# Fdisk **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 18, 2003, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdisk/176068 "2003-05-18T16:48:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Flying\_Monk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/48db29/32.png) [@Flying\_Monk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Monk)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdisk/176068/1 "2003-05-18T16:48:37Z")
I built my stepdaughter a computer a while back, only to discover she could only use 2 gigs of her 13.6 gig hard drive. Somehow I accidently set it for FAT16 instead of FAT32. I’m trying to fix it now; I try to remove the partition & it tells me “Could not change partition, because the disk can not be locked”. Huh? How do I fix this? ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdisk/176068/2 "2003-05-18T16:57:00Z")
I forget, buy type ‘lock’ or ‘unlock’ at a DOS command prompt. Follow the instructions. If it’s not ‘lock’, it’s ‘unlock’ for sure. GL. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdisk/176068/3 "2003-05-18T17:00:35Z")
Well, you’ve got two problems there. The first problem is _either_ your BIOS cannot support large drives, or you’ve got your primary partion set at 2 gigs somehow. To fix the first possiblity you’ll need a drive overlay to support the full capacity of your drive. They’re usually provbided with the drive, or you can go to the drive manufacturer’s website and download it there. To fix the second possibility, you need to run FDISK and adjust the partition sizes. The second problem you have is the FAT 16 one. That’s easy to fix. If you’re installing Windows 98 or higher, it has a built-in utility to safely change the FAT from 16 to 32. Some more information on your motherboard, BIOS version and OS will be helpful in providing further assistance to you. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdisk/176068/4 "2003-05-18T21:09:53Z")
I could be wrong, but it sounds like you’re not booting from a bootable floppy but are somehow using the on disk OS to boot in safe mode or a protected mode DOS boot. Trying to Fdisk without a clean floppy boot will generate the error message you described. Make and fdisk from a bootable floppy and the problem should resolve itself. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdisk/176068/5 "2003-05-18T22:29:22Z")
What operating system? ---
**Author:** ![Flying\_Monk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/48db29/32.png) [@Flying\_Monk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Monk)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdisk/176068/6 "2003-05-18T23:42:46Z")
Windows 98SE is the OS, it’s a P2 350 with I think a gigabyte motherboard. I tried running the FAT32 converter, it’s saying it’s FAT32 now but it still is only seeing 2 gigs. It’s a Maxtor drive, I’m going to go hunting on their website. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdisk/176068/7 "2003-05-18T23:49:41Z")
If Windows 98SE says its already FAT32 then it’s definitely a limitation of the motherboard. I would also look on the motherboard company’s website to see if there is a BIOS upgrade file. Make sure its for your **exact** M/B model number! If there is you won’t need the hard disk overlay program. And be careful flashing your M/B’s BIOS. If you do it wrong the M/B is essentially junk. ---
**Author:** ![Mort\_Furd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mort\_Furd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mort_Furd)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdisk/176068/8 "2003-05-19T00:16:10Z")
You can’t use fdisk or the FAT32 converter to change the size of an existing partition the way you are going at it. If you must use fdisk, you’ll have to make a bootable floppy with fdisk on it, and boot from the floppy. Now you can delete the existing partitions, and create new ones of whatever size. You’ll have to reboot, and reformat the new partitions - using FAT32. If you didn’t make a backup before you started, you will have lost all of your data. Regardless, you must now reinstall Windows and all of your applications - and put your data back in place from your backup. If don’t want to go through all of that, you will need something like “Partition Magic.” These programs can resize partitions without losing your data or making you reformar and reinstall. I don’t know if there are any freeware or shareware equivalents out there. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdisk/176068/9 "2003-05-19T02:53:05Z")
[GNU parted](http://freshmeat.net/projects/gnuparted/) is a Free Software package that can resize or delete FAT16/FAT32 partitions. There’s a version of it that’s packaged as a bootdisk, so that you can run it without your disk being in use. Before you use it, however, you should be careful to read the instructions carefully, so that you don’t screw anything up. Before using it,however, you should check your BIOS settings, to see what method is being used to address the drive. Most probably, your BIOS is set to use CHS (Cylinder:Head:Sector) addresses, which can only read the first part of the drive. (This should still allow you partioions over 2GB, but check it anyway to see if it’s the problem). If possible, set your BIOS to use LBA32 addresses, which will allow partitions of any size you’re likely to encounter. You should only resort to repartitioning if that doesn’t work - and even then, there are probably other problems with your motherboard, as **Hail Ants** says. ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdisk/176068/10 "2003-05-19T05:41:35Z")
I don’t think it’s the mobo, since all current boards can support very large HDDs. ---
**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdisk/176068/11 "2003-05-19T10:47:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Urban Ranger \* > \*\*I don’t think it’s the mobo, since all current boards can support very large HDDs. \*\* Yes, but the fact that it is a **P2-350** board tells me that it’s not all that current. ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdisk/176068/12 "2003-05-19T12:21:46Z")
A motherboard running a P2-350 should be fine for larger HDs. I have three different 200 mhz sets at home that all have BIOSes with “large disk support”. Go into your bios settings and check that that option is selected. ---
**Author:** ![idol\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/94ad74/32.png) [@idol\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/idol_mind)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdisk/176068/13 "2003-05-19T13:32:07Z")
come on…13.6 gig hard drive? are you kidding me?..how about just throw it away and get yourself something useful. I saw a 120 gig hdd in a bestbuy ad this weekend for like 80 bucks i believe, they’re SO CHEAP just buy a bigger one and start out fresh ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdisk/176068/14 "2003-05-20T14:56:52Z")
The manf install disk for the HD should make it useable on any board. They put a program like Ezbios or something on it. ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdisk/176068/15 "2003-05-20T19:41:50Z")
Grr **idol mind** , that’s pit talking right there… This attitude has become so prevelant on the net that it is almost impossible to get help with fixing stuff sometimes. 1. Not everyone has 80 bucks. 2. Not everyone wants to pay 80 bucks when what they have works fine for them with a little tinkering. 3. The move towards a disposible society is not neccessarily something to be cheered on, there is a huge satisfaction in recycling, reusing, and getting the most out of the stuff you have. \ ---
**Author:** ![Lagged2Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ac8455/32.png) [@Lagged2Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lagged2Death)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdisk/176068/16 "2003-05-20T20:15:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by idol mind \* > \*\*…how about just throw it away and get yourself something useful. I saw a 120 gig hdd in a bestbuy ad this weekend for like 80 bucks i believe, they’re SO CHEAP just buy a bigger one and start out fresh \*\* As one who has from time to time struggled to get cranky old hardware into a useful state again, I can understand very well where this attitude comes from, but there are a couple of problems: 1. A 120 GB disk with 2 GB of useable space isn’t a clear improvement over a 13 GB disk with 2 GB of useable space. 2. A new $80 hard disk may be a bargain, but it’s still $80 more expensive than something that was paid for long ago and is now essentially free. I don’t know the answer to the original problem, I’m afraid, but I have set up 10-20 GB disks in _older_ computers than this one _without_ resorting to BIOS updates or motherboard upgrades. I bet the motherboard and BIOS are both capable of using the full 13 GB disk capacity; sometimes convincing the software of this is way trickier than it should be, though.