Large Drive Support

  • Thread starter Thread starter Grinder
  • Start date Start date
G

Grinder

This question borders on being off-topic, as it is largely about software.
There are some savvy individuals in here, though, that will likely be able
to point me in the right direction.

I have an older PC that I'm trying to rehabilitate for my nephew to use. It
has a 3 Gb primary drive, which is enough for his OS (Windows XP currently,)
but he clearly needs some additional space for his porn^H^H^H^H^H music
collection.

I have an extra 80 Gb that fits the ticket, but it's unrecognized by his
BIOS. This is not a problem with windows XP, as it has allowed me to
partition, format and mount the drive. He and I have come to the
conclusion, however, that XP takes too much horsepower (he just barely meets
minimum system requirements) from his system. We want to go back to Windows
98 SE. (He won't go for Linux)

Ok, finally the question: What is your recommendation for getting this
machine, and Windows 98, to recognize this large drive?

I'm confident that I can get Windows 98 up and running on his 3 Gb hard
drive, but do not want to proceed until I know that I can also get the 80 Gb
mounted. Thanks for your consideration of my question.
 
One option here is to use an overlay software program that can be usually
downloaded from the maker of the drive and installed prior to installing the
OS. What the program does is allow the bios to see the full capacity of the
drive. That's the cheapest option but not necessarily the most dependable.
The second option is to install an additional card that the cable of
the hdd plugs into (ie Promise controller card) that will read the correct
size of the hard drive. This is a good option when the next choice is not
available.
A third possibilty is that the mb can be flashed to allow it to see
the 80 Gb drive. That is a more dubious determination, but one never knows
until they check.
 
You CANNOT do what you want to do due to the unavailability of a current
upgraded motherboard BIOS for that computer which can utilize an 80 GB
drive.
 
This question borders on being off-topic, as it is largely about
software.
80
You CANNOT do what you want to do due to the unavailability of a current
upgraded motherboard BIOS for that computer which can utilize an 80 GB
drive.
Click to expand...
Says who? He didn't say what motherboard it is. There's no inherent problem
with an 80 gig hard drive in Win 98SE, it's all about getting the
motherboard to address that space.

As people have said previously, if you can't get the motherboard to
recognise it directly, you can get a separate controller card that will do
the trick. Otherwise there's the trivial solution of breaking the drive into
partitions that the motherboard can handle, or the option of driver overlay
software.

HTH.

CK
 
CK said:
Says who? He didn't say what motherboard it is. There's no inherent problem
with an 80 gig hard drive in Win 98SE, it's all about getting the
motherboard to address that space.

As people have said previously, if you can't get the motherboard to
recognise it directly, you can get a separate controller card that will do
the trick. Otherwise there's the trivial solution of breaking the drive into
partitions that the motherboard can handle, or the option of driver overlay
software.
Click to expand...

It may well be that I can go with Jan's third option -- flash the BIOS.
Unfortunately, I'm not certain that I can find the appropriate image to use,
and an error can be fatal. How can I find the appropriate upgrade for:

BIOS Type: Award Modular BIOS v4.51PG
BIOS ID: 05/29/98-i430TX-W83977-2A59IA1FC
Chipset: Intel Triton 430TX rev 1
.... (more information upon request)

I got this from the eSupport.com utility. Is it true that I should have to
pay for a BIOS upgrade?
 
[snip]
80
Click to expand...

Jan Alter said:
One option here is to use an overlay software program that can be usually
downloaded from the maker of the drive and installed prior to installing the
OS. What the program does is allow the bios to see the full capacity of the
drive. That's the cheapest option but not necessarily the most dependable.
The second option is to install an additional card that the cable of
the hdd plugs into (ie Promise controller card) that will read the correct
size of the hard drive. This is a good option when the next choice is not
available.
A third possibilty is that the mb can be flashed to allow it to see
the 80 Gb drive. That is a more dubious determination, but one never knows
until they check.
Click to expand...

I don't really know where to check. I have found www.esupport.com, but
suspect there might be more open resources. Can you recommend any?

