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48-bit LBA Support - HDs Over 137GB - Advice?



 
 
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  #1  
Old November 29th 03, 02:10 PM
Rob Jones
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Default 48-bit LBA Support - HDs Over 137GB - Advice?

Hi I'm planning to upgrade to a 160GB HD however, I have read some info
about recognition issues with MBs and XP. It appears that older MBs pre Jan
1st 2003 do not have support for 48-bit LBA. XP will only read 137GB, no
more.

To be honest I cant remember when I bought mine but according to a list of
Bios support for my MB (Asus A7N8X Deluxe) the Bios needed for the 48-bit
LBA Support is 1001.C. Sandra Pro 2003 stated my Bios as:

Asus A7N8X2.0 Deluxe ACPI Rev 1002 Beta 012
Plug and Play version 1.00
SMbios/DMI Version 2.20

So am I in need of an update? To be honest, I would rather avoid updating
the bios as I have never updated them and cant afford to replace the MB
right now if it all goes pear shaped.

Alternatively, I have been reading the Microsoft knowledge base about SP-1
and changing the registry which I would prefer as I can always re-install
Xp if it goes wrong. Would the reg fix work without a bios update?

I understand that I cant have just the one partition on the HD as I wont be
able to have a partition larger than 137GB but I partition my HDs any way
so that will suit me well.

Any advice would be most appreciated.
  #2  
Old November 29th 03, 02:22 PM
Ben Pope
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Default

Rob Jones wrote:
Hi I'm planning to upgrade to a 160GB HD however, I have read some info
about recognition issues with MBs and XP. It appears that older MBs pre
Jan 1st 2003 do not have support for 48-bit LBA. XP will only read
137GB, no more.


I think thats on a per-partition basis, so you could create a partition
thats 128GiB, and then another for the rest of the drive (or whatever)

To be honest I cant remember when I bought mine but according to a list of
Bios support for my MB (Asus A7N8X Deluxe) the Bios needed for the 48-bit
LBA Support is 1001.C. Sandra Pro 2003 stated my Bios as:

Asus A7N8X2.0 Deluxe ACPI Rev 1002 Beta 012
Plug and Play version 1.00
SMbios/DMI Version 2.20

So am I in need of an update? To be honest, I would rather avoid updating
the bios as I have never updated them and cant afford to replace the MB
right now if it all goes pear shaped.


Thats a pretty old BIOS, I would recommend updating, but it should be new
enough according to your info.

Alternatively, I have been reading the Microsoft knowledge base about SP-1
and changing the registry which I would prefer as I can always re-install
Xp if it goes wrong. Would the reg fix work without a bios update?


Both BIOS and XP need to support 48bit addressing in order for it to work.

I understand that I cant have just the one partition on the HD as I wont
be able to have a partition larger than 137GB but I partition my HDs any
way so that will suit me well.


Fine.

Ben
--
I'm not just a number. To many, I'm known as a String...


  #3  
Old November 29th 03, 02:29 PM
Rob Jones
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Posts: n/a
Default

On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 13:22:07 -0000, Ben Pope wrote:


I think thats on a per-partition basis, so you could create a partition
thats 128GiB, and then another for the rest of the drive (or whatever)



Hi Ben, thanks for the input, I use partition Magic 8, so I can install XP
on say a 128 Gig Partition, then create more partitions using PM8 after I
have installed XP?


Thats a pretty old BIOS, I would recommend updating, but it should be new
enough according to your info.


I would love to update but I have read so many horror stories of failed
Bios updates I'm unsure about chancing it. I did read of a device call
Bios savoir a while back that claimed it could back up your bios in case of
it going wrong. Any thoughts? Is updating bios these days any safer?


  #4  
Old November 29th 03, 02:50 PM
Shep©
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 13:10:09 GMT, Knowing that it was a Hollywood
invention that lemmings jump off cliffs Rob Jones
wrote :

Hi I'm planning to upgrade to a 160GB HD however, I have read some info
about recognition issues with MBs and XP. It appears that older MBs pre Jan
1st 2003 do not have support for 48-bit LBA. XP will only read 137GB, no
more.

To be honest I cant remember when I bought mine but according to a list of
Bios support for my MB (Asus A7N8X Deluxe) the Bios needed for the 48-bit
LBA Support is 1001.C. Sandra Pro 2003 stated my Bios as:

Asus A7N8X2.0 Deluxe ACPI Rev 1002 Beta 012
Plug and Play version 1.00
SMbios/DMI Version 2.20

So am I in need of an update? To be honest, I would rather avoid updating
the bios as I have never updated them and cant afford to replace the MB
right now if it all goes pear shaped.

Alternatively, I have been reading the Microsoft knowledge base about SP-1
and changing the registry which I would prefer as I can always re-install
Xp if it goes wrong. Would the reg fix work without a bios update?

I understand that I cant have just the one partition on the HD as I wont be
able to have a partition larger than 137GB but I partition my HDs any way
so that will suit me well.

Any advice would be most appreciated.


Partition sizes are a limitation of the O/S.Drive sizes are a
limitation of the hardware.If the full size of the drive is not seen
by the BIOS then partitioning the drive will make no difference.There
is an update for WinXP to be able to see and partition above 137 gig
but this will not defeat a hardware limitation.Hardware limitations
can be defeated in some cases by a BIOS update but if not then a
Controller card and as a last resort as DDO(Dynamic Disk Overlay)
program usually freely available from the drive maker's site if not
already supplied with the drive.
More info here,
http://www.geocities.com/sheppola/hard.html

If there is a BIOS update and you wish to flash the BIOS then find the
correct flash program and BIOS .rom file and I'll make you a bootable
CDR/W .ISO image which is a more secure way of flashing the BIOS than
the older and less robust floppy disks.This presumes you have a CDR/W
drive.




