IDE harddisk in Compaq ProLiant 1850R?

Recommended by Wim's BIOS...

Hi,

I also asked for help in the in-depth section (http://www.wimsbios.com/phpBB2/topic9699.html) but didn't get any response, so I try again here.

The problem is that my Compaq ProLiant 1850R server (P3 500 Mhz, latest BIOS from Compaq) has only 1 IDE port on the mainboard.
Connected to the port is a cd-rom player. Connecting a harddisk doesn't work. I would like to be able to boot from an IDE harddisk (or CF card), but apparently that isn't supported by the BIOS.

Does anyone have any experience with this type of BIOS, or knows something about hacking it? If someone can point be in the right direction, that would be really helpful.

Output from ctbios tool:

BIOS-Info, c't/Andreas Stiller, V. 1.5 10/00
Computer ID : FC, SubTyp: 01, BIOS-Level: 0
Rechnertyp : AT-3, Konfigurationsbyte $74
Maustreiber : nicht gefunden
Bus : EISA (44)/PCI
Hauptspeicher : 640 KB, davon verf

[cp]

Is the HDD detected when connected? did you set the jumpers correctly? if you remove the cd-rom and connect the HDD what's happening?

the mainboard is a normal mainboard like any other mainboard, too. except for a few (actually: a lot) goodies that compaq added to make it a server board. the reason why it has only one ide port is: it is a server board!

No, it's not detected because the BIOS doesn't support it!

The exact message is:
Non-System disk or disk error
replace and strike any key when ready

I know how and why it's a server board, but like I said, I would like to boot from an IDE harddisk. The current BIOS doesn't support that.

I want to replace/modify the BIOS so that it does boot from IDE harddisks/CF cards.

[cp]

if the cd-rom is detected successfully the bios should also detect the hdd even if you still can't boot from it. at least it should be detected if you connect it and boot a linux cd. if not something is seriously wrong.
i just want to rule out the possibility that the drive isn't detected at all (which is most probably a hardware fault).

sure you can patch the bios. get a disassembler, disassemble the bios, walk through a bazillion lines of uncommented resourced asm code and find what you are looking for. easy ;)

Hi cp,

the system is meant to boot from either the SCSI array, the IDE cdrom or the floppy disk. By using the SmartStart cd (Compaq utils and BIOS setup cd) I found out that the IDE port doesn't support IDE harddisks, because it was mentioned in the manual ('The ProLiant 1850R server does not support installation of IDE or EIDE fixed disk drives').
This seemed strange to me, since the cdrom player works fine so a harddisk should be possible too, right?

Probably Compaq calls this a hardware feature instead of a hardware fault But I have no idea if the harddisk is disabled by the BIOS or by some hardware.

I already dumped the BIOS with Uniflash (although it didn't recognize the BIOS chip itself) and I can probably load it in IDA and browse through a gazillion lines of asm like you say. I was just hoping someone would have a clue where to start, or maybe someone who's also done this.

[edwin]

We have tried for 4 years to make this happen but it simply does not work. The only option I can think of is using a PCI add-in ATA133 IDE controller with its own bios as boot controller, since that is behaving much like a SCSI controller where it comes to booting.

Back then we did not have the time or funds to test this. I'm already wanted to buy a SATA/IDE combined controller for migration options, so this might be a good time to buy that and test it. I have a 1850R lying around. I just don't know if and when I can put some time towards this.

I might try running LinuxBIOS (http://www.linuxbios.org) on it, but I need a PLCC first to make a backup.

Anyone knows where I can get a cheap PLCC in The Netherlands? The correct chip from an old/dead mobo would also work, but I don't feel like hunting eBay etc. and checking every advertised mobo to see if it has the correct PLCC... Or does some sort of database exist where you can quickly look up what kind of BIOS chip is used on a mobo?

Regards,
Michiel.

[cp]

hmm..linuxbios? i'm also working on the linuxbios project but isn't there a special server chipset running on this machine? something like serverworks? i didn't see any implementation on that one.

to check the size of the bios chip you can run uniflash on the machine and hope that it'll detect the chip. you can also open up the case and take a look...what ever suits you well.
btw. how do you want to mount the plcc chip on the existing one?

Hi cp,

there's no special server chipset on the mainboard:
http://www.linuxbios.org/pipermail/linu ... 27752.html

I used Uniflash to make a backup of the BIOS, but it didn't recognise the chip. It did however write a 128kb binary file.
I looked in the file and it's definately the BIOS, since I can see the ATI video chipset strings and some Compaq strings in plaintext.
I just hope it's the full BIOS...

The chip is in a socket on the mainboard, I want to do something like this:
http://www.linuxbios.org/Image:A8n-e_hot_plug.jpg

Just need a chip with the same specs to save the original. There's a sticker on the chip that prevents me from reading the make/type...

[cp]

i remember reading the message on the LB mailing list though i didn't know it was you posting :)
maybe i mixed up things since i had an ibm server standing around for a few weeks which had a serverworks chipset.

btw. remove the sticker from the bios chip since it is useless anyway. i have several bios chips so i can provide you with one if you'd like.

Yep, that was me

I will remove the sticker to see what's underneath. Thanks for the offer, I'll let you know!