I'm not sure what details about the BIOS are relevant, but here are some
generated by one of esupport's tools:

BIOS Type: Award Modular BIOS v4.51PG
BIOS ID: 05/29/98-i430TX-W83977-2A59IA1FC
Chipset: Intel Triton 430TX rev 1
.... (more information upon request)
 
No, you shouldn't have to pay for BIOS support,
BUT you need to post make/model of your computer/mobo.
Free BIOS support is available only from the maker of the
computer/mobo maker. Manufacurers have the BIOS
customized for their boards. The BIOS makers may
want to sell you BIOS updates, but that is usually not
neccessary.
 
pen said:
No, you shouldn't have to pay for BIOS support,
BUT you need to post make/model of your computer/mobo.
Free BIOS support is available only from the maker of the
computer/mobo maker. Manufacurers have the BIOS
customized for their boards. The BIOS makers may
want to sell you BIOS updates, but that is usually not
neccessary.
Click to expand...

It's a Mitac, but I cannot find any indication of model on the machine.
Also, I have been unsuccessful at finding a support page for Mitac computer
owners.
 
It may well be that I can go with Jan's third option -- flash the BIOS.
Unfortunately, I'm not certain that I can find the appropriate image to use,
and an error can be fatal. How can I find the appropriate upgrade for:

BIOS Type: Award Modular BIOS v4.51PG
BIOS ID: 05/29/98-i430TX-W83977-2A59IA1FC
Chipset: Intel Triton 430TX rev 1
... (more information upon request)

I got this from the eSupport.com utility. Is it true that I should have to
pay for a BIOS upgrade?
Click to expand...

Flashing the bios is the best option, it may or may not allow use of
larger drives though, if it's not documented to do so then it may not but
it "might", all you can do is try it and see.

Typically the BIOS ID string you note above can be seen at the bottom of
the BIOS POST screen, no need to use some website utility.

Entering that string into Google suggests that it's an Abit TX5, you
might want to take a look at the following pics (and confirm which of them
are actually a TX5, compare to your board, then if it is a TX5, check
Abit's 'site for bios update.

http://images.google.com/images?q=Abit+TX5

If you find that the newer bios won't recognize the drive then you might
best get a PCI controller card, though at this point it's becoming harder
to justify spending $$ on that old of a system, even a system a few years
newer yet cheap/used would be more likley to support an 80GB drive (even
if it did still need a bios update to do so, more typically the case with
older Super 7 K6 systems or Pentium II opposed to P3 or Celeron 566 &
higher) and of course other benefits like the newer features, more
performance, etc.
 
kony said:
Flashing the bios is the best option, it may or may not allow use of
larger drives though, if it's not documented to do so then it may not but
it "might", all you can do is try it and see.

Typically the BIOS ID string you note above can be seen at the bottom of
the BIOS POST screen, no need to use some website utility.

Entering that string into Google suggests that it's an Abit TX5, you
might want to take a look at the following pics (and confirm which of them
are actually a TX5, compare to your board, then if it is a TX5, check
Abit's 'site for bios update.

http://images.google.com/images?q=Abit+TX5
Click to expand...

It does indeed appear to be an Abit TX5. I cannot find anything on
www.abit-usa.com, but have found this page: http://www.abit-nl.com/bios.htm.
If this update were to work, would my menus be in Dutch?
 
Grinder said:
This question borders on being off-topic, as it is largely about software.
There are some savvy individuals in here, though, that will likely be able
to point me in the right direction.

I have an older PC that I'm trying to rehabilitate for my nephew to use. It
has a 3 Gb primary drive, which is enough for his OS (Windows XP currently,)
but he clearly needs some additional space for his porn^H^H^H^H^H music
collection.

I have an extra 80 Gb that fits the ticket, but it's unrecognized by his
BIOS. This is not a problem with windows XP, as it has allowed me to
partition, format and mount the drive. He and I have come to the
conclusion, however, that XP takes too much horsepower (he just barely meets
minimum system requirements) from his system. We want to go back to Windows
98 SE. (He won't go for Linux)

Ok, finally the question: What is your recommendation for getting this
machine, and Windows 98, to recognize this large drive?

I'm confident that I can get Windows 98 up and running on his 3 Gb hard
drive, but do not want to proceed until I know that I can also get the 80 Gb
mounted. Thanks for your consideration of my question.
Click to expand...

I appreciate all of the reponses I have recieved. Currently, however, this
problem has resolved itself through non-technical means. Thanks guys.
 
This question borders on being off-topic, as it is largely about software.
There are some savvy individuals in here, though, that will likely be able
to point me in the right direction.

