15GB: Pavilion 8240

BIOS update, EIDE card, or overlay software? (FAQ Hard disk recognition)
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videobruce
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I really don't want to use MaxBlast on this 532DX 15GB HDD.

It is a 430TX chipset and HP has no updates for this bios. Where could I get one that would work? I will be running 2k. The orginal drive is a 4GB Bigfoot with Win95 that will be a storage drive.
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soupy
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You have version 4.06 dated 03/24/98 already?
Flash your BIOS at your own risk.
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videobruce
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Yes, it was already on the system.
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soupy
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Looks like it might be an Asus TX98-XV, an oem-only product, so no joy there...
Flash your BIOS at your own risk.
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ajzchips
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A BIOS of 3/1998 should at least support upto 32GB...
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Denniss
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ajzchips wrote:A BIOS of 3/1998 should at least support upto 32GB...
You might not know with Phoenix Bios .....
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soupy
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Yeah, according to the HP website, max is 4 or 8 MB depending on model.

I wonder if another Asus BIOS would work...
Flash your BIOS at your own risk.
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videobruce
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Denniss wrote:
ajzchips wrote:A BIOS of 3/1998 should at least support upto 32GB...
You might not know with Phoenix Bios .....
The key word here is "should"!
But it doesn't!
I did load Maxblast and it did work. I then did load 2k and got to the desktop ok, BUT (here it comes) I get a drive geometry error if I try to use Partition Magic and I also get a SMART error on bootup even with the SMART turned off in th bios!
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soupy
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Yeah, Partition Magic doesn't play nice with drive overlay software. Maxblast should have the ability to partition your drive, though. And you can always use an add-on EIDE controller card.

Also, if your drive is showing a SMART error, you're going to want to download manufacturer diagnostics and test it thoroughly. Might be failing.
Flash your BIOS at your own risk.
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videobruce
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I ran the PowerMax on both drives and both passed certification!
The Maxtor is new, the Quantum 4GB is the one that came with the box. If I unplug the Quantum no error shows.
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soupy
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What happens if you put the HDDs on different IDE channels?
Flash your BIOS at your own risk.
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videobruce
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I did one better.
I disabled the primary slave in the bios and the error message is gone at bootup. Since I'm running 2k, the O/S sees both drives ok. So far so good........

Some incompatability between the Maxtor and the Quantum.
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