137GB Limit

[Bob Simon]

I just got a Seagate 160GB drive and am trying to install it in a
computer with a 5 year old motherboard (DFI CA64-SC). The latest
version of bios available from the mfg is 3/27/01, which is not recent
enough to solve the problem.

The installation book that comes with the drive says that DiscWizard
can put "the necessary boot code on the disc drive itself." Are there
any drawbacks to this approach?

I also found the following note in the Seagate installation book:
"Some system BIOS do not allow you to boot to drives that are attached
to add-on adapters. You may not be able to use your new drive as the
boot drive if you choose this solution."

Before purchasing a separate controller card, I'd like to know if it
will do any good. Or is this kind of like craps where all you can do
is roll the dice and *hope* you don't seven out?

 

[Peter]

The installation book that comes with the drive says that DiscWizard

can put "the necessary boot code on the disc drive itself." Are there
any drawbacks to this approach?

There might be compatibility, performance and recovery issues.

I also found the following note in the Seagate installation book:
"Some system BIOS do not allow you to boot to drives that are attached
to add-on adapters. You may not be able to use your new drive as the
boot drive if you choose this solution."

With second disk controller you can select "boot other device" enabled.
If it doesn't work, you might still use it as a second disk.

 

[Bob Knowlden]

Here's one view of "drive overlay" software:

http://www.storagereview.com/guide2000/ref/hdd/bios/overDDO.html

The limitations of the overlay would cause me to avoid it (especially that
the overlay would not load if I tried to access the disk from a DOS-based
utility run from a boot floppy).

I don't know whether your DFI board would permit you to boot from a drive
controller card. Assuming that it can, I got reliable performance from a
Promise Ultra100TX2 controller card:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=16-102-002&depa=1

I used it with a Soyo 6BA+IV board. The Ultra100TX2 is quite an old card,
but still for sale. You may have to update the card's BIOS to get it to
support LBA48 drives, but that's not a real problem. www.promise.com has
BIOS updates and drivers for the card. Windows XP includes drivers for it.

HTH.

Bob Knowlden

Address may be scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[Andrew Rossmann]

[This followup was posted to comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage and a copy
was sent to the cited author.]

I just got a Seagate 160GB drive and am trying to install it in a
computer with a 5 year old motherboard (DFI CA64-SC). The latest
version of bios available from the mfg is 3/27/01, which is not recent
enough to solve the problem.

The installation book that comes with the drive says that DiscWizard
can put "the necessary boot code on the disc drive itself." Are there
any drawbacks to this approach?

I also found the following note in the Seagate installation book:
"Some system BIOS do not allow you to boot to drives that are attached
to add-on adapters. You may not be able to use your new drive as the
boot drive if you choose this solution."

Before purchasing a separate controller card, I'd like to know if it
will do any good. Or is this kind of like craps where all you can do
is roll the dice and *hope* you don't seven out?

If you have (or will install) Win2K with SP3 or newer, or XP with SP1
or newer, there is a simple workaround:
Create your boot partition, but keep it under 128G or so.
Install Windows and update to SP3 or newer (Win2K) or SP1 or newer (XP).
Turn on the 'EnableBigLba' setting in the registry:
Win2K: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;305098
XP: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;303013

Once rebooted with the setting turned on, you can create a second
partition to use up the rest of the space.

If you are adding a drive to an existing install and/or will NOT be
booting from the 160G drive, you can create one large partition after
the registry change above.

If you are booting from the drive, do NOT resize the partition to fill
up the whole drive. You MUST keep it small enough for the computer's own
BIOS to support it or you run the risk of it becoming unbootable if a
file needed to boot up is moved beyond the limit.

If you are 'cloning' from an old drive to the new bigger drive, just
make certain you keep the cloned partition 128G or smaller and follow
the above instructions.

I don't know what support, if any, there is for Win95/98/ME/NT.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

Here's one view of "drive overlay" software:

http://www.storagereview.com/guide2000/ref/hdd/bios/overDDO.html

The limitations of the overlay would cause me to avoid it (especially that
the overlay would not load if I tried to access the disk from a DOS-based
utility run from a boot floppy).

Maybe you should read that piece more carefully. That is not a problem.

The only real downside is the "Operating System Installation Issue" where
the OS installation installs it's own bootsector that puts the overlay out of
business again which can cause a chicken and egg situation if the OS installed bootsector is really needed for the OS.

The rest of the objections are far-fetched to simply untrue.

 

[Timothy Daniels]

[This followup was posted to comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage
and a copy was sent to the cited author.]

I just got a Seagate 160GB drive and am trying to install it in a
computer with a 5 year old motherboard (DFI CA64-SC). The
latest version of bios available from the mfg is 3/27/01, which
is not recent enough to solve the problem.

The installation book that comes with the drive says that
DiscWizard can put "the necessary boot code on the disc
drive itself." Are there any drawbacks to this approach?

I also found the following note in the Seagate installation book:
"Some system BIOS do not allow you to boot to drives that are
attached to add-on adapters. You may not be able to use your
new drive as the boot drive if you choose this solution."

Before purchasing a separate controller card, I'd like to know
if it will do any good. Or is this kind of like craps where all you
can do is roll the dice and *hope* you don't seven out?

If you have (or will install) Win2K with SP3 or newer, or XP with
SP1 or newer, there is a simple workaround:

Create your boot partition, but keep it under 128G or so.
Install Windows and update to SP3 or newer (Win2K) or SP1 or
newer (XP).
Turn on the 'EnableBigLba' setting in the registry:
Win2K: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;305098
XP: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;303013

Once rebooted with the setting turned on, you can create a second
partition to use up the rest of the space.

If you are adding a drive to an existing install and/or will NOT be
booting from the 160G drive, you can create one large partition after
the registry change above.

If you are booting from the drive, do NOT resize the partition to fill
up the whole drive. You MUST keep it small enough for the computer's
own BIOS to support it or you run the risk of it becoming unbootable if
a file needed to boot up is moved beyond the limit.

If you are 'cloning' from an old drive to the new bigger drive, just
make certain you keep the cloned partition 128G or smaller and
follow the above instructions.

I don't know what support, if any, there is for Win95/98/ME/NT.

Doesn't WinXP's SP1 turn on the 'EnableBigLba' setting in the registry
automatically? The link you provide for WinXP says:
"By default, support is enabled in SP1."

*TimDaniels*

 

[Timothy Daniels]

If you have (or will install) Win2K with SP3 or newer, or XP with SP1
or newer, there is a simple workaround:
Create your boot partition, but keep it under 128G or so.
Install Windows and update to SP3 or newer (Win2K) or SP1 or newer (XP).
Turn on the 'EnableBigLba' setting in the registry:
Win2K: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;305098
XP: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;303013

Once rebooted with the setting turned on, you can create a second
partition to use up the rest of the space.

If you are adding a drive to an existing install and/or will NOT be
booting from the 160G drive, you can create one large partition after
the registry change above.

If you are booting from the drive, do NOT resize the partition to fill
up the whole drive. You MUST keep it small enough for the computer's own
BIOS to support it or you run the risk of it becoming unbootable if a
file needed to boot up is moved beyond the limit.

The BIOS in the add-on card takes care of that.

If you are 'cloning' from an old drive to the new bigger drive, just
make certain you keep the cloned partition 128G or smaller and follow
the above instructions.

The BIOS in the add-on card accomodates HD sizes larger than 137GB.
The price on these cards has come down to $15. All you're out is $15
if the card's BIOS can't do it.

*TimDaniels*

 

[wemaole]

I have same question
my mainbord support only 120G hardisk.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

I have same question

And exactly what question was that, spammer?