct recognition of GTP disks, safe disk removal feature not working;
--> ASM1166: no recognition of GPT disks.
*Also require Paragon GPT Loader 8.0.1.0 driver
Inform @Andalu
https://msfn.org/board/topic/181911-read-gpt-hard-disk-on-windows-xp/page/9/#findComment-1259400
https://msfn.org/board/topic/181911-read-gpt-hard-disk-on-windows-xp/page/29/#findComment-127714

 

This part needs to be modified because with all versions of the driver asahci32.sys (which allows recognition of GPT partitions with disk.sys and partmgr.sys from Win2003) files corruption occurs when exceeding the 2TB limit of data written to disk even if no PAE patch has been installed in the system.

Currently, only Asmedia ASM1061 PCIEx to SATA cards that have a selector switch that can be set to "No Boot" or "IDE Boot" allow recognition of GPT disks in an XP system configured in AHCI mode in combination with the Paragon GPT Loader v8.0.1.0 driver:
https://msfn.org/board/topic/181911-read-gpt-hard-disk-on-windows-xp/page/28/#findComment-1277039

 

Posted (edited)
19 hours ago, Andalu said:

This part needs to be modified because with all versions of the driver asahci32.sys (which allows recognition of GPT partitions with disk.sys and partmgr.sys from Win2003) files corruption occurs when exceeding the 2TB limit of data written to disk even if no PAE patch has been installed in the system.

Currently, only Asmedia ASM1061 PCIEx to SATA cards that have a selector switch that can be set to "No Boot" or "IDE Boot" allow recognition of GPT disks in an XP system configured in AHCI mode in combination with the Paragon GPT Loader v8.0.1.0 driver:
https://msfn.org/board/topic/181911-read-gpt-hard-disk-on-windows-xp/page/28/#findComment-1277039

 

OK, thanks for the feedback. I was just updating the information.
So the 1062, 1063 & 1064 chips don't work even if they have a switch?
I see here the Ubit-SA3004 model that combines the 1061 and 1063 chips. Do you think it works?
http://www.evisionde.com/ProDetail.aspx?ProId=92
What switch mode should these be set to?
I don't know what is "No boot".

Edited by Cixert
Posted (edited)

USB ADAPTERS
I have observed 3 behaviors on USB adapters, when translating logical and physical sectors, regardless of their real logical and physical sectors.

1-The firmware translates the sectors as*:
Logical sector 512
Physical sector 512

Observed in models with driver chip:
-Innostor IS611 with updated firmware v.923
-JMicron JM20337
*I have seen that all the disks are translated as 512/512 even though these are 512/4096 and there does not seem to be a problem.

2-The firmware translates the sectors as*:
Logical sector 512
Physical sector 4096

Observed in models with driver chip:
-JMicron JMS578
*I have seen that all the disks are translated as 512/4096 even though these are 512/512 and there does not seem to be a problem.

3-The firmware translates the sectors as*:
Logical sector 4096
Physical sector 4096

Observed in models with driver chip:
- Innostor IS611 with old firmware v.915 (MBR up to 4 TB & GPT up to 5 TB)
-JMicron JMS551
*I've seen all the smaller 2TiB drives translated as 512/512 and there doesn't seem to be any problem even though they are 512/4096 SDDs.

We must consider that the real values of these sectors can only be checked with the hard disk connected directly to the SATA port in Windows Vista updated or higher with the commands "fsutil fsinfo sectorinfo <drive_letter>" or on NTFS drives with "fsutil fsinfo ntfsinfo <drive_letter>".
These commands also inform us whether the hard drive and partition are aligned.
Disk Genius also informs us with the real values of the logical and physical sectors when running it from Windows Vista updated or higher and with the hard drive connected directly to the SATA port.
In Windows XP we will only see the values translated by the USB adapter and on the SATA port we will only see the values 512 & 512 even if the disk is 512/4096 or 4096/4096.

