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Seagate Hard Drive... 320GB only showing as 137GB

OK... my G4 imac 20"flat screen has a rather full 80GB hard drive. I currently use an external Lacie 250GB.
Now I have purchased a Seagate Barracuda 320GB to install as my internal.

In order to install it... I have opted to stick it and external Firewire case... clone the drive and then swap them over.

My problem is that is only showing as 128BG (137GB)... not 320GB.
I have attached it to my laptop and that is also showing the limitation.

I can see no reason for this... read similar posts and nobody seems to have this issue.
Could it be the external unit thats causing the limitation?
Would it become 320GB after installation?
Would i have to install it first as an internal to get it to be 320GB...

any ideas happily received!!!

G4 iMac 20 1.25ghz / G4 iBook 14 1.33ghz, Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Posted on Apr 5, 2007 8:38 AM

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11 replies

Apr 5, 2007 9:15 AM in response to gagsy

There are a couple of possible explanations. First, check the jumpers on the drive. They should be set so that the drive is configured to be MASTER. There may also be a jumper on the drive that limits the drive's capacity for use in PCs. If the jumper is set you need to configure it for full capacity.

You may simply need to re-partition the drive. Do the following:

Extended Hard Drive Preparation

1. Open Disk Utility

2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.

3. Set the number of partitions from the dropdown menu (use 1 partition unless you wish to make more.) Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled, if supported.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the volume(s) mount on the Desktop.

4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.

5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled, if supported.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.

6. Click on the Erase button. The format process will take 30 minutes to an hour or more depending upon the drive size.




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Apr 5, 2007 11:19 AM in response to Kappy

Hey Kappy
I tried with the jumpers set to master and then to cable... (any other jumper setting and it don't show up).
I zero'd it out and it still came back as 128GB...

I read somewhere else that maybe the external case might have a limit if its beyond a certain age.

I guess the next step is just to install it into the imac and see what it sees!

any idea what would happen if I clone my existing drive onto the 128GB... then install it... would the missing space appear or screw me up!!!

Apr 5, 2007 11:26 AM in response to gagsy

How old is the enclosure you are using? You may need a new enclosure. Or perhaps you should put the new drive in the computer and the old drive in the enclosure. You can boot from the old drive (if it's Firewire) and clone to the new one. You can try partitioning the new drive after installing it in the computer.

Apr 6, 2007 8:38 AM in response to gagsy

Right... so I put the new hard drive in the iMac... the whole job took about an hour... pretty simple.
Then I booted from the external drive (loaded with the original internal - which was also a Seagate).
It was recognised as 320GB. I then cloned the disks using SuperDuper!
This took a few hours whilst I slept!!!

cheers...

Apr 6, 2007 10:10 AM in response to Kappy

I, too, have a 320GB Seagate barracuda drive (7200.10) that is only showing up as 137GB (128.0 GB PI-010V2) in disk utility. I've put this drive in two different enclosures (one 4 years old and one 3 years old), testing each on two computers (Intel iMac 10.4.9 and PowerMac G4 10.3.9). The drive always shows up as 128.0GB.

Here's the kicker, though, and why my question is still relevant, even though the original poster's problem has been solved. Using the same enclosure on the same computers, a Maxtor 200GB drive shows up at 190GB no problem, and even 4 separate Seagate 500GB Seagate barracuda drives (7200.10) work just fine and show up as 465GB on both computers. That's the part that really confuses me, given the similarity between the 320GB and 500GB.

I did start zeroing the "128.0GB" (320GB) drive, so we'll see how that works. I don't expect it to do anything, though, since, while the volume disappears during zeroing, the drive still remains listed in Disk Utility as 128.0GB.

Is it all possible that the drive could be damaged? If so, it's quite the coincidence that I'm left with exactly the same amount as the barrier.

I'm simply flummuxed.
Any ideas?
Thanks much.

2.16 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Seagate Hard Drive... 320GB only showing as 137GB

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