F5F Stay Refreshed Hardware Desktop 4TB drive compatible with Windows operating system.

4TB drive compatible with Windows operating system.

4TB drive compatible with Windows operating system.

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scooter_melvin
Junior Member
19
02-20-2016, 06:07 AM
#1
Hi everyone, thanks for reaching out. I just added a 4TB M.2 and am trying to set up Windows fresh on it. Only 2TB are recognized, with the rest staying unallocated. From what I found online, this is likely because the drive isn’t GPT formatted, but I can’t format it as GPT while it’s the only boot drive. Is there a clear way to handle a large drive as the boot device without formatting it? Could I still install Windows after formatting it as GPT somehow? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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scooter_melvin
02-20-2016, 06:07 AM #1

Hi everyone, thanks for reaching out. I just added a 4TB M.2 and am trying to set up Windows fresh on it. Only 2TB are recognized, with the rest staying unallocated. From what I found online, this is likely because the drive isn’t GPT formatted, but I can’t format it as GPT while it’s the only boot drive. Is there a clear way to handle a large drive as the boot device without formatting it? Could I still install Windows after formatting it as GPT somehow? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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Elia1153
Member
217
02-21-2016, 01:56 PM
#2
Check the type of BIOS your system uses—UEFI or legacy BIOS—to ensure Windows can create GPT correctly.
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Elia1153
02-21-2016, 01:56 PM #2

Check the type of BIOS your system uses—UEFI or legacy BIOS—to ensure Windows can create GPT correctly.

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Fabi201206
Member
55
02-24-2016, 07:20 AM
#3
Yes, you can configure MB for UEFI exclusively while keeping a legacy installer available on the USB drive. Both the USB installer and the legacy version should be in UEFI format.
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Fabi201206
02-24-2016, 07:20 AM #3

Yes, you can configure MB for UEFI exclusively while keeping a legacy installer available on the USB drive. Both the USB installer and the legacy version should be in UEFI format.

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119
02-26-2016, 12:39 AM
#4
Another thought is that you might not need it as a 4TB storage device. You could split it so Windows gets around 120-200GB and keep the rest as a different partition for all your files. This way, if you ever have to reinstall Windows, it won’t interfere with your data, and it simplifies organizing and backing up your information.
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BlackEagles259
02-26-2016, 12:39 AM #4

Another thought is that you might not need it as a 4TB storage device. You could split it so Windows gets around 120-200GB and keep the rest as a different partition for all your files. This way, if you ever have to reinstall Windows, it won’t interfere with your data, and it simplifies organizing and backing up your information.