I have an older PC that I'm trying to rehabilitate for my nephew to use. It
has a 3 Gb primary drive, which is enough for his OS (Windows XP currently,)
but he clearly needs some additional space for his porn^H^H^H^H^H music
collection.

I have an extra 80 Gb that fits the ticket, but it's unrecognized by his
BIOS. This is not a problem with windows XP, as it has allowed me to
partition, format and mount the drive. He and I have come to the
conclusion, however, that XP takes too much horsepower (he just barely meets
minimum system requirements) from his system. We want to go back to Windows
98 SE. (He won't go for Linux)

Ok, finally the question: What is your recommendation for getting this
machine, and Windows 98, to recognize this large drive?

I'm confident that I can get Windows 98 up and running on his 3 Gb hard
drive, but do not want to proceed until I know that I can also get the 80 Gb
mounted. Thanks for your consideration of my question.
Click to expand...

Use a cheap PCI Add-on card,
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=promise+pci+hard+drive+card
Software is not a good option to defeat hardware limitations.
HTH :)



--
Free Windows/PC help,
http://www.geocities.com/sheppola/trouble.html
email shepATpartyheld.de
Free songs to download and,"BURN" :O)
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/8/nomessiahsmusic.htm
 
I have an older PC that I'm trying to rehabilitate for my nephew to use. It
has a 3 Gb primary drive, which is enough for his OS (Windows XP currently,)
but he clearly needs some additional space for his porn^H^H^H^H^H music
collection.

I have an extra 80 Gb that fits the ticket, but it's unrecognized by his
BIOS. This is not a problem with windows XP, as it has allowed me to
partition, format and mount the drive.
Click to expand...

You installed XP on HIS machine?...even though the BIOS wasn't able to
see it?
Ok, finally the question: What is your recommendation for getting this
machine, and Windows 98, to recognize this large drive?

I'm confident that I can get Windows 98 up and running on his 3 Gb hard
drive, but do not want to proceed until I know that I can also get the 80 Gb
mounted. Thanks for your consideration of my question.
Click to expand...

Who made the drive? Did you RTFM for the drive? With the 430tx
chipset, you should be able to see 32 gig of that 80 gig
drive...setting the jumpers properly.



Remember to honor our troops...past and present.

And have a nice Memorial Day weekend.

Trent©
 
Trent© said:
You installed XP on HIS machine?...even though the BIOS wasn't able to
see it?


Who made the drive? Did you RTFM for the drive? With the 430tx
chipset, you should be able to see 32 gig of that 80 gig
drive...setting the jumpers properly.
Click to expand...

Yikes.

I did read the manual. Apparently, though, the BIOS is old enough that even
with the capacity limit jumber set, it cannot see the drive. As best as I
can tell, the current BIOS cannot identify drives greater than 8.4 Mb.
 
hi,
i recently installed a 120 gb wd drive on my piii system with a tyan
mobo that only recognizes up to 32 gb . they don't have a newer bios
so i used the overlay software . it is working ok . the system
recognized all 120mb of the drive .
hope this helps,
terry

==============
Posted through www.HowToFixComputers.com/bb - free access to hardware troubleshooting newsgroups.
 
Yikes.

I did read the manual. Apparently, though, the BIOS is old enough that even
with the capacity limit jumber set, it cannot see the drive. As best as I
can tell, the current BIOS cannot identify drives greater than 8.4 Mb.
Click to expand...

Then you should be able to see it as at least 8.4 gig.

And, if you don't answer all the questions, we can't help.

Good luck.



Remember to honor our troops...past and present.

And have a nice Memorial Day weekend.

Trent©
 
I did read the manual. Apparently, though, the BIOS is old enough that even
with the capacity limit jumber set, it cannot see the drive. As best as I
can tell, the current BIOS cannot identify drives greater than 8.4 Mb.
Click to expand...

Your problem is not Win 98 SE, but it all comes down to the 1024 Cylinder
Limit of your Bios. My oldest PC has an Intel 430HX chipset and that PC can
indeed only see about the first 8 GB of larger drives. Intel didn't update
the Bios for the 430 chipset family after 1998 or so. This means that the
only solution is buying a PCI IDE controller card which has a (more recent)
Bios of its own. Win 98 SE can handle drives up to 137 GB, but the version
of FDISK supplied with Win98 SE can't. In case you will install a PCI
controller card, you have to update FDISK to partition it or use Partition
Magic (or any similar prog). The update for FDISK can be found on the MS
update site.

Jan
 
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