Fdisk

[Bulwark]

Win 98se - Maxtor 20gig hdd.

How do I get fdisk to recognise the 20gigs :-?  No matter how I set bios fdisk only recognises 8 or so gig.  Am opting for large disk support and have tried the fix here http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q263044

Thanks

[GX1_Man]

What is the computer or motherboard make/model? Some older machines had BIOS limitations for 8 gig. (or other low numbers) because large hard drives were not available then. There are ways to get around this, but we need to know what we are dealing with. I am assuming that you deleted previous partitions on this drive? What operating system are you using?

In any case, you need to post some specifics.  

[Rob Pomeroy]

I'd bet that the restriction is in the motherboard's BIOS.  It could be that there is a BIOS upgrade available - check the motherboard vendor's website.

[ComputerTech]

Just as the GX man said, some MOBO's (motherboards) have limitations with the amount of space you can install.  Windows 98SE may not support above 138GB, so that should all boil down to either your BIOS, and fdisk's ability to recognize the full size of your hard drive.  To check for updates for your BIOS go to Start>>Run and type regedit and then hold down the ctrl key and type BIOS.  In their you will find the name of your bios, then you can check with you original equipment manufacturer or the bios company for updates.  A program you might want to give a try is partition magic (which can be found http://www.powerquest.com/home_homeoffice/products/system_performance/pm80/index.htmlthere, which fomats/partitions hard drives with ease.

 ;)I only give advice if I tried it myself

BTW I'm not a Noob lol!

[Dilbert]

A newbie in knowledge? No. In postcount, yeah, you're relatively new here. lol I remember griping about that when I had 15 posts... 265 days ago... don't worry. We don't judge here by postcount. We judge by the quality of said posts. If we judged by postcount, Merlin_2, Mac, and the rest would be here.

[GX1_Man]

So we will wait until he posts some specifics about the machine in question.  

[Bulwark]

By now I should have known better than not to post lotsa details...

This is extracted from an Everest report:
Operating System:      Microsoft Windows 98se 4.10.2222A
CPU Type:                  Intel Pentium, 166Mhz
Motherboard Name:    IBM 628248A
Motherboard Chipset:  Intel Triton 82430VX
BIOS Type:                 IBM (03/28/97)

A golden oldie still doing everything it's asked.

Oh, and my inside leg measurement is....  (just joking guys)

I hope that's enough info.

BTW I already tried Part'n Magic to no avail..

[dl65]

Do you know the model number , I'm looking for a bios update for it .

dl65  

[infoseeker]

so helping BULWARK much faster try to do this

So, first things first: how do you get to the BIOS? Most computers will show the key on the keyboard you need to press when the computer is first turned on. It is usually F1, F10, F11, F12 or the Delete (Del) key - look for an on-screen message along the lines of "Press F1 to enter Setup".

BIOS basics
The BIOS is stored on a chip on the PC's motherboard. There are countless different makes of motherboard but only two companies actually produce BIOS chips - Award and AMI.

Each manufacturer's BIOSs look a bit different, as do BIOSs on different PCs, but the BIOS screen layouts and options are fairly standard and once you're familiar with one, you should be able to figure out another.

(i got this also in the net)

[GX1_Man]

Yes, he may be stuck with a BIOS limitation in machines of that era. Very few BIOS updates to be found, and it seems to worse since Lenovo took over. WHat about Maxtor's drive overlay software? I wouldn't use it, but in this case it might be worth a shot. The original poster did not clearly say, but it sounds like this hard drive is a new addition.

[Bulwark]

Even more info...

It's an IBM PC 300GL to which I'm trying to add a Maxtor 20gig hdd as a slave.  Just 48mb RAM

This extracted from the BIOS Summary..
Flash Eprom Revision Level NDKT17AUS
System Board Identifier 4AK26CXAX93
System Serial Number 90A2CA9

I guess I can live with not being able to run with a hdd over 8mb but it sure would have made life just a little easier.

Ta again.

[Bulwark]

I found a great site (here[/url]) with lots of info on Bios hdd size restrictions and what to do.  Done a heck of a lot of reading and came to the decision that my best work around is to look for this board or even better this this one.  I haven't a clue if they are still available but will do some hunting around.

Many thanks for all your input & patience

[GX1_Man]

I've got one. PM me if you need one.  

I have PC300PL's of the same vintage, but they do not have this restriction at 8 gig. I think the largest drive one has is 13 but I am unsure of any restrictions.