If your 4TB hard drive only shows 2TB, here's how to restore its full capacity in Windows 11/10

Updated by

Linda 

Written by

Linda 

Last updated on April 19, 2024

Quickly go through the necessary methods to fix a 4TB hard drive showing only 2TB on your computer:

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Why does my 4TB hard drive only show 2TB?

Many users find that when they check in Disk Management, a 4TB or 6TB hard drive only shows 2TB and the rest of the space is Unallocated. And they are unable to create a new partition with this Unallocated space.

Possible reasons for a 4TB hard drive not showing full capacity:

• The hard drive is initialized with the incorrect partition table - MBR, which only supports disks smaller than 2 TB.
• The hard drive driver or firmware version is outdated.
• Bad sectors on the hard drive prevent it from reading properly, resulting in incorrect capacity display.

So, how to solve this problem on your computer? Read on and follow the steps below, you will find 3 effective ways to fix the issue of hard drive showing wrong capacity.

Solution 4: Fix 4TB Hard Drive Only Showing 2TB Issue by Converting MBR to GPT

There are mainly two types of partition styles in Windows, which are MBR and GPT. MBR supports a maximum hard drive capacity of 2 TB, while GPT allows for more flexible large disk schemes.

If your disk size is larger than 2TB, you may encounter the issue that a 4TB hard drive only shows 2TB in MBR. To recover the full capacity, you can convert MBR to GPT with the following three methods.

Method 1: Convert a 4TB MBR Disk to GPT with Partition Master Tool

• Level of difficulty: Easiest
• Best for: All Windows users; a great choice for beginners.
• Pros: No data loss, no need to delete partitions.

You can convert MBR to GPT with a partition manager tool regardless of whether the disk has files or not. The conversion from MBR to GPT can be done without any limitations and data loss. All your data and partitions will be robustly protected during the disk conversion process. Download the partition management tool and convert MBR to GPT with just a few clicks.

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This disk management tool also allows you to convert a GPT disk to an MBR disk and vice versa.

If this method successfully converts your 4TB hard drive to GPT, now you can take full advantage of the entire disk storage space. Please share this method online to help more friends around you.

Method 2: Convert MBR to GPT Using Disk Management

• Difficulty: Moderate
• Best for: Experienced users and advanced administrators
• Pros: Free; Cons: Requesting partition deletion can result in data loss.

The "Convert to GPT Disk" option in Disk Management is available only when the disk is blank; otherwise, it will be grayed out and unavailable. If there are files or partitions on the 4TB hard drive, you need to delete all existing volumes first. Therefore, back up important files if necessary.

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

Step 2: Right-click on the volume of the disk showing the bad sectors and select "Delete Volume...". If you accidentally deleted a volume from Disk Management, refer to this article on how to recover lost or deleted hard drive partition.

Step 3: Right-click on the disk and select “Convert to GPT disk” when it shows as “Unallocated”.

After successfully converting an MBR disk to GPT, you'll see all the available storage. Now, you can create new volumes on the disk to use it properly.

Read more: SSD shows wrong size

Method 3: Convert a 4TB Hard Drive to Show 2TB Using Diskpart

• Level of difficulty: Advanced
• BEST FOR: Advanced users and professionals
• Pros: Free; Cons: Requires deleting partitions, risk of data loss.

Unlike "Disk Management," you can use the command prompt utility Diskpart to convert an empty MBR disk to GPT. If you need to convert a partitioned MBR disk, back up your files and delete all partitions first.

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

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

• list disk
  (replace 'n' with the letter of your 4TB drive)
• clean (this will remove all partitions on the selected disk)
• convert gpt
• select disk n

After DiskPart converts the selected disk to GPT format, type Exit. Check that the free space has returned.

Fix a 4TB Hard Drive Showing Only 2TB by Updating the Hard Drive Driver

Outdated hard drive drivers can cause a 4TB hard drive to only show 2TB. Update your drivers to the latest version by following these steps.

Step 1: Click the "Start" button, type Device Manager, and press "Enter."

Step 2: Click and expand “Disk Drives.” Right-click the hard drive showing the incorrect capacity, then choose “Update Driver.”

Step 3: Choose “Search automatically for updated driver software.” If this fails, you can manually search for and install the latest drivers from the manufacturer's website.

Another approach you can try is to use a reliable driver update software to update your hard drive driver. For instance, the DriverHandy tool is one such utility that effectively detects problematic drivers on your computer and disk. It also provides official sources for you to download and update these drivers yourself. If you're interested, you can refer to this guide for more detailed information: Update Drivers in Windows 10.

