I have an old computer and a new 128 Gig hard drive.
BIOS CAPABILITIES TEST REPORT
===============================
Generated by: BIOS Wizard 2.10
Date: February 27, 2006
Time: 04:51
PnP Version : BIOS currently supports latest version 1.0
PCI Version : BIOS currently supports latest version 2.1
PCI IRQ Routing Table : BIOS currently supports this feature
Enhanced Disk Drive
Specification : BIOS currently supports this feature
DMI Version : Valid DMI is not found
ACPI Version : ACPI is not found
APM Version : BIOS currently supports latest version 1.2
Booting From CD-ROM : Unable to test this feature because DMI is not
found
Supports ESCD : Unable to test this feature because DMI is not
found
Can be Updated (flashed) : Unable to test this feature because DMI is not
found
Can be Shadowed : Unable to test this feature because DMI is not
found
BIOS Chip in Socket : Unable to test this feature because DMI is not
found
Supports Selective Booting : Unable to test this feature because DMI is not
found
Supports LS-120 Booting : Unable to test this feature because DMI is not
found
Supports ZIP Booting : Unable to test this feature because DMI is not
found
Supports Network Booting : Unable to test this feature because DMI is not
found
BIOS Manufacturer : PhoenixBIOS Version 4.05.3 Copyright 1985-2000
Phoenix T
BIOS ID : Unknown
BIOS Date : 11/22/00
BIOS OEM Signon :
BIOS ROM Size : Unknown
Chipset : Intel Triton 430HX rev 3
Super I/O Chip : SMC 93x rev 1 found at port 370h
I found this clue in the in Technical manual for the computer:
The amount of addressable space on a hard disk is limited by three factors:
the physical size of the hard disk, the addressing limit of the IDE hardware,
and the addressing limit of the BIOS. The Extended-CHS addressing scheme
allows larger disk capacities to be addressed than under CHS, by performing
a translation. If the Setup field has been set to automatic, the logical block
addressing (LBA) mode will be selected for each device that supports it.
Technical manual seems to suggest the BIOS can access a LBA type Hard drive of up to 137Gig. BUT users manual says the max hard drive is 8.4Gig.
Can you help?
HP Vectra VL5/200 series 5
-
edwin
- The Hardware Archivist
- Posts: 6286
- Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2002 7:11 pm
- Location: Netherlands
- Contact:
Old. Yeah. The manual is old too. Back then we were dreaming of things like 128GB harddisks. 8.4GB was big in those days. You seem to have updated the bios on this beast, isn't there info about what this new bios adds? Large harddisk support by any chance? Tried the HP support site? Don't laugh, sometimes there is actual info there...
edwin/evasive
Do not assume anything
System error, strike any user to continue...
Do not assume anything
System error, strike any user to continue...
Hello,
Thank you for your prompt reply. This is the Official answer from HP:
HP Vectra VL5 PC - What Is the Largest Hard Drive the PC Will Support
In this document:
Issue
Solution
External What is the largest IDE hard drive the PC will support
Issue
What is the largest IDE hard drive the PC will support
What is the largest IDE hard drive that can be installed on the PC
Solution
The BIOS can handle hard disk drives up to 7.9 GB.
NOTE:
The PC will boot and work fine with a hard disk drive up to 137 GB in size. However, in this case, because of a BIOS limitation, the PC will not be able to use the full disk capacity and will behave as if it has a 7.9 GB hard disk drive.
The summary screen will also report a wrong size (7.9 GB) if your hard disk drive is bigger than 7.9 GB.
Some issues are also anticipated if the hard disk drive is used as Secondary Master.
It is recommended to update your current BIOS with the latest one, available from HP's Web site to be able to handle the 7.9 GB capacity. For more information on how to flash the BIOS, see the following topic: HP PC or Workstation - Flashing the System BIOS
HP does not plan to release an updated BIOS to increase this limit.
Partitioning the disk into several smaller partitions will not help.
Why is there a limit?
HP is often asked why, when the PC was bought in the past with a particular hard disk drive installed and now the PC needs upgrading to a larger hard drive, the PC may experience difficulties such as:
The hard disk drive is not recognized by the BIOS.
The hard disk drive is partially recognized by the BIOS.
This happens for the following reasons:
Operating systems may have some limitations: For example:
The first version of Windows NT (r) 4.0 could not use hard disk drives larger than 8.4 GB in size (this limit was overridden later with the introduction of Service Pack 4).
Fat16, used on Windows(r) 3.11 and original release of Windows 95, limited the capacity to 2 GB.
Some old Linux kernels had an 8 GB limit.
Personal computers may have some limitations: For example:
The BIOS sometimes limits the maximum hard disk drive capacity (especially older BIOS that use Int13 to access the hard disk drive).
The IDE interface uses 28-bit addressing which limits the hard disk drive capacity to 137 GB.
'Slow' PCs may have some difficulties in communicating with fast drives or vice versa.
Note that in case of BIOS limitations, partitioning the disk into several smaller partitions will not help.
Why does HP sometimes not modify its PCs to avoid these limitations?
The hard disk drive technology and PC markets can be characterized by the following constraints:
Hard disk drive technology is evolving rapidly: For example, in 1989 the standard capacity was 20 MB, whereas in 2001 it was 20 GB. In 12 years, the average capacity of a hard disk drive has been multiplied by 1000, this makes an average increase ratio of 1.78 per year.
Professional PC life is quite long compared to hard disk drives evolution: During the PC's development phase, all the hard drive capacities that will be available later on during the PC's life do not exist yet, and it is not always possible to anticipate what the technology of these drives will be. This is why it is not always possible to test and design the PCs to be able to handle these capacities.
