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bejhan

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3 TB hard drive only showing ~700 GB

I just bought a 3 TB Seagate Barracuda and threw in it an external enclosure. I connected it to my Windows 7 laptop for initialization. However, it only shows 746 GB of unallocated space.

I used GPT format when prompted.

I had no problems with my 2 TB external hard drive on the same machine.

Is this a defective hard drive or am I missing something?
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Run5k
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Not an uncommon question.  Take a look at the solution we devised within this previous discussion:

https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/27507936/Win-7-Unable-to-see-3TB-drive.html
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bejhan

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I've created a GParted Live USB and booted into it.

I believe the solution you are referencing is:
"Try zeroing out the first 1k (Boot sector) of the drive."

How do I go about doing this with GParted?
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Member_2_231077

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Is this an "Advanced Format" drive with 2K or 4K-sized sectors? If so, it appears that the enclosure is mistaking the sector size for 512B. Remove the drive from the enclosure and re-initialize it.
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ASKER

I tried the enclosure's eSATA port. and the entire size was recognized!
I suppose that indicates that the eSATA to USB driver was the problem?

I would also like to have the drive work with USB. Does this mean I need a new enclosure?
There's probably a replacement USB driver on enclosure manufacturer's site.
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The enclosure I'm using is a Velocity Elite Series which seems to be made by Memory Express which is a computer parts sales store. I can't seem to find any product support on their website http://www.memoryexpress.com.