Win7 and large drives
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Win7 and large drives
Is there a way to use larger than 2TB drives as the boot drive?
I've read all manner of shit online that says yes, but none of it works.
Converted new 4TB SSD to gpt, switched boot mode from BIOS to UEFI. Windows installation DVD hangs.
Fuck.
I've read all manner of shit online that says yes, but none of it works.
Converted new 4TB SSD to gpt, switched boot mode from BIOS to UEFI. Windows installation DVD hangs.
Fuck.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
Does your motherboard support UEFI? Not all do (did). My currently windows 7 desktop that I use as a network server does not.
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/check-if-uefi-or-bios
That's probably a dumb question but that's the best I can come up with.
Sometimes putting your computer in the freezer for 24 hours prior to setup helps also.
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/check-if-uefi-or-bios
That's probably a dumb question but that's the best I can come up with.
Sometimes putting your computer in the freezer for 24 hours prior to setup helps also.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
I don't know for sure, but since it is an option on the advanced boot menu under 'system' I'm assuming it is. Thanks for the linky, I'll check it out and let you know.
As for freezing the computer, it's been freezing enough all by itself as soon as the installation DVD hits the 'Starting Windows' splash screen!
Thanks Rob.
As for freezing the computer, it's been freezing enough all by itself as soon as the installation DVD hits the 'Starting Windows' splash screen!

Thanks Rob.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
Doc_X in 3...2...1...
"You did NOT see graphite! Now go get a Mac."
"You did NOT see graphite! Now go get a Mac."
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Re: Win7 and large drives
Of course! But most of what consumed my old 1TB drive was music files, a significant portion of which are HD files. Big fuckers, but they sure sound good. Particularly those that were recorded and mastered in HD. There are some notable remasters. Sgt. Peppers being one of them. CD release sounds anemic compared to the HD release. All of the Steely Dan/Donald Fagan stuff too. Way cleaner.
But I digress: Old drive was as noted, 1TB and it was damned near full. When it died, I stupidly ordered a 4TB SSD not thinking that there would be a problem with doing a clean install of Win7 Ultimate x64. But alas, there is. Maximum drive size under legacy BIOS is 2TB. One must jump through flaming hoops and have a UEFI capable motherboard.
OK, so far so good I said. Until I jumped through all those hoops (there's one about converting the drive from MBR to GPT) and then the fucking Win7 installation program hangs at startup. Missing a step here, but I'll be damned If I can find it on the interwebz.
Fuck.
But I digress: Old drive was as noted, 1TB and it was damned near full. When it died, I stupidly ordered a 4TB SSD not thinking that there would be a problem with doing a clean install of Win7 Ultimate x64. But alas, there is. Maximum drive size under legacy BIOS is 2TB. One must jump through flaming hoops and have a UEFI capable motherboard.
OK, so far so good I said. Until I jumped through all those hoops (there's one about converting the drive from MBR to GPT) and then the fucking Win7 installation program hangs at startup. Missing a step here, but I'll be damned If I can find it on the interwebz.
Fuck.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
Hmmm… Tentative suggestions:

- Partition the drive and give Windows 7 ~ 100 – 200 GB. (On my desktop W10 + some stupid programs who absolutely want to be in the "Programs" folder take up 54 GB.)
- Ditch W7, your problem proves it's time.
- Install W10, then:
- either uninstall it and let W7 take its place, hoping it has cleaned up the UEFI mess;
- or install W7 side by side (you'll soon notice which OS you really prefer).

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Re: Win7 and large drives
The file I need is bootx64.efi. This is the piece of shit missing from Win7 install DVDs. And if you copy that to just the right spot in an installation ISO on a USB drive, all should be fine.
Try searching for that fucking file. The shit that turns up in a search is truly mind boggling.
Thanks anyway. I believe I've had enough for one day.
Try searching for that fucking file. The shit that turns up in a search is truly mind boggling.
Thanks anyway. I believe I've had enough for one day.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
Can't you just save yourself a load of headaches and upgrade to Win10?
Shit happens. The older you get, the more often shit happens. So you have to try not to give a shit even when you do. Because, if you give too many shits, you've created your own shit creek and there's no way out other than swimming through the shit. Oh, and fuck.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
I kind of get why someone wouldn't want to upgrade. My home server is Win7 and I don't want to upgrade it because it's set up exactly the way I want, it was extremely stable, and upgrading will almost certainly break something. I personally think upgrading would be more of a headache than not.asthmatic camel wrote: ↑Sun Feb 09, 2020 9:03 am Can't you just save yourself a load of headaches and upgrade to Win10?
I remember years ago looking into getting a >2tb drive for that server but for the life I me I can't remember why. Is there a valid reason?
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Re: Win7 and large drives
Yep. But I loathe Win10.asthmatic camel wrote: ↑Sun Feb 09, 2020 9:03 am Can't you just save yourself a load of headaches and upgrade to Win10?
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Re: Win7 and large drives
Double post.
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Re: Win7 and large drives

Depends on your definition of 'valid'. 2TB SSD IS 300 bucks. 4TB is just under 600. (WD Red).Rob Lister wrote: ↑Sun Feb 09, 2020 11:54 amI kind of get why someone wouldn't want to upgrade. My home server is Win7 and I don't want to upgrade it because it's set up exactly the way I want, it was extremely stable, and upgrading will almost certainly break something. I personally think upgrading would be more of a headache than not.asthmatic camel wrote: ↑Sun Feb 09, 2020 9:03 am Can't you just save yourself a load of headaches and upgrade to Win10?
I remember years ago looking into getting a >2tb drive for that server but for the life I me I can't remember why. Is there a valid reason?
If you're going to do something, do it right.

