M
MHenry
I found a program called BIOSAgent that examines BIOS.
Here is what it reported:
Program: eSupport.com BIOS Agent Version 3.34
BIOS Date: 11/14/01
BIOS Type: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
BIOS ID: 11/14/2001-i850-W83627-6A69SD4CC
OEM Sign-On: None
Chipset: Intel 2530 rev 4
Superio: Winbond 627F/HF rev 7 found at port 2Eh
OS: Win2000 SP4
CPU: Intel Pentium(R) 4 2200 Mhz MAX: 2000 Mhz
BIOS ROM In Socket: Yes
BIOS ROM Size: 256K
Memory Installed: 512 MB
Memory Maximum: 1024 MB
Memory Slot 01: 128 MB
Memory Slot 02: 128 MB
Memory Slot 03: 128 MB
Memory Slot 04: 128 MB
I am confused about this, because it says I have an Intel 2530 rev 4
chipset and my system board update installed an Intel 850 INF Update.
Are these two different things?
The reason I ask is because I also found on Western Digital's website
this driver...
Intel: Intel Application Accelerator
48-bit LBA driver for Intel 8xx chipsets
I thought that might be a solution if my chipset does not support
48-bit LBA.
Here is more information on this subject found here
http://support.intel.com/support/chipsets/iaa/sb/CS-009281.htm
Intel® Application Accelerator
48-bit LBA BIOS Support
Some motherboards may have an updated BIOS available that enables
48-bit support. At this time however, 48-bit BIOS support is only
needed if you are using Windows* Me, Windows 98 SE, or Windows 98.
Additional information on why the BIOS may limit FDISK when
partitioning hard drives can be found at this Microsoft* Knowledge
Base article †. While 48-bit LBA BIOS support is not needed for
Windows XP or Windows 2000, it may add certain 48-bit BIOS
functionality. This is limited to items such as the BIOS setup menu,
Power-On Self Test (POST) screen, and operation in a MS-DOS*-based
environment.
Windows XP or Windows 2000 Users
48-bit LBA BIOS support is not necessary. You simply need to follow
the Large Hard Drive Installation Instructions. If your system
currently has 48-bit LBA BIOS support, no additional changes are
needed; you can still follow these instructions.
and here
http://support.intel.com/support/chipsets/iaa/sb/CS-009297.htm
Intel® Application Accelerator
Large Hard Drive Installation Instructions
In order for your system to recognize hard drives that are larger than
137GB, we recommend the following steps** (select one option depending
on your desired configuration):
Large Drive as Primary Drive (Boot Drive)
Note: If you are using Windows* Me, Windows 98 SE, or Windows 98,
please see the 48-bit LBA BIOS Support page for an important notice
regarding BIOS support.
Install operating system
Install the Intel® Application Accelerator
2a. Use a 3rd party hard drive partitioning software such as
PartitionMagic* or Partition Commander* and increase the partition
size to the hard drive's full capacity.
- or -
2b. Create additional partitions to take up the full capacity of the
drive (e.g. one partition setup as 128GB and one extended logical
partition setup as 24GB)
Caution: Read Important Notice with Uninstalling the Intel Application
Accelerator
(cut)
This suggests that I cannot fix my LBA situation without wiping out my
hard drive. I'd be happy to do that next time I reformat, but I have
reformatted and reinstalled programs and windows updates so many times
in the past two weeks, I am numb.
By the way, I did install all the Windows Updates for my system today
and I am now Windows 2000 SP4.
Note:
I also found a program HDInfo here http://www.48bitlba.com/tools.htm
that says it can test for 48-bit LBA. Unfortunately, the freeware
version does not do that, and I don't know yet if I need to purchase
their program to get this information.
(This hard drive, BIOS stuff is all very new to me.)
MHenry
by entering D, then L at the next