2026-03-08

How do I determine what type of hard drive you have?

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM04 mins

Hard Drive Type The following methods can help determine what kind of hard disk you have inside your computer.

1. Seatools For Windows

Seatools for Windows can detect all hard drives connected to your computer.

2. Device Manager

a) Users running Microsoft 2000, XP, or Vista

Microsoft Windows users can easily determine the type of hard drive that is currently installed in their computer by following the below steps.

  1. Right click on “My Computer”.
  2. Select “Manage”.
  3. Click on “Device Manager” in the list on the left.
  4. Select the “Disk Drives” entry.

Note: This will not show the serial number of the drive, just the model number.

Hard Drive Type

b) Users running Apple’s Mac OS X

Follow these steps to open Disk Utility.

  1. Open a Finder window
  2. Open “Applications” (if necessary).
  3. Open “Utilities”.
  4. Once Disk Utility is open, it will show all of the connected hard drives on the left. It will show capacity and model number.

Hard Drive Type

c) IBM-compatible users

Users of IBM-compatible machines can usually enter the computer’s CMOS to view additional information about their hard disk drive. Commonly, the CMOS will list the drive’s serial number and/or model number, cylinders, heads, sectors, and/or the size of the drive.

If the CMOS is not configured to auto-detect the drive, it is important to note that the drive values may not be correct. All modern drives should be set for automatic detection.

3. Disk utilities

Many disk utilities designed to setup the hard disk drive will properly detect and setup a drive; in addition, they may also provide the user with some basic additional information about the drive.

For example, using the FDISK utility, you can display additional information about the size of the hard drive and partition information.

4. Other methods of determining the type of hard disk drive

One of the best methods for determining additional information about a hard drive is to check the sticker or label on the drive’s top.  The majority of hard drive labels will list not only the RPM of the hard drive but other useful information, usually including the model, kit, serial, and/or part number(s).  Turn off the computer and physically open it to see if this information is visible on the drive label.  If you are unable to locate the information you need through software, it is recommended you open the case and remove the drive to get the information you need.

Determining the speed or RPM of a hard disk drive

To determine the speed or RPM of a hard drive, you must first determine the manufacturer and model of the drive. Once you’ve determined this information, you can lookup the drive on the manufacturer’s website to determine its RPM.

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FAT 32 File System Frequently Asked Questions

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM08 mins

FAT32 File System Microsoft’s FAT32 File System

Windows 95 OSR2 provides an updated version of the File Allocation Table file system called FAT32. This updated file system allows for a default cluster size as small as 4K, as well as support for EIDE hard disc sizes in excess of 2 Gbytes. FAT32 provides many enhancements over previous implementations of the FAT file system.

Cluster & Partition Sizes

FAT32 supports drives up to 2 terabytes in size. FAT32 uses smaller clusters (that is, 4K clusters for drives up to 8 Gbytes in size), resulting in 10 to15 percent more efficient use of disc space relative to large FAT16 partitions. FAT32 will only work on 512 Mbytes and larger drives. Microsoft’s bundled disc tools (Format, FDISK, Defrag, and MS-DOS based ScanDisk) have been revised to work with FAT32.

Note: Please backup all data.

1. QUESTION
When I try to format a FAT32 file system partition larger than 8025 Mbytes from within Windows 95, I receive the following error:

Verifying xxx.xx M
Invalid media or track 0 bad-disk unusable
Format terminated

REASON
This error occurs if there is a non-DOS partition preceding the extended DOS partition and the primary DOS partition has been formatted using the real-mode FORMAT.EXE command.

SOLUTION

  1. Click the “Start” button, click “Shut Down”, click “Restart The Computer In MS- DOS Mode”, and then click “Yes”.
  2. Type format c: (where c is the drive letter for the partition you want to format), and press >ENTER>.
  3. When the format is complete, type exit and press ENTER to restart Windows 95.

2. QUESTION
When I try to partition a drive that is larger than 8 Gbytes in size, the maximum partition size is still 8 Gbytes.

REASON
This can occur if the hard disc controller does not fully support the interrupt 13 extensions. In order for a hard disc that is both larger than 8 Gbytes and using the FAT32 file system to be fully addressed, it must support interrupt 13 extensions. The file IO.SYS tests for the presence of interrupt 13 extensions, and if they are not found, uses the default CHS LBA limit of 7.9 Gbytes. This information applies to both ATA and SCSI hard disc drives.

SOLUTION
Contact the drive controller’s manufacturer for information about a possible BIOS upgrade to a version of the BIOS that fully supports interrupt 13 extensions.

3. QUESTION
When I check in FDISK to see if my partition is FAT32, it only shows FAT16. How do I get my drive to be partitioned in FAT32?

REASON

  1. You are either using the real-mode FDISK, which does not contain the “enable large disk support” prompt, or you did not answer “y” for yes to “enable large disk support”; or
  2. The drive you are attempting to partition with FAT32 is smaller than 512 Mbytes.

SOLUTION
Run the FDISK tool which came with OSR2 on a system with a drive over 512 Mbytes. FDISK will ask whether you wish to enable large disc support. If you answer Yes, any partition you create larger than 512 Mbytes is marked as a FAT32 partition.

4. QUESTION
When I try to dual-boot Windows version 3.x on a computer running Windows OSR2, I receive one of the following error messages:

  • This version of Windows does not run on MS-DOS 6.x or earlier.
  • You started your computer with a version of MS-DOS incompatible with this version of Windows. Insert a Startup diskette matching this version of Windows and then restart.
  • The system has been halted. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to restart your computer.
  • This version of Windows cannot be run on this version of DOS.

REASON
Starting with OSR2, dual-booting Windows 3.x is not supported in Windows 95.

SOLUTION
To dual-boot between Windows 3.x and Windows 95, install the retail version of Windows 95. If you have FAT32 partitions, remove them and create a FAT16 partition with the Windows 95 or MS-DOS 6.x version of FDISK.EXE.

Neither MS-DOS 6.x nor the retail version of Windows 95 will recognize a FAT32 volume. Windows 3.x was designed to use the FAT12 and FAT16 file systems. It could potentially damage a FAT32 volume.

5. QUESTION
When I try to compress my drive with DriveSpace or DriveSpace 3, I get the following error:

Drive C cannot be compressed because it is a FAT32 drive.

REASON
DriveSpace was designed to work with the FAT12 and FAT16 file systems and cannot be used with drives using the FAT32 file system.

SOLUTION
None at this time.

6. QUESTION
When I try to defragment a FAT32 partition, I receive the following error:

Windows cannot defragment this drive. Make sure the disk is formatted and free of errors. Then try defragmenting the drive again.

REASON
This can be caused by running an earlier version of DEFRAG.EXE than the version included with OSR2.

SOLUTION
Extract a new copy of the DEFRAG.EXE file from your original OSR2 CD-ROM or discs. For additional information about how to extract or obtain the OSR2 version of DEFRAG.EXE, contact you OEM vendor or Microsoft technical support.

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