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Re: Win7 and large drives
Nope. BIOS won't deal with a boot disk larger than 2TB. Partitions cannot add up to more than that, all additional space remains unallocated.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
I have that on my system in several places. Which one you want.sparks wrote: ↑Fri Feb 07, 2020 10:28 pm The file I need is bootx64.efi. This is the piece of shit missing from Win7 install DVDs. And if you copy that to just the right spot in an installation ISO on a USB drive, all should be fine.
Try searching for that fucking file. The shit that turns up in a search is truly mind boggling.
Thanks anyway. I believe I've had enough for one day.

The flash of light you saw in the sky was not a UFO. Swamp gas from a weather balloon was trapped in a thermal pocket and reflected the light from Venus.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
I'm surprised to see 4 files with the same name but different sizes. No idea if any of them will solve the issue.
Send all four if it's not too much trouble. I'll try them all if necessary.
Send all four if it's not too much trouble. I'll try them all if necessary.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
So that thingy is just a file – I thought it was a tool to make a boot sector.
I have one too on my laptop (83 kB), but that's just because I installed Ubuntu into W10.
Where did you get the hint that it was missing? There is no such file in the W7 ISO I downloaded ~ 5 years ago, and Microsoft's instructions seem to imply that the only problems could come from outdated drivers for the storage controllers.
Does your machine have outdated drivers, sparks?
I have one too on my laptop (83 kB), but that's just because I installed Ubuntu into W10.

Where did you get the hint that it was missing? There is no such file in the W7 ISO I downloaded ~ 5 years ago, and Microsoft's instructions seem to imply that the only problems could come from outdated drivers for the storage controllers.
Does your machine have outdated drivers, sparks?

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Re: Win7 and large drives
It's possible, but two tidbits of info online indicate the file is necessary to load an ISO, and isn't included in the DVD or ISO from MS.
Bastards.
They rig their shit to install only under BIOS, which limits drive space. Whereas UEFI does not. I believe W10 doesn't have this issue, but as mentioned earlier, I don't care for 10 because of all the bloatware and sharing of my goat porn collection...
Bastards.

They rig their shit to install only under BIOS, which limits drive space. Whereas UEFI does not. I believe W10 doesn't have this issue, but as mentioned earlier, I don't care for 10 because of all the bloatware and sharing of my goat porn collection...
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Re: Win7 and large drives
I agree. It really ain't all that bad. It does have some lock-in quirks that irk me but they're not overwhelming. It's certainly more stable than Win7, fucked-to-hell updates withstanding.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
Specifically?
Had no problems for quite some time now. But then it can be pretty machine dependent.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
Specifically, one-drive always reminding me it exists, even after I delete it. Inability to delete I.E. and it constantly deciding I need it; opening on startup for example. Power management, wifi settings, network settings, etc, constantly reverting from settings I explicitly make, games (links really) constantly showing back up in my start menu even after I explicitly delete them. Other shit. Yada. A lot of little shit that's easy to fix, for a while, until it unfixes itself. It's more irksome than a pain.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
Weird. Never had any of your problems. WiFi was dead/flaky after an update, but works splendidly since I reverted to the W8 driver.
Have you tried uninstalling stuff with Powershell instead of the Windows applet? Or used a dedicated tool which also scrubs the registry and remaining files?
Have you tried uninstalling stuff with Powershell instead of the Windows applet? Or used a dedicated tool which also scrubs the registry and remaining files?
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Re: Win7 and large drives
Is there a way to make everything go away except calculator and settings and never, ever come back? 

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Re: Win7 and large drives
I've tried various stuff across various laptops. But mostly I've resigned to just put up with it.Witness wrote: ↑Tue Feb 11, 2020 12:15 am Weird. Never had any of your problems. WiFi was dead/flaky after an update, but works splendidly since I reverted to the W8 driver.
Have you tried uninstalling stuff with Powershell instead of the Windows applet? Or used a dedicated tool which also scrubs the registry and remaining files?
Probably, with some exceptions (like IE) The question really becomes, is it worth bothering, other than as a matter of principle. An example of 'principle' would be making the mistake of installing adobe cloud, trying to uninstall it, and then spending a full day getting all its hooks and tentacles it put every-fucking-where. It had to be done as a matter of principle, but it weren't pretty.sparks wrote:Is there a way to make everything go away except calculator and settings and never, ever come back?
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Re: Win7 and large drives
↑ Getting older we are getting wiser. More wise than old, I hope.
With my first laptop came a "free" Norton security CD, which I naively installed. Tried to get rid of it after the requisite 30 days trial when it started nagging me. Oh boy!
But it was a matter of principle for me too.
Now the real question is: what will sparks do?!?