Solving the issue of a 4TB hard drive only showing 2TB by checking and repairing disk errors If your 4TB hard drive is only displaying 2TB of available space, it might be due to disk errors or partition issues. Here are some steps to check and repair disk errors: 1. **Run a disk checking tool**: - On Windows, open Command Prompt (run as administrator) and enter the following command: ``` chkdsk /f /r X: ``` Replace `X:` with the drive letter of your 4TB hard drive. - For macOS, open "Disk Utility," select your hard drive, and click "Verify Disk" followed by "Repair Disk." 2. **Update your hard drive drivers**: - Ensure that your hard drive's firmware is up to date. Visit the manufacturer's website to find and download the latest drivers. 3. **Check MBR/GPT partition style**: - A 4TB drive might require the use of the GUID Partition Table (GPT) style instead of the traditional Master Boot Record (MBR). In Windows, use the Disk Management tool to inspect your drive's partition style. If it's using MBR, you may need to convert to GPT. 4. **Repartition and reformat**: - If the above methods don't work, you might need to delete the existing partitions, create new GPT partitions, and reformat the hard drive. Note that this will erase all data, so back up important files beforehand. 5. **Use third-party tools**: - Try using third-party disk management utilities like MiniTool Partition Wizard, tools Partition Master, or similar tools to inspect and fix the issue. Before attempting any of these steps, make sure to back up all important data, as these actions can lead to data loss. If you're not familiar with these processes, consider seeking professional assistance.

Bad sectors or a damaged file system can prevent your computer from reading the hard drive correctly, displaying incorrect capacity. Hence, you should check and fix partition errors to resolve this issue. Tools like Partition Master can help you easily scan and repair hard drive errors.

Step 1: Launch Partition Master on your computer. Then, right-click the disk and choose “Advanced” > “Check File System” from the context menu to check the partition that you want to fix.

Step 3: The software will now begin checking the partition's file system on the disk. When it's done, click “Finish.”

You can also use a disk partition manager to run a disk surface test to check for bad sectors. If the situation is severe, after backing up your data, you may need to consider replacing the hard drive.

The same approach can be used to fix similar problems on other hard disks:

3TB Hard Drive Only Shows 2TB

To fix the issue that a 3TB hard drive only shows 2TB and format a 3TB hard drive on Windows 11/10/8/7, you can convert MBR disk to GPT disk via the 3 methods on this guide page.

The bottom line?

We've already discussed some methods to help you fix the 4TB hard drive showing only 2TB in Windows 11/10. These methods apply to storage devices from various brands, such as Seagate and WD.

If your hard drive is formatted with MBR and this is causing the 4TB drive to show less capacity, the simplest solution is to convert MBR to GPT directly without data loss using a tool like Partition Master. This partition software provides an all-in-one solution for managing and optimizing disk partitions, thus prolonging your computer's lifespan and enhancing its performance.

FAQs on 4TB Hard Drive Not Showing Full Capacity in English

If you also have the common problem that 4TB hard drive only shows 2TB, you can find the solution here.

Why does my hard drive show less space than expected?

Why does my 4TB hard drive only show 2TB? This mainly occurs because the 4TB hard drive is initialized as MBR, which only supports up to 2TB disks. Hence, you can only utilize 2TB of space, while the remaining capacity will be displayed as unallocated space.

Other possible causes include virus attacks, outdated hard disk drivers, or bad sector errors.

The available space on a 4TB hard drive would be approximately 4,000 gigabytes (GB). However, note that the actual usable space might be slightly less due to the way storage is calculated and the space used by the operating system and file system.

When you buy a 4-terabyte (TB) hard drive, you might find that you have only 3.6 TB of usable space. That's because hard-drive manufacturers advertise their capacities in base 10, where 1 megabyte (MB) is 1,000,000 bytes, 1 gigabyte (GB) is 1,000,000,000 bytes, and so on.

But Windows reports in binary. There's your difference. For a 4TB drive, you just multiply by four to get 3.638 TB available to Windows.

How do I restore my hard drive to its maximum capacity?

When your hard drive shows wrong capacity on computer, you can recover full capacity by deleting partitions and creating new ones. Back up data in advance to prevent data loss.

Step 1: On your computer, open Disk Management. Right-click on the hard drive that's not showing its capacity and select “Delete Volume.”

2. Right-click on the “Unallocated” space on the hard drive, and select “New Simple Volume” to create a new partition.

Step 3: Create a new volume and restore its full capacity, following the on-screen instructions.