As such, upgrading a hard disk drive with a much larger one will not always be possible. This is because:
The intrinsic limitations of the PC could not be tested during the PC's design phase.
It is not always technically possible to modify PCs to use newer technologies.
Related topics:
HP Vectra PC - What is the Largest IDE Hard Drive the PC can Support
Applicable products and environments:
HP Vectra VL5 PC
Solution ID: IS12988
Thank you for your prompt reply. This is the Official answer from HP:
HP Vectra VL5 PC - What Is the Largest Hard Drive the PC Will Support
In this document:
Issue
Solution
External What is the largest IDE hard drive the PC will support
Issue
What is the largest IDE hard drive the PC will support
What is the largest IDE hard drive that can be installed on the PC
Solution
The BIOS can handle hard disk drives up to 7.9 GB.
NOTE:
The PC will boot and work fine with a hard disk drive up to 137 GB in size. However, in this case, because of a BIOS limitation, the PC will not be able to use the full disk capacity and will behave as if it has a 7.9 GB hard disk drive.
The summary screen will also report a wrong size (7.9 GB) if your hard disk drive is bigger than 7.9 GB.
Some issues are also anticipated if the hard disk drive is used as Secondary Master.
It is recommended to update your current BIOS with the latest one, available from HP's Web site to be able to handle the 7.9 GB capacity. For more information on how to flash the BIOS, see the following topic: HP PC or Workstation - Flashing the System BIOS
HP does not plan to release an updated BIOS to increase this limit.
Partitioning the disk into several smaller partitions will not help.
Why is there a limit?
HP is often asked why, when the PC was bought in the past with a particular hard disk drive installed and now the PC needs upgrading to a larger hard drive, the PC may experience difficulties such as:
The hard disk drive is not recognized by the BIOS.
The hard disk drive is partially recognized by the BIOS.
This happens for the following reasons:
Operating systems may have some limitations: For example:
The first version of Windows NT (r) 4.0 could not use hard disk drives larger than 8.4 GB in size (this limit was overridden later with the introduction of Service Pack 4).
Fat16, used on Windows(r) 3.11 and original release of Windows 95, limited the capacity to 2 GB.
Some old Linux kernels had an 8 GB limit.
Personal computers may have some limitations: For example:
The BIOS sometimes limits the maximum hard disk drive capacity (especially older BIOS that use Int13 to access the hard disk drive).
The IDE interface uses 28-bit addressing which limits the hard disk drive capacity to 137 GB.
'Slow' PCs may have some difficulties in communicating with fast drives or vice versa.
Note that in case of BIOS limitations, partitioning the disk into several smaller partitions will not help.
Why does HP sometimes not modify its PCs to avoid these limitations?
The hard disk drive technology and PC markets can be characterized by the following constraints:
Hard disk drive technology is evolving rapidly: For example, in 1989 the standard capacity was 20 MB, whereas in 2001 it was 20 GB. In 12 years, the average capacity of a hard disk drive has been multiplied by 1000, this makes an average increase ratio of 1.78 per year.
Professional PC life is quite long compared to hard disk drives evolution: During the PC's development phase, all the hard drive capacities that will be available later on during the PC's life do not exist yet, and it is not always possible to anticipate what the technology of these drives will be. This is why it is not always possible to test and design the PCs to be able to handle these capacities.
As such, upgrading a hard disk drive with a much larger one will not always be possible. This is because:
The intrinsic limitations of the PC could not be tested during the PC's design phase.
It is not always technically possible to modify PCs to use newer technologies.
Related topics:
HP Vectra PC - What is the Largest IDE Hard Drive the PC can Support
Applicable products and environments:
HP Vectra VL5 PC
Solution ID: IS12988
-
edwin
- The Hardware Archivist
- Posts: 6286
- Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2002 7:11 pm
- Location: Netherlands
- Contact:
Right, so the hardware can handle it but they refuse to make an updated bios.
Two possible solutions:
1) get an add-in ATA133 controller card with bios so you can boot from it (much like a SCSI card).
or
2) get a bios from http://www.esupport.com as we do not patch Phoenix bioses, only Award.
Either solution will cost about the same (some $30). I fear we have no free solution for this one.
Two possible solutions:
1) get an add-in ATA133 controller card with bios so you can boot from it (much like a SCSI card).
or
2) get a bios from http://www.esupport.com as we do not patch Phoenix bioses, only Award.
Either solution will cost about the same (some $30). I fear we have no free solution for this one.
edwin/evasive
Do not assume anything
System error, strike any user to continue...
Do not assume anything
System error, strike any user to continue...
I have the same pc. You can use software such as MaxBlast (if you have at least one Maxtor hard drive) or similar software (Google for it) that will enable you to use hard drives up to 137 gb. I am currently using a 120gb hard drive on mine and it works great!
Hello,
I would like advise modifying a HP Vectra VL5/200 BIOS. It uses a Phoniex BIOS.
The Phoniex BIOS editor from Borg Number One's BIOS Tool Collection seems to show the OEM is ACER. Does anyone Know if there is a AMD BIOS for this Motherboard?
Thank you,
Martin
I would like advise modifying a HP Vectra VL5/200 BIOS. It uses a Phoniex BIOS.
The Phoniex BIOS editor from Borg Number One's BIOS Tool Collection seems to show the OEM is ACER. Does anyone Know if there is a AMD BIOS for this Motherboard?
Thank you,
Martin
