posted
I've just been trying to install a new 20 Gb drive in my PC, slaved to my existing 8 Gb master(partitioned into a 2 Gb primary/active, and a 6 Gb extended), and replacing my original 6 Gb slave.
Problem is, Fdisk will only see the new drive as having a total size of 8 Gb. I suspect PartitionMagic might do the trick, however - anyone have any experience with this?
Funny thing, really, it's just occurred to me I've never installed larger than a 8 Gb drive anywhere, so in all my so-called IT career I've never encountered this before! 8)
Some other points:
1. For years I've poo-pooed PartitionMagic in favour of Fdisk, especially in front of my Mum who swears by PM. I'm going to have to borrow her PM disks to fix this. It's a good thing mothers aren't allowed to gloat.
2. If the drive is fucked, so be it - I nicked it from work (it was new, before you ask) anyway.
Saltah'na
Chinese Canadian, or 75% Commie Bastard.
Member # 33
posted
I could never nick a hard drive from work. Too much guilt. The only thing I could nick was a CD-ROM, which they had plenty of anyway.
It could be that your BIOS needs to be flashed. Earlier BIOS could only recognize a hard drive up to 8 GB. What is this computer anyways? If it's a PII or newer there shouldn't be any reason why it should not be recognized.
You could try to get the new BIOS from the manufacturer's website, but I have a feeling that it is a cheap board so you might have to replace it.
Another possibility is that there could be a "ghost" partition, an extended partition that isn't there but it is. In that case, you need to perform a low-level format. Go to the Hard drive's website and get one.
And if you ask, I went through the same thing as you, 20 GB hard drive, couldn't partition over 8 GB. Because the mobo was crap, I ended up tossing it into the trash (after I cannibalized it) and getting the ultra cool PC that I have now that I'm dying to replace.
-------------------- "And slowly, you come to realize, it's all as it should be, you can only do so much. If you're game enough, you could place your trust in me. For the love of life, there's a tradeoff, we could lose it all but we'll go down fighting...." - David Sylvian FreeSpace 2, the greatest space sim of all time, now remastered!
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
This PC is six years old! And it's falling apart. Bloody Star Trek, making you think all you need to do to fix stuff is reroute power from the doohickey to the thingamajig (I tried that, the modem stopped working). 8)
posted
No no no, you've got that all wrong! You don't reroute power from a doohickey to a thingamajig without reinforcing the structural plating around the watchamacallit!
And you call yourself an IT person?
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
| IP: Logged
posted
Well, I have to. Everyone else calls me an acountant, and curse Liam for the day he sprung that Friends joke on me.
I also tried using an inverse polaron beam, but then the batteries ran out before I had it properly configured. At least my flashlight now has a nice purple filter on it, since I thought polarons were probably purple. 8)
As a last resort you can always beat it with a hammer a few times.... I have never had one work after 'working' on it this way, but since it didn't work before hand, it didn't matter....
I felt better afterward also...
-------------------- "You are a terrible human, Ritten." Magnus "Urgh, you are a sick sick person..." Austin Powers A leek too, pretty much a negi.....
Registered: Sep 2000
| IP: Logged
posted
I agree. I had the same problem when I installed an 80 gig HD a month ago.
The next problem you have is trying to figure out what motherboard you actually have. This will be followed by lots of attempts to navigate web-sites written by people who's command of the English language is worse than Ritten's.
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
I can second that. As much as I enjoy working with Asus motherboards (especially after working with the Dell and Compaq stuff from my co-op term), their website is probably one of the most evil places on the Internet for navigation and English.
As for your problem, you really should look at: Cost of Hard Drive Space Its also an interesting site for the nostalgic among us. (I remember in the good old days, we had a 150MB HD. Hey stupid kids, get off my lawn! *waves a cane*)
In any case, it has plenty of information on the various HD size barriers. You're probably looking at the 8.4GB barrier, listed under 1999 December
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
I've just decided to give up for now then wait until I can inherit my Mum's PC, which she got in early 99. . . But thinks it has a HD larger than 8 Gb. We'll see. I'm just not sure whether a flash upgrade exists for a MB this old which will actually do the trick - and there's the problem of ID'ing the motherboard make & model in the first place, as Liam says.
posted
If the MB is also sold in the US you can pull the FCC ID numbers off of it and take them to here, at the FCC ID# search, ....
I have used this to ID several unknown MBs and bits and pieces I've acquired....
-------------------- "You are a terrible human, Ritten." Magnus "Urgh, you are a sick sick person..." Austin Powers A leek too, pretty much a negi.....
Registered: Sep 2000
| IP: Logged
posted
It's a Gateway, so it's possible. I'll wait until the next time I have my contacts out (I can't see fine print on circuit boards when they're in) and see what numbers I can spot. . .
Saltah'na
Chinese