BIOS has decided to quit seeing good drives (HDD and CD-ROM)

BIOS update, EIDE card, or overlay software? (FAQ Hard disk recognition)
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Lee C.
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Using a Phoenix BIOS 4.0 (Core version 4.06) version, Release 6.0.6 BIOS revision 1.05. AMD K6-2/500 CPU (running at only 400, because the slow FSB on this thing won't allow it to run any faster unless I overclock the FSB). Machine was originally a Hewlett Packard Pavilion 6350, but just about everything has been replaced except the motherboard. My 30 gig Maxtor hard drive went out, and I sent it back in (warranty swap) and they sent me back a 40 gig Maxtor. The Phoenix BIOS has a 32 gig problem in WIN 98, but Microsoft has a fix file for that.

http://support.microsoft.com/search/pre ... us;Q243450

I had put in my 20 gig Maxtor backup hard drive, and used it with an ASUS S500/A CD-ROM. When the 40 gig Maxtor came in I placed it as Secondary Master to the 20 gig Maxtor as Primary Master (unhooking the CD-ROM). I partitioned and formatted the 40 gig Maxtor, and moved all my good data to there. Then I unhooked all the drives, moved the new 40 gig Maxtor to the Primary Master position, put the CD-ROM back in as Secondary Master, and rebooted the system.

The BIOS now refuses to see either the 40 gig Maxtor or the CD-ROM. I have pulled the cage that contains the drives and taken them down to the shop to check. They work fine on the computer shop's computer. Nothing wrong with them. I have swapped the cables out with known good cables, even though they seemed okay. No difference. Cables are fine, that's not the problem. 40 gig Maxtor and CD-ROM work fine on a different computer; that's not the problem. My computer will still see the 20 gig Maxtor set up as either Primary Master or Secondary Master, so it's not the connections on the board that are the problem. From all appearances I'd say the BIOS has gotten stuck somehow, recognizing
only that hard drive that was last in it--the 20 gig Maxtor, and is refusing to update.

I've found (on the HP web site) instructions for clearing the CMOS settings, and have cleared them and rebooted and reset the time and such that complained. All drives in the BIOS are set to autodetect. (although I've tinkered around with these settings trying to get it to do something different).

My BIOS settings for the 40 gig hard drive (main page) go like this:
(some of this data appears left over from when I had the 20 gigger in there testing it as Primary Master.)

Type: [Auto]
Cylinders: [ 17475]
Heads: [ 15]
Sectors/Track: [ 63]
Maximum Capacity: 20417MB
Multi Sector Transfer; [16 Sectors]
LBA Mode Control: [Enabled]
32-bit I/O: [Enabled]
Transfer Mode: [Fast PIO 4]
Ultra DMA Mode [Mode 2]

From the Advanced page the settings are:

Installed Operating System [Win98/WinNT5.0] (should be acceptable).
Reset Configuration Data: [No]
PCI Configuration
PS/2 Mouse [auto detect]
Peripheral Configuration
I/O Device Configuration
Large Disk Access Mode: [DOS]
Local Bus IDE adapter: [Both]

(There's another line for setting the video RAM reserve--not relevant I
don't think, and I can't remember exactly how it reads.)

Hewlett Packard appears to be clueless about what to do about this, as am I. I've run out of ideas. Anybody know how to get my BIOS to detect a 40 gig hard drive it used to see, but won't see anymore. One the runs fine on other computers?
NickS
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Location: Thames Valley, UK

It's a bug in trying to autodetect the 40 Gb which is most likely screwing it up. If HP don't provide an updated BIOS that supports drives over 32 Gb, it looks as though you're stuck with one of the following :
1. Fit the 32 Gb limit jumper to the drive and run without the last 8 Gb
2. Use disc manager software (you will have to disable autodetect for this). Maxtor might have this on their site, I don't remember.
3. Get an add-on drive controller such as Promise or the Maxtor version of the same.
4. See if the BIOS can be patched. This is unlikely.
Tested patched BIOSes. Untested patched BIOSes.
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NickS
BIOS Bodhisattva
Posts: 3145
Joined: Fri May 03, 2002 10:34 am
Location: Thames Valley, UK

I see there's a BIOS version 1.10, which might have support for bigger drives - it doesn't say in the notes but if you run the self-extractor there's a readme file. See [url="http://www.hp.com/cgi-bin/cposupport/sw ... 0+(CAN/US)]here?[/url] (hope that worked).
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Lee C.
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Thank you gentlemen, but I don't need a 32 gig patch. There is a limitation on that BIOS at the 32 gig level, but it applies only in WIN 98, not in DOS nor WIN 2000, and it doesn't prevent WIN 98 from seeing the last 8 gigs. It does however prevent it from seeing it correctly. In any case, I partitioned, formatted, and moved data to that hard drive (all 40 gigs available). Then I installed the WIN 98 patch file (that came from Microsoft). So, the BIOS, and the computer WAS able to handle the 40 gigs. I have seen the ver 1.10 BIOS flash. In fact I installed it on guess, as it didn't actually say anything about fixing this sort of problem. It didn't do any good.

Actually, yesterday I had the thing up and running with the 40 gigger as Primary Master, but it still wasn't seeing the CD-ROM. Did once as slave to the 40 gigger as Primary Master, but then, thinking it had somehow fixed itself--or, at least, decided to work, I swaped the CD-ROM back to Secondary Master so I could put the 20 gigger back as Primary Slave. Then the BIOS refused to read anything, and I'm back where I was originally. The BIOS will again see the 20 gigger as either Primary or Secondary Master, but refuses to see either of the other drives again.

Nor does the 40 gigger have a 32 gig limit jumper. Just isn't one.

I'm at a loss.

Appreciate your time and advice though.
Joe
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Obviously there is a problem with BIOS recognizing both hard drives on the same channel.

Why not leave the 40G drive as Primary master and have the 20G as Secondary Master and the CD Rom and secondary slave and be done with it?

-or-

As already stated, use a Controller card and have it control all IDE devices.

If there is no BIOS update for this problem then you really have no choice.

I've come across this situation before and (if your drive had that 32G limit jumper) it most likely would solve the problem, That is what did it for me.

Joe
NickS
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Location: Thames Valley, UK

Lee C. wrote:I'm at a loss.

Appreciate your time and advice though.
(Clutching at straws) cable of dubious quality ? It's happened to me.
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Joe
Chip off the ol' block
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Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2002 6:30 pm
Location: Clarence, New York
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Beware, on some of the newer IBM drives the 32g limit jumper setting is called "2G Clip"

Set the jumper to this if you have this option and see if it helps?

Joe
Lee C.
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In the end it turned out to be cables of dubious quality. Damndest thing. I replaced the cables with mates that worked and got no better results--then went out to the shop and got brand new cables. Fixed the problem. I had dismissed the possibility of a cable problem when I took the cable off the 20 gigger that was working, and the 40 gigger that was not, switched them and it still found the 20 gigger but not the 40 gigger. Thought that ruled out the cables. Well apparently it didn't. New cables all around and it's fixed now.
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