Octek has updated all BIOSes to support 48-bit LBA since 2002 (Code 2K300 or later); however, in order to properly access the full capacity of an ATA interface hard drive larger than 137GB, your system must meet the system requirements described below. There are three general methods of support:

1) Operating System Solutions for Windows XP and Windows 2000
2) Ultra ATA/133 PCI Controller Card for Windows XP, 2000, Me, 98SE and NT 4.x
3) Intel Chipset Solutions for Windows Me, 98SE and NT 4.x (partial)

1) Operating System Solutions for Windows XP and 2000

The only current Windows operating systems that natively support the full capacity of ATA drives larger than 137GB are:
 

• Windows XP Home Service Pack 1 (SP1) or higher
• Windows XP Professional SP1 or higher
• Windows 2000 Professional SP3 or higher
• Windows 2000 Server SP3 or higher

The original Windows XP (RTM or Release to Manufacturing) and previous Windows 2000 Service Packs do not support ATA interface disc drives larger than 137GB.
 

Note: When building a new system, some motherboards may provide new ATA or ATAPI disk device drivers that are optimized for the OEM system. The Windows XP or Windows 2000 operating system installation will pause briefly and ask for you to insert an OEM floppy diskette. This pause for new "adapter" drivers happens soon after the boot near the beginning of the installation. See your system documentation for specifics. These drivers may have 137GB limitations. Be sure to check for driver updates. Even with new device drivers, the latest Service Pack from Microsoft  must be installed to ensure support for large drives. If this is the only drive in your system and your version of Windows predates the Service Packs listed above, initially, you may still need to limit the maximum partition size to 137GB. Then to download the latest Service Pack for Windows XP or 2000, visit http://support.microsoft.com. See also the http://support.microsoft.com  Knowledgebase articles that explain how to enable  large drive support after the Service Packs are installed. For Windows XP SP1 see article Q303013:"How to  Enable 48-bit Logical Block Addressing Support for ATAPI Disk Drives in Windows XP". For Windows 2000 SP3 see  article Q305098:"48-bit LBA Support for ATAPI Disk Drives in Windows 2000".

If you intend to install a new hard disc drive and also upgrade an older version of Windows to Windows XP SP1 or Windows 2000 SP3, the preferred approach is to do the OS upgrade prior to installing the hard drive.
 

If you do not have one of the operating systems listed above, we recommend that you limit  the partition size to 137GB or upgrade your operating system or try one of the solutions listed below.
 

2) Ultra ATA/133 PCI Controller Card for Windows XP, 2000, Me, 98SE and NT 4.x (partial)

One of the easiest solutions is using an Ultra ATA/133 PCI controller card (host adapter) that is fully compatible with all capacities of  ATA hard drives. Be sure to verify that the controller card in fact breaks the 137GB barrier. You should contact or visit your controller card manufacturer's website to see if they have information about the 137GB Windows operating system limitation and drivers available for your operating system.

Some system BIOS do not support booting to drives attached to alternate adapters, so you may only be able to use the drive as additional storage and not as the boot drive.

Note: Controller card manufacturers may provide new ATA or ATAPI disk device drivers that are optimized for the controller. The Windows XP or Windows 2000 operating system installation will pause briefly and ask for you to insert an OEM floppy diskette. This pause for new "adapter" drivers happens soon after the boot near the beginning of the
installation. See your controller card documentation for specifics. These drivers may have 137GB limitations. Be sure to check for driver updates.

3) Intel Chipset Solutions for Windows Me, 98SE and NT 4.x (partial)
 

Intel offers drivers to support the full capacity of drives larger than 137 GB on motherboards equipped with the Intel 810, 810E, 810E2, 815, 815, 815E, 815EP, 815P, 820, 820E, 830M, 830MP, 830MG, 840, 845, 850, or 860 chipset. The Intel Application Accelerator v2.3 or above is compatible with Windows XP, Me, 2000, 98SE and NT operating systems. Detailed information and the latest version of the driver can be downloaded from www.intel.com/support/chipsets/iaa/.

If you are not sure what kind of chipset your motherboard has, contact your system or motherboard manufacturer. See the section below titled Chipset Identification.

Caution: If your system boot drive uses a drive overlay program (DDO) to overcome a previous BIOS capacity limitation (such as Disk Manager or DiscWizard and identifiable as a blue banner box before the operating system loads), then the Intel Application Accelerator is incompatible with your system. If you have this configuration, the Ultra ATA controller card is the only solution for these operating systems.

Motherboards and PCI ATA cards equipped with VIA, SiS, ALi, NVIDIA, HighPoint, and Promise chipsets may have drivers or updates that will allow you to access the full capacity of a drive larger than 137GB. You should contact or visit your chipset, system or motherboard manufacturer's website to see if they have information and 48-bit addressing drivers for the Windows operating systems.
 

If chipset and operating system device drivers are not available, you could consider the purchase of an Ultra ATA/133 PCI Controller Card, available from most retail and online computer stores. Otherwise, if you plan to upgrade to an operating system that has native support of 48-bit addressing, the drive could be prepared up to 137GB with the remaining capacity added later.