Edited by Cixert
Posted
2 hours ago, Cixert said:

OK, thanks for the feedback. I was just updating the information.
So the 1062, 1063 & 1064 chips don't work even if they have a switch?
I see here the Ubit-SA3004 model that combines the 1061 and 1063 chips. Do you think it works?
http://www.evisionde.com/ProDetail.aspx?ProId=92
What switch mode should these be set to?
I don't know what is "No boot".

I couldn't find any cards that have those chipsets and the "Boot" selector button. The Ubit-SA3004 v2 board in the images is identical to the one I own. The only difference is that mine reports only "SU-SA3004" on it and "V2" is missing. Strangely enough, it seems that the SA3004 v2 version is the older version than the SA3004. At least that is what is described in the image that is on Amazon:

2024-02-27.png

 

"No Boot" means that the drive will not be used as a boot disk. In the other two options "AHCI Boot" and "IDE Boot" the system will be able to boot from the drive connected to the card.

 

Posted

I own three USB3-SATA adapters with Jmicron JMS578 chipset. No one of them allowed the 4K emulation that is needed to use in XP HDD +2TB initialized as MBR.

Thanks to the info reported in the following link (the title says ...."no more 4Ke" :D):

https://helmet.kafuka.org/bboard/thread.php?pid=7647

I was able to enable 4K emulation on my JMS578 adapters. So far I got the 10TB MBR disk to be recognized.


I applied the following procedure:

1) make a backup of the pre-existing firmware with one of the two tools mentioned in the article above (jms_fw_reader-0.11a or JMicron_FwUpdateTool_v1_19_17_6). You will get a firmware with a .bin extension of 50,688 bytes (in my case backup made in Win10 and the file obtained was jm579_85_02_00_02.bin);

2) make a copy of said backup and put it in another mass storage;

3) with a Hex editor you have to edit the obtained .bin file: at offset C4E7 replacing the pre-existing value with 27 (in my case the pre-existing value was 43) (I know I did not write in the best way but I think it is the most comprehensible one);

4) with the "JMicron_FwUpdateTool_v1_19_17_6" perform the firmware update of the USB3-SATA adapter with an HDD/SDD connected to it. Once you have completed the update you need to remove the adapter and then reconnect it again (operations always performed in Win10):

Firmware-4-Ke.png

 

For the preparation of the 4TB disk to be initialized in MBR style, I connected the 4TB disk to the USB3-SATA adapter and used MiniTool Partition Wizard Free v10.3: no problems encountered.
Here the images of the disk in XP and Win10:

HDD4-TBMBR-XP.png   HDD4-TBMBR-W10.png


In the other hand, for initializing the 10TB disk, none of the programs I tried (MiniTool Partition Wizard Free v10.3, DiskGenius v5.5.0.1488, and Acronis Disk Director 12.5.163, the latter of which could not even detect the 10TB disk) allowed me to achieve initialization in MBR.

The only program that could initialize the 10TB disk to MBR was "WD Quick Formatter v2.0.0.65". I used it in Win10 by enabling the compatibility mode for Win7 (it should work even without enabling such compatibility). The tool can also work for non-Western Digital HDDs but it is mandatory to use a pcb controller extracted from WD enclosures such as the WD Elements (if I remember correctly, the WD Book has the encryption probem that requires hardware operation in order to use it). I have four such pcb controllers. Three of them have as code:
"4061-705094-004 Rev. 04P"    /    "4061-705094-004 Rev. AA1"    /    "4061-705094-004 Rev. AB2"

and allow MBR disks up to the maximum possible (16TB) to be used in XP;

the fourth pcb controller has the code "4061-705094-001 rev. AG" which allows MBR disks up to 4TB to be used.


Once the disk was initialized, I connected it to the USB3-SATA adapter with JMS578 chipset to which I had done the above firmware update and voilà, 10TB disk in MBR style recognized without any problems. Below are some images:

HDD10-TBMBR-XP.png

 

and here is the same disk in Win10:

HDD10-TBMBR-W10.png

 

The disks initialized as MBR with the Quick Formatted tool are normally detected when the USB-SATA adapters with JMS578 chipset are used.
Instead, the 4TB MBR disk initialized with MiniTool Partition Wizard Free v10.3 is not longer recognized when connected with the WD pcb controller.
The Quick Formatted tool seems to be the best choice, when you have a chance to use a WD pcb controller.
 

