120GB: 12/16/1999-I440ZX-SMC60X-2A69KB0JC-00

BIOS update, EIDE card, or overlay software? (FAQ Hard disk recognition)
Post Reply
jsendak
New visitors - please read the rules.
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2003 11:26 am

Apologies if this is not the correct forum.
I have possibly done this the wrong way round, but I have bought a 120 Gb hard drive and am now trying to see whether the BIOS can recognize the full capacity. This is in response to a question from the drive manufacturer, because my current hard drives are not being detected and I can't access an operating system.

I have an M6TZA system board, with PCI Enhanced IDE Built-in On Board, which supports "high capacity hard disk drives " - but I don't know what this means - with AWARD legal BIOS (which supports APM1.2, if this is relevant). I bought the PC in February 2000, although (since it was based on a 1999 XMas offer) I imagine it was manufactured some time before that.

BIOS Agent Report:-
Program: eSupport.com BIOS Detect v1.2 July 21, 2003
BIOS Date: 12/16/99
BIOS Type: Award Modular BIOS v4.51PG
BIOS ID: 12/16/1999-I440ZX-SMC60X-2A69KB0JC-00
OEM Sign-On: TZA1216D
Chipset: Intel 440BX/ZX rev 3
Superio: SMC 60x rev 0 found at port 3F0h
CPU Type: Pentium III
CPU Speed: 600 Mhz
CPU Max: 500 Mhz
BIOS ROM In Socket: Yes
BIOS ROM Size: 256K
Memory Installed: 256 MB
Memory Maximum: 512 MB

eSupport.com, Inc.
1-800-800-BIOS (2467)
www.esupport.com
Last edited by jsendak on Wed Aug 27, 2003 12:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Denniss
BIOS Guru
Posts: 3153
Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2002 8:16 pm
Location: Near Hannover (CEBIT) Germany
Contact:

Please read this :
http://www.wimsbios.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1255

Please add the Info required

Name looks like a Biostar mainboard
NickS
BIOS Bodhisattva
Posts: 3145
Joined: Fri May 03, 2002 10:34 am
Location: Thames Valley, UK

Thank you for updating the info. That is a Biostar M6TZA, the latest official BIOS on the M6TZA page is
11/02/1999-I440ZX-SMC60X-2A69KB0JC-00
TZA1101B
which means you have a later BIOS.
There is a BIOS file at www.neosyspc.com, ftp://66.200.210.100/bios/m6tza/tza0210d.exe which I'll check out in a moment.
NickS
BIOS Bodhisattva
Posts: 3145
Joined: Fri May 03, 2002 10:34 am
Location: Thames Valley, UK

OK, there are no actual BIOSes at neosyspc, just broken links. However, there are at pionex.
http://www.pionex.com/drv_lib/bios/m6tza/tza0210d.exe
Already supports large HDD:
02/10/2000-I440ZX-SMC60X-2A69KB0JC-00
TZA0210D
BIOS already supports HDDs over 32GB & 64GB - Nothing to do!

If this doesn't work, there is another issue.
NickS
BIOS Bodhisattva
Posts: 3145
Joined: Fri May 03, 2002 10:34 am
Location: Thames Valley, UK

Further info: there is a BIOS file TZA1216D.EXE (same as your present BIOS) at pionex but WinZip says the header is corrupt. Before flashing, please save your old BIOS :)
jsendak
New visitors - please read the rules.
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2003 11:26 am

Thanks for the reply. I asked the question because the drive manufacturer support asked me whether the BIOS would recognize the full capacity, and I didn't know.

Anyway, I am glad I found the site and the forum, which provides rapid and comprehensive information.

Thanks again to all who replied.
NickS
BIOS Bodhisattva
Posts: 3145
Joined: Fri May 03, 2002 10:34 am
Location: Thames Valley, UK

I don't know whether your current one will support 120GB, because the only version I can find is corrupt. If you can save, zip and email me your current BIOS I can check it for known bugs with Rainbow's utility. Alternatively, flash the newer BIOS at your own risk but save the old BIOS first !
caterpillar
New visitors - please read the rules.
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Feb 24, 2003 2:45 pm

you could check if your BIOS support EDD spec.. this is required for any HDD above 8.4 GB.. please also check your setup if the HDD is properly detected.. Things like LBA, 32-bit should be set.. or AUTO-DETECT in newer BIOSes will do. Or try putting your HDD on another system as secondary disk and check its correctness.
NickS
BIOS Bodhisattva
Posts: 3145
Joined: Fri May 03, 2002 10:34 am
Location: Thames Valley, UK

Re the "corrupt" file at pionex, I have found that the self-extractor won't run, but winzip will extract the TZA1216D.bin and that supports HDD to 128GB as well.
jsendak
New visitors - please read the rules.
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2003 11:26 am

NickS asked me to email my BIOS. I must confess to extreme ignorance, but I couldn't loacte the TD...exe file on my PC. I presume - probably incorrectly - that search using Windows explorer on the c-drive for such a file would find it, but it didn't.

Another question I have - if I can ask another here, or should I start a new topic ?- is that the BIOS does not report the presence of any of the hard drives - my original master and new 120Gb as slave.
This happened before I physically installed the new DH.
I set the new HD as slave in the BIOS under the auto-detect option - although the size was shown as 120 , not 120,000 (the original master is shown as 40,000).

Under Windows explorer I seemed to have acquired a number of new CD-drives.

Regards

John
NickS
BIOS Bodhisattva
Posts: 3145
Joined: Fri May 03, 2002 10:34 am
Location: Thames Valley, UK

Don't worry about saving and sending your existing BIOS. As I said in the last post I have found that although the file reports a corrupt header when you try to run it (it will not self-extract) I can open it with Winzip. You would save your existing BIOS using the BIOS flash utility.

Do you now have the drive type and mode set to auto/auto or auto/LBA for both drives ?
Are both drives on one IDE controller ?
Did you update to that other BIOS ?

I know that I have seen the issue with multiple CD drives before.... I just can't remember why. Time to Google...
Denniss
BIOS Guru
Posts: 3153
Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2002 8:16 pm
Location: Near Hannover (CEBIT) Germany
Contact:

ftp://ftp.biostar-usa.com/bios/M6TZA/TZA0616D.BIN

Bios message : TZA0616D
06/16/2000-i440ZX-SMC60X-2A69KB0JC-00

Supports HDD up to 128GB
jsendak
New visitors - please read the rules.
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2003 11:26 am

I am using my original BIOS.

This may not be the correct format to report the following :-

I diconnected my original master HD
I managed to FDISK the 120 GB drive.
I then tried to install Windows 98SE without formatting, but needed to do a full format, after which I got a message "Invalid Drive Specification" and "Bad Command or File Name" at the DOS prompt.

I reconnected the original HD as master and the new HD as slave. I started Windows and Windows explorer showed a 120GB D drive and Partition Magic reported a 114 GB primary partion on drive D.

I presume this means that the new HD is usable - although I haven't used it yet - but I am still left with the problem of not being able to install Windows 98 on the new HD.

I should add that at boot-up the BIOS is still not reporting back the detection of the HDs - although it does so for the two CD-drives.

Once again, apologies if this is not the correct forum.
NickS
BIOS Bodhisattva
Posts: 3145
Joined: Fri May 03, 2002 10:34 am
Location: Thames Valley, UK

NickS wrote:Do you now have the drive type and mode set to auto/auto or auto/LBA for both drives ?
Tested patched BIOSes. Untested patched BIOSes.
Emails *will* be ignored unless the subject line starts "Wim's BIOS forum"
Post Reply