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Divide a large HDD into multiple smaller partitions to use under DOS/Windows 98 SE

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First post, by PaddyWi

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Hello everyone,

Sorry if this has already been asked, but unfortunately I haven't found an answer to my question yet.

I have a retro PC whose BIOS accepts a maximum HDD size of 137GB. I would like to install Windows 98 SE.

Unfortunately, I only own larger hard drives (500GB, 1000GB, 2000GB).

Is it possible to partition a, say 1000GB hard drive into multiple smaller 120GB partitions?
For example:

1st Primary 120GB -> C:
2nd Primary 120GB -> D:
3rd Primary 120GB -> E:
4th Primary 120GB -> F:
The rest will be unpartitioned and "free".

I read elsewhere that the system can no longer read data after the 137GB limit. In my example, this means that errors can be expected after approximately 17GB on the D: partition.

Will my plan work, or am I likely to encounter the error after 137GB?

Thanks guys!

Reply 1 of 6, by dr_st

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My understanding is that if it's a BIOS 137GB limit, the limit is on the physical size of the drive, not the logical split into partitions. So yes, splitting the large drive into smaller partitions won't help past the first physical 137GB.

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Reply 2 of 6, by theelf

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Buy a 128ssd and ide converter, cheap and fast

Reply 3 of 6, by NeoG_

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If the system has LBA28 addressing, the entire drive just doesn't show up if it reports itself as larger than 137GB. There are various ways to bypass the LBA28 limit like using a newer LBA48 controller card with boot rom or drive overlays.

There is a good writeup here: Hard Drive Sizes/Partitions

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Reply 4 of 6, by lolo799

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You can also resize the disk for it to show up as a smaller one, using mhdd hpa command for example.

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Reply 5 of 6, by PaddyWi

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Thanks for all the answers.

The mhdd method seems very, very interesting. Thanks for that.

As I understand, I can change the size of the drive to a smaller size to that the BIOS "thinks" it's a native smaller size HDD.

Is this permanent until I change it back or will it reset after a power cycle?
Is the change stored on the drive itself or inside the firmware?

Thanks again!

Reply 6 of 6, by theelf

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PaddyWi wrote on 2026-03-08, 13:26:
Thanks for all the answers. […]
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Thanks for all the answers.

The mhdd method seems very, very interesting. Thanks for that.

As I understand, I can change the size of the drive to a smaller size to that the BIOS "thinks" it's a native smaller size HDD.

Is this permanent until I change it back or will it reset after a power cycle?
Is the change stored on the drive itself or inside the firmware?

Thanks again!

you bios detect any HDD as 137gb? if yes, not need of any stuff, just format one partition to max size bios detect and thats all, you just lost rest of space until repartition

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