Some important notes:
as already reported by @Cixert, an MBR disk +2TB can't be used as internal SATA drive. Also, if the USB3 adapter breaks, the disk can only be used with a similar or compatible adapter. So it is essential to have a replacement.

 

The last most important note:
Flashing the firmware is risky, please be careful. Those who wish to apply the above procedure do so at their own responsibility.

 

Posted

The 10TB disk (initialized as MBR with the Quick Formatter tool) connected to a USB3 enclosure having an older chipset such as the Asmedia ASM1051 is also correctly detected in both XP and Win10:

ASM1051-XP.png    ASM1051-Win10.png


In this case, there was no need to perform a firmware update or edit any .bin files.

Posted
5 hours ago, Andalu said:

I own three USB3-SATA adapters with Jmicron JMS578 chipset. No one of them allowed the 4K emulation that is needed to use in XP HDD +2TB initialized as MBR.

Thanks to the info reported in the following link (the title says ...."no more 4Ke" :D):

Magnificent, bravo, stupendous :worship: :thumbup
As soon as I have some time in the next days I will try to replicate it on my adapter with chip JMS578

Posted (edited)
On 2/4/2025 at 1:11 AM, Andalu said:

This part needs to be modified because with all versions of the driver asahci32.sys (which allows recognition of GPT partitions with disk.sys and partmgr.sys from Win2003) files corruption occurs when exceeding the 2TB limit of data written to disk even if no PAE patch has been installed in the system.

Currently, only Asmedia ASM1061 PCIEx to SATA cards that have a selector switch that can be set to "No Boot" or "IDE Boot" allow recognition of GPT disks in an XP system configured in AHCI mode in combination with the Paragon GPT Loader v8.0.1.0 driver:
https://msfn.org/board/topic/181911-read-gpt-hard-disk-on-windows-xp/page/28/#findComment-1277039

 

Is this correct?
So the switch on the card has to be set to no-boot mode?
And it doesn't work with IDE drivers only with AHCI?
I think you said at the end that they work in IDE mode. Sorry for so many doubts, but several changes in the publications and not having the card to test it are not clear to me.

SATA ADAPTERS*
*Only GPT also require Paragon GPT Loader 8.0.1.0 driver
ASMedia SATA cards with the asahci32.sys v2.0.3.2 driver installed:
Driver Chip --> ASM1061: correct recognition of GTP disks, safe disk removal feature working;
Driver Chip --> ASM1064: correct recognition of GTP disks but with AHCI drivers the disks +2TiB have data corruption.
Driver Chip --> ASM1166: no recognition of GPT disks.

Edited by Cixert
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, Cixert said:

Is this correct?
So the switch on the card has to be set to no-boot mode?
And it doesn't work with IDE drivers only with AHCI?
I think you said at the end that they work in IDE mode. Sorry for so many doubts, but several changes in the publications and not having the card to test it are not clear to me.

SATA ADAPTERS*
*Only GPT also require Paragon GPT Loader 8.0.1.0 driver
ASMedia SATA cards with the asahci32.sys v2.0.3.2 driver installed:
Driver Chip --> ASM1061: correct recognition of GTP disks, safe disk removal feature working;
Driver Chip --> ASM1064: correct recognition of GTP disks but with AHCI drivers the disks +2TiB have data corruption.
Driver Chip --> ASM1166: no recognition of GPT disks.

Please see my following posts:
https://msfn.org/board/topic/181911-read-gpt-hard-disk-on-windows-xp/page/28/#findComment-1277039
https://msfn.org/board/topic/181911-read-gpt-hard-disk-on-windows-xp/page/29/#findComment-1277268


The switch on the ASM1061 card can be set to "no Boot" or "IDE Boot." The difference is that in "IDE Boot" you will see a pre-boot screen listing the disks connected to the Asmedia card. This means that if a boot disk is connected to the card, the system will attempt to boot from that disk first.

