3TB Hard Drive Shows Only 2TB - How to Break the 2TB Limit and Format 3TB HDD on Windows 11/10

Updated By

Tracy King 

Written By

Linda 

Last Updated on April 19, 2024

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Question: How to fix Windows 11/10 unable to format a 3TB hard drive?

"I have a WD 3TB hard drive that I can't format the extra 700GB of space. When I click on format, it says 'Windows was unable to complete the format.' I've tried everything I could think of, but nothing works. Please help." - A user from Microsoft Community

A lot of users are troubled by the issue where a 3TB hard drive shows only 746GB/750GB or a 3TB hard drive shows up as 2TB, or a 3TB hard drive not showing full capacity on Windows 11/10. When you check the disk capacity in Disk Management, you might see the 3TB hard drive showing up as a 2TB partition, with the remaining space shown as Unallocated, which you cannot use to extend or create a new partition.

Why does my 3TB hard drive only show 2TB?

Why does your hard drive show wrong capacity? That is mainly because your 3TB hard drive is initialized to MBR.

That's probably because of the limitations of the MBR (Master Boot Record) disk. If you check the partition style, you'll find it's MBR instead of GPT (GUID Partition Table).

We have a detailed guide explaining MBR vs GPT. Here, let's take a look at the differences between MBR and GPT disks briefly, and then you'll know why a 3TB hard drive shows only 2TB.

Now, you should be aware that for a 3TB MBR disk, Windows can only recognize the first 2TB, and all the extra storage beyond 2TB is inaccessible. In this case, you can format the 3TB hard drive and convert it to GPT to make full use of all the space. Next, let's see how to convert MBR to GPT without data loss.

How to Fix 3TB Hard Drive Only Showing 2TB and Format a 3TB Hard Drive on Windows 11/10/8/7

To solve the problem of a 3TB hard drive showing as 2TB and format a 3TB hard drive on Windows 11/10/8/7, you can use any of the three methods below to convert an MBR disk to a GPT disk. The first method is the best choice since it doesn't require deleting partitions or data beforehand. The second and third methods need partition deletion before conversion.

[1] Use a Partition Manager to Convert MBR to GPT Without Data Loss

The first method that we strongly recommend you try is using the partition manager - this is an advanced disk management tool that can convert MBR to GPT without deleting any partitions or files.

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Now, download the Partition Master tool and convert MBR to GPT with just a few clicks.

Step 1: Download and run AOMEI Partition Assistant

Step 2. Launch the disk converter, select "MBR to GPT" and click "Next" to proceed.

Step 3. Select the MBR disk that you want to convert to GPT, and click "Convert" to start the conversion.

With partition management software tools, you can also:

• Fix errors like 4TB hard drive showing as 2TB or disk not displaying its full size
• Still easily convert between GPT and MBR disks, i.e., GPT to MBR disk and vice versa
• Resize/move partitions (e.g., move space from D drive to C drive), create, format, delete, and merge partitions
• Copy and clone entire disks to another, even if the target partition is smaller than the source
• Convert primary partitions to logical or vice versa, FAT32 to NTFS partitions, and more
• Migrate OS to SSD for faster Windows upgrades and improved performance on Windows 11/10

2. Convert MBR to GPT to Format 3TB HDD in Disk Management

Windows Disk Management offers disk conversion, but only to empty disks; otherwise, "Convert to GPT disk" will be grayed out. If you have files or partitions on the 3TB drive, back up all your data first.

Step 1. Right-click the Windows button and select “Disk Management.”

Step 2: Right-click the 3TB drive showing the incorrect capacity, and select "Delete Volume..."

Step 3: When the drive appears as “Unallocated,” right-click on it and select “Convert to GPT disk.”

3. Using Diskpart in CMD to Convert a 3TB Disk from MBR to GPT

You'd need to use the Command Prompt to convert the MBR disk to GPT, and this process also deletes all your files and partitions. Thus, back up your data beforehand.

Step 1: Press Win+R, type CMD, and press Enter to open the Command Prompt.

Step 2: Type diskpart, and press Enter. Enter the following commands in order, pressing Enter after each one:

**List Disks** **Select Disk n** (replace 'n' with the letter of your 3TB drive) **Clean** (to remove all partitions on the selected disk) **Convert to GPT format**

Step 3: Type Exit when the conversion is done. Your 3TB drive should now be unallocated. You can now proceed to format the 3TB drive and create a partition. Hit Enter after each command:

Create primary partition
Assign drive letter=N (replace N with any unused letter)
Quick format fs=ntfs

Step 4: Type exit, then press Enter.

Final Award

After reading this article, you should understand why you can't format a 3TB hard drive on Windows 11/10. You can break through the 2TB file system limitation of MBR and convert the disk to GPT. In this way, you can format a 3TB hard drive and make full use of the space.

Partition Master is a user-friendly partition tool that allows both novices and professionals to partition 3TB, 4TB, and other large capacity disks with ease. It efficiently optimizes disk partitions and expands the performance of your hard drive and computer.

Frequently Asked Questions About 3TB HDD That You Might Be Interested In

Below are some issues regarding why a hard drive shows less space and how to format a 3TB HDD on Windows 11/10. If you're facing similar problems, you can find the solutions here.

1. Does Windows 11/10 support 3TB hard drives?

Windows 11/10 supports large capacity disks, such as 2TB, 3TB, 4TB, and 6TB. For hard drives larger than 2TB, you need to initialize them as GPT or convert them to GPT (with data preservation).

< strong > 2. Why is the capacity of my hard drive not showing as total?

Apart from the partition table error, there can be other reasons for the hard drive showing wrong capacity, such as:

• The hard drive version is outdated.
• The hard drive is formatted incorrectly or the formatting process was not completed.
• The MBR or GPT header is corrupted due to improper ejection.
• Errors caused by bad sectors.

How to format 3TB hard drive to FAT32?

FAT32 has a maximum partition size of 2 TB and a maximum file size of 4 GB, so if you formatted your 3 TB drive as FAT32, you'd have 1 TB of wasted space. However, if your disk uses special 4K sectors, FAT32 can support up to 8 TB.

If you insist on formatting your 3TB drive as FAT32, follow these steps:

1. Install and launch Partition Master. Right-click the 3TB hard drive, then select "Resize/Move." 2. Drag the partition endpoints so the partition is less than 2TB. 3. Right-click the Unallocated space, then select "Create" a FAT32 partition.