PC works fine yet CMOS does not see drive

[Derek F Thompson]

Hi

Can anybody help me with this

I have an EliteGroup 755-A main board with Phoenix AwardBios.

In the Standard CMOS Features setting the IDE Channel 0 Master detects the
CD/DVD Drive ... there is no other device is shown.

Yet there is a 160 Gb Maxtor hard Drive that is running in this PC. The PC
operates OK with windows XP home edition.

In the BIOS setup the under the Hard Disk Boot Priority settings I can
clearly see that this drive is shown, yet it does not feature in the IDE
settings Standard CMOS Features as already mentioned.

I have gone into the IDE Devices menu Channel 1 Master and done the Auto
detect but it finds nothing.

I find this strange as the PC operates OK.

My reasons for getting into this is that when use Acronis True Image for
drive imaging from a boot disk, it cannot see or detect this C Drive in
question.

Any ideas

Thanks
Derek

 

[Arno Wagner]

Hi

Can anybody help me with this

I have an EliteGroup 755-A main board with Phoenix AwardBios.
In the Standard CMOS Features setting the IDE Channel 0 Master detects the
CD/DVD Drive ... there is no other device is shown.
Yet there is a 160 Gb Maxtor hard Drive that is running in this PC. The PC
operates OK with windows XP home edition.
In the BIOS setup the under the Hard Disk Boot Priority settings I can
clearly see that this drive is shown, yet it does not feature in the IDE
settings Standard CMOS Features as already mentioned.
I have gone into the IDE Devices menu Channel 1 Master and done the Auto
detect but it finds nothing.
I find this strange as the PC operates OK.
My reasons for getting into this is that when use Acronis True Image for
drive imaging from a boot disk, it cannot see or detect this C Drive in
question.

Likely the BIOS has a 128GB limit and fails to see the HDD because
it returns ''incorrect'' status data about itself.

On the other hand the boot-code in the BIOS does not need to care, as
it just loads the first sector of the HDD and executes it. The boot-code
does not care about HDD size at all. Although usually the boot code
is not activated if HDD detection fails. Maybe two different people
writing the respective pieces of code.

Since modern OSes do not use the BIOS for HDD access, they can work
with a HDD the BIOS does not identify as long as the boot code in
the BIOS works.

Try getting a BIOS update that removes the limit.

Arno

 

[Derek F Thompson]

A little more information the disk is a

Maxtor 6Y160M0

Derek

 

[Derek F Thompson]

This a brand new board holding the new AMD 64 processor

Would something this new have a Bios with 128Gb limit.

I cannot find any flash upgrades for it.

Derek

 

[Arno Wagner]

This a brand new board holding the new AMD 64 processor
Strange.

Would something this new have a Bios with 128Gb limit.

Usually not, but you never know. As I said it is also surprising
that it boots. Maybe it is just very buggy....

I cannot find any flash upgrades for it.

Don't know what else could help. Sorry.

Arno

 

[mjh]

Usually IDE1 Master would boot as Drive 0 boot partition.

If problem is understood here, appears your IDE ribbon to drive
configuration or jumper settings are not normal. Maxtor drives are usually
shipped in the Cable Select [CS] jumper position. Boot drive should be at
end of IDE1 ribbon [primary master]. BIOS should be AUTO Detect drive
configuration. As always, other configurations are possible.

Mike. 40213. 11:39pm ET
...........

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

Likely the BIOS has a 128GB limit and fails to see the HDD because
it returns ''incorrect'' status data about itself.

Such bios would just see 137GB.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

Usually IDE1 Master would boot as Drive 0 boot partition.

Whatever that mumbo jumbo is supposed to mean.

If problem is understood here, appears your IDE ribbon to drive
configuration or jumper settings are not normal. Maxtor drives
are usually shipped in the Cable Select [CS] jumper position.
Boot drive should be at end of IDE1 ribbon [primary master].
BIOS should be AUTO Detect drive configuration.

As always, other configurations are possible.

Or in other words, just rambling away.

 

[Arno Wagner]

Hi

[...]

Likely the BIOS has a 128GB limit and fails to see the HDD because
it returns ''incorrect'' status data about itself.

Such bios would just see 137GB.

Not necessarily. I have an older PC that just fails to see the drive
at all if it is too large. But you are correct that it is 137GB, not
128GB.

Arno

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

Hi
[...]

Likely the BIOS has a 128GB limit and fails to see the HDD because
it returns ''incorrect'' status data about itself.

Such bios would just see 137GB.

Not necessarily. I have an older PC that just fails to see the drive
at all if it is too large.

That's different, that is a bug, not a natural limit.

A bios that does not support 48-bit addressing but fully supports 28-bit
addressing will look in the standard (ie 28-bit) locations in the drive's
identification sector. The 28-bit location will have the 137GB number.

 

[Alexander Grigoriev]

Of course it's 137 "industry GB", same as 128 "programmer's GB".

 

[Arno Wagner]

Of course it's 137 "industry GB", same as 128 "programmer's GB".

Actually it is 137GB and 128GiB, see

http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html

Arno

 

[Dave]

Not necessarily. I have an older PC that just fails to see the drive
at all if it is too large. But you are correct that it is 137GB, not
128GB.

128GB (binary) = 137GB (decimal)

it depends whether 1k = 1024 (2^10) or 1000.

Drive manufacturers use decimal notation to make their drives seem
bigger. OS's use binary.