Since the main goal is to get GPT disks recognized, I prefer to set the switch to "No Boot" so as to avoid that additional screen. However, even setting the switch to "IDE Boot" the GPT disks will still work.

In either case, the card is automatically recognized and an IDE controller will be installed in the system, no specific drivers are required.

Therefore:
- if the system where the card is installed is configured in IDE mode, a second IDE controller will be installed in addition to the pre-existing one:

1.png

 

- if the system is configured in AHCI mode (and thus only a SATA/AHCI controller is present) an IDE controller will be installed. So you will have two SATA controllers: the AHCI one where the boot disk is usually connected and the IDE one where GPT disks can be connected (the images are in the links above).

So far I have not encountered any imcompatibility between the two controllers.


Asmedia cards with the same ASM1061 chipset but without the "switch" can work only in AHCI mode and are detected by the system only with the installation of the asmedia drivers. For recognition of GPT disks these cards need the disk.sys and partmgr.sys drivers from Win2003 with which file corruption occurs when the 2TB limit of data written to disk is exceeded. Such data corruption occurs even without having installed any PAE patches in the system.


As a last note: only two GPT disks connected to the ASM1061 board seem to work simultaneously even though there are four sata ports available.
This is confirmed by the datasheet of the ASM1061:

https://www.asmedia.com.tw/product/77BYq58SX3HyepH7/58dYQ8bxZ4UR9wG5

Edited by Andalu
Posted
1 hour ago, Andalu said:

Please see my following posts:
https://msfn.org/board/topic/181911-read-gpt-hard-disk-on-windows-xp/page/28/#findComment-1277039
https://msfn.org/board/topic/181911-read-gpt-hard-disk-on-windows-xp/page/29/#findComment-1277268


The switch on the ASM1061 card can be set to "no Boot" or "IDE Boot." The difference is that in "IDE Boot" you will see a pre-boot screen listing the disks connected to the Asmedia card. This means that if a boot disk is connected to the card, the system will attempt to boot from that disk first.

Since the main goal is to get GPT disks recognized, I prefer to set the switch to "No Boot" so as to avoid that additional screen. However, even setting the switch to "IDE Boot" the GPT disks will still work.

In either case, the card is automatically recognized and an IDE controller will be installed in the system, no specific drivers are required.

Therefore:
- if the system where the card is installed is configured in IDE mode, a second IDE controller will be installed in addition to the pre-existing one:

1.png

 

- if the system is configured in AHCI mode (and thus only a SATA/AHCI controller is present) an IDE controller will be installed. So you will have two SATA controllers: the AHCI one where the boot disk is usually connected and the IDE one where GPT disks can be connected (the images are in the links above).

So far I have not encountered any imcompatibility between the two controllers.


Asmedia cards with the same ASM1061 chipset but without the "switch" can work only in AHCI mode and are detected by the system only with the installation of the asmedia drivers. For recognition of GPT disks these cards need the disk.sys and partmgr.sys drivers from Win2003 with which file corruption occurs when the 2TB limit of data written to disk is exceeded. Such data corruption occurs even without having installed any PAE patches in the system.


As a last note: only two GPT disks connected to the ASM1061 board seem to work simultaneously even though there are four sata ports available.
This is confirmed by the datasheet of the ASM1061:

https://www.asmedia.com.tw/product/77BYq58SX3HyepH7/58dYQ8bxZ4UR9wG5

I finally understood it after reading more slowly :D. Now I understand the reason for using a SATA card.
The switch must be set to "no boot" mode or "IDE Boot" for allow recognition of GPT disks with the Paragon GPT Loader v8.0.1.0 driver in an XP system with others hard disks configured in AHCI mode.
I only use IDE mode and that's why I didn't understand it. I did tests with AHCI years ago and didn't find any advantage. But well, that's another discussion.

Posted

@Cixert

my latest board that allows the IDE mode option to be set in the bios is a Haswell Q87 mobo.

On my later motherboards this option is no longer available.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...