With my first laptop came a "free" Norton security CD, which I naively installed. Tried to get rid of it after the requisite 30 days trial when it started nagging me. Oh boy!
But it was a matter of principle for me too.
Now the real question is: what will sparks do?!?

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Re: Win7 and large drives
If I can't make the large drive work, I'll get a 2TB and reload Win7 and rebuild from there.
Haven't given up on loading Win7 on a UEFI system just yet.
Haven't given up on loading Win7 on a UEFI system just yet.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
Too late now that you've bought the drive, but I use a 500 GB SSD for Windoze, programs and work in progress and three old style 1 terabyte slaves for storage/backups. Works out a lot cheaper with little noticeable difference in speed.
Shit happens. The older you get, the more often shit happens. So you have to try not to give a shit even when you do. Because, if you give too many shits, you've created your own shit creek and there's no way out other than swimming through the shit. Oh, and fuck.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
Yes, but I'm a psychotic purist AC.
"I MUST HAVE TEH ABSOLUTE POWAH...because...it makes me feel all tingly and such!!!"
I'd planned on dividing up the 4TB drive much like you've described your setup: 500GB for C: System and the rest for D: GoatPornz
"I MUST HAVE TEH ABSOLUTE POWAH...because...it makes me feel all tingly and such!!!"
I'd planned on dividing up the 4TB drive much like you've described your setup: 500GB for C: System and the rest for D: GoatPornz
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Re: Win7 and large drives
↑ That's what I would try. Install W7 in a small partition then let it work its magic as MS describes it in the link I posted to get full access.
BTW, 500 GB for the system seems a lot: on my desktop W10 lives happily in 128, using up 54 as of today. (Being contrarian I moved documents and software elsewhere so as to leave it alone as much as possible. And Microsoft's pre-installed folders piss me off as I organize things differently.)
Now pounce on that thing!
BTW, 500 GB for the system seems a lot: on my desktop W10 lives happily in 128, using up 54 as of today. (Being contrarian I moved documents and software elsewhere so as to leave it alone as much as possible. And Microsoft's pre-installed folders piss me off as I organize things differently.)
Now pounce on that thing!

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Re: Win7 and large drives
Well, two issues here. First is under BIOS, the installation will run normally but total (and this is all you can partition) is limited to 2Tb.
Second is after jumping through all the hoops to boot UEFI, the installation (dvd or iso) hangs when Windoze starts.
Second is after jumping through all the hoops to boot UEFI, the installation (dvd or iso) hangs when Windoze starts.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
By way of putting a stake through the heart of this thread, let me report that I gave up on my efforts to use a large (4TB) drive with Win7.
Installed a 2TB drive under the usual BIOS bullshit so I could get the thing back up and running.
Oh, and fuck.
Installed a 2TB drive under the usual BIOS bullshit so I could get the thing back up and running.
Oh, and fuck.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
Not all bad. 2TB drive is also an SSD. From power on to ready in about 3 seconds. Fucking amazing.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
Yup, sure makes a big difference!
Shit happens. The older you get, the more often shit happens. So you have to try not to give a shit even when you do. Because, if you give too many shits, you've created your own shit creek and there's no way out other than swimming through the shit. Oh, and fuck.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
No, I can still enter the bios, but fuck oh dear, one has to be standing by to do so or you'll find yourself powering off then back on again.
And what does that sound like?
That, BTW is a Revox A-77 tape deck. Seen a lot of those in smaller market radio ranches. Not a bad machine, but not pro-grade either.
And what does that sound like?
That, BTW is a Revox A-77 tape deck. Seen a lot of those in smaller market radio ranches. Not a bad machine, but not pro-grade either.
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Re: Win7 and large drives
Put a full system restore into your startup?
"If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight! Sun Tzu said that, and I'd say he knows a little bit more about fighting than you do, pal, because he invented it, and then he perfected it so that no living man could best him in the ring of honor. Then, he used his fight money to buy two of every animal on earth, and then he herded them onto a boat, and then he beat the crap out of every single one. And from that day forward any time a bunch of animals are together in one place it's called a zoo! (Beat) Unless it's a farm!"
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Re: Win7 and large drives
Wait, you need to be able to use the machine. Put it into shutdown scripts.
"If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight! Sun Tzu said that, and I'd say he knows a little bit more about fighting than you do, pal, because he invented it, and then he perfected it so that no living man could best him in the ring of honor. Then, he used his fight money to buy two of every animal on earth, and then he herded them onto a boat, and then he beat the crap out of every single one. And from that day forward any time a bunch of animals are together in one place it's called a zoo! (Beat) Unless it's a farm!"
--Soldier, TF2
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