Dude, where's my HDD data/partition?

[joelirish]

I just finished my build with a Maximus VI Hero mobo and the Seagate 3 TB HDD that I carried over from previous computer (full build parts list here). Most everything is running well, but I have had a hell of a time getting the computer to recognize my HDD.

Initially, the HDD wasn't recognized at all. Somewhere along the way, it started recognizing an empty partition of 2048gb, but the rest remains "unallocated" (see Disk Management). I believe it is in this unallocated partition where the ~500gb of old data still resides. I have most all of that backed up, so no big loss if I lost it all. Unfortunately, I have tried formatting the entire disk but only the first 2048 will format.

A colleague told me that some default settings on mobos mean just the first two terabytes are used. Can some one tell me

• how to change the BIOS setting to see the full 3TB HDD;
  
• how to allocate the unallocated portion of the drive
  
• and/or just completely format the whole disk so I get a fully-function 3TB HDD?
  

Thanks for your help. Let me know if I can provide any additional details that might help with your responses.

[Myk_SilentShado]

You have a 3TB drive, MBR can only address the first 2TB on it. You'll need to either convert the drive to GPT to use all 3TB as a single drive, or, you can just format the leftover and use it as a 2nd HDD.

To convert the drive to GPT, right click where it says "Disk1" and you should see an option to convert to GPT

Good luck and welcome to the ROG Forums 🙂

[joelirish]

Thanks for the welcoming and suggestions, Myk SilentShadow. I gave both of those a shot, but no good results I am afraid. Here's what I see.

Any other way of doing these? My preference would definitely be the GPT option, because I'd prefer to have just one single drive.

[Zka17]

Does that HDD have the OS on it too from the previous system? That is not a good idea...

Can you go back to the old system, save your data and have a completely fresh install on it?

[joelirish]

Nope, my OS is on the SSD. The HDD is pure storage.

[Zka17]

I see.. well, you still want to back it up before you do that GPT thing...

[joelirish]

I tried backing up the HDD data on the old machine yesterday, but the drive was "inaccessible" or something to that effect. Not a big deal to lose the data, since I do have a somewhat recent backup on an external drive.

So I wouldn't mind doing the format or GPT conversion...if Windows allowed me to do either! Do you think there is any other software that might allow me to wipe this drive clean?

[Myk_SilentShado]

Hey mate, sorry for the delay. What Windows did you install?

Software to convert to GPT without data loss: http://www.disk-partition.com/gpt-mbr/convert-mbr-to-gpt-without-data-loss.html

[joelirish]

Alright, got it converted to GPT and my machine is recognizing the whole drive! Unfortunately, the data was lost, but that may have happened well before the GPT conversion. Anwyay, I'm all good now. Thanks for your help!

[joelirish]

Hmm, not sure how to mark this issue Fixed/Solved...