--
Free Windows/PC help,
http://www.geocities.com/sheppola/trouble.html
email shepATpartyheld.de
Free songs download,
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/8/nomessiahsmusic.htm
  #5  
Old November 29th 03, 03:12 PM
Ben Pope
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Rob Jones wrote:
On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 13:22:07 -0000, Ben Pope wrote:


I think thats on a per-partition basis, so you could create a partition
thats 128GiB, and then another for the rest of the drive (or whatever)



Hi Ben, thanks for the input, I use partition Magic 8, so I can install XP
on say a 128 Gig Partition, then create more partitions using PM8 after I
have installed XP?


I don;t see why not, but I think Win2K likes to format every partition, so
don;t make the other partitions until you;ve installed XP, or it might want
to format them.

Thats a pretty old BIOS, I would recommend updating, but it should be new
enough according to your info.


I would love to update but I have read so many horror stories of failed
Bios updates I'm unsure about chancing it. I did read of a device call
Bios savoir a while back that claimed it could back up your bios in case
of it going wrong. Any thoughts? Is updating bios these days any safer?


It's not too bad, usully there is a bootloader section that is not usually
flashed, allows you to flash a new BIOS even if part of it is corrupted.

It's still easy to FUBAR the motherboard - pulling power mid flash is the
most likely route to failure, or flashing in Windows, we all know it's prone
to crashing at the least opportune moment.

I've flashed the BIOS on my A7N8X Deluxe Rev2.0 several times and not had a
problem, I usually either use the built in awdflash or awdflash on a floppy.

http://www.ben.pope.name/a7n8x_faq.html#BIOS_Flash

I think for many of those that have had problems when flashing, they found
that clearing cmos worked. If you happily change settings in the BIOS and
the machine restarts/powers on properly every time you should be ok.

BIOS saviour is basically two flash chips that you can swap between, it's
quite a good idea.

Ben
--
I'm not just a number. To many, I'm known as a String...


  #6  
Old November 29th 03, 03:21 PM
Egil Solberg
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Rob Jones" wrote in message
...
Hi I'm planning to upgrade to a 160GB HD however, I have read some info
about recognition issues with MBs and XP. It appears that older MBs pre

Jan
1st 2003 do not have support for 48-bit LBA. XP will only read 137GB, no
more.


Your mobo supports 137GB drives with any BIOS. You need to install WinXP
SP1 for XP to find the drive right. Enough said.
..


  #7  
Old November 29th 03, 03:22 PM
Rob Jones
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 13:50:32 +0000, Shep© wrote:

Partition sizes are a limitation of the O/S.Drive sizes are a
limitation of the hardware.If the full size of the drive is not seen
by the BIOS then partitioning the drive will make no difference.There
is an update for WinXP to be able to see and partition above 137 gig
but this will not defeat a hardware limitation.Hardware limitations
can be defeated in some cases by a BIOS update but if not then a
Controller card


Hi Shep, thanks for the info, by controller card, do you mean this:

http://tinyurl.com/wziy

I was thinking about buying one (I have plenty of PCI slots free) and at
this price I can afford it. If it is the right hardware, how will it work
with my existing MB IDE channels. Does it take over as the default IDE
controller away from the Mb or is it supplementary?

Also, what about booting off the card? Can you install XP on a partition
and boot from the card? What about Bios impact, are the bios changed by
the card, do you have to install some sort of program to change the bios?

Sorry for all the questions but any help would be appreciated as if
installing this card solves the problem, I'll willingly buy it to save time
effort.



and as a last resort as DDO(Dynamic Disk Overlay)
program usually freely available from the drive maker's site if not
already supplied with the drive.
More info here,
http://www.geocities.com/sheppola/hard.html


Thanks I'll take a look


If there is a BIOS update and you wish to flash the BIOS then find the
correct flash program and BIOS .rom file and I'll make you a bootable
CDR/W .ISO image which is a more secure way of flashing the BIOS than
the older and less robust floppy disks.This presumes you have a CDR/W
drive.


Thanks for the offer but I know so little about bios updating atm that I
think I'm going to have to read more first!
  #8  
Old November 29th 03, 03:25 PM
Egil Solberg
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Rob Jones" wrote in message
...


I was thinking about buying one (I have plenty of PCI slots free) and at
this price I can afford it.


You don't need one. You have a serialATA controller and onboard
PATA-controller. That should be enough for most persons.


  #9  
Old November 29th 03, 03:26 PM
Rob Jones
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 14:12:51 -0000, Ben Pope wrote:

It's not too bad, usully there is a bootloader section that is not usually
flashed, allows you to flash a new BIOS even if part of it is corrupted.

It's still easy to FUBAR the motherboard - pulling power mid flash is the
most likely route to failure, or flashing in Windows, we all know it's prone
to crashing at the least opportune moment.

I've flashed the BIOS on my A7N8X Deluxe Rev2.0 several times and not had a
problem, I usually either use the built in awdflash or awdflash on a floppy.

http://www.ben.pope.name/a7n8x_faq.html#BIOS_Flash

I think for many of those that have had problems when flashing, they found
that clearing cmos worked. If you happily change settings in the BIOS and
the machine restarts/powers on properly every time you should be ok.

BIOS saviour is basically two flash chips that you can swap between, it's
quite a good idea.

Ben


Thanks Ben, I take a look at your page and have a good read.

  #10  
Old November 29th 03, 03:26 PM
Rob Jones
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 15:21:55 +0100, Egil Solberg wrote:


Your mobo supports 137GB drives with any BIOS. You need to install WinXP
SP1 for XP to find the drive right. Enough said.
.


Thanks for the info Egil.
 




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