drive size

Sometimes it’s necessary to use the SeaTools for DOS software to get the drive back to its native capacity.  For example, if the drive is showing up as a smaller capacity in the BIOS (i.e. 137GB or 32GB) and it’s a computer that should support a drive that large, then this would be a time to set the drive size.

Once booted from the SeaTools for DOS disk the computer should be at screen with a license agreement.

1. Click “I agree” to the license agreement.
2. Now choose which drive to set the size of.  Look at the bottom portion of the window to see what drives are listed and what device number they are.  You can see what device is selected by looking in the middle of the screen.  The model number of the drive currently selected is displayed here.  If this is not the current drive click the “D – Drive” button in the upper left until you see the drive you want to test displayed in the middle of the screen.
3. Click “C – Set Capacity” at the top of the screen.
4. Click the “R – Reset to Maximum” button.

If you get an OK message in white in the middle of the screen then the process was successful.  Power off the computer for a few seconds and check in the BIOS to check the capacity of the drive again.

If there was a message in red, then this was an error.  Make sure the drive is connected directly to the motherboard and not to a third-party controller card.  If the drive is on a controller card then it’s possible that the set drive size command may not work.  Once it’s connected directly try to go through this procedure again.

Another option is to try a quick zero-fill from the main menu and then to try a C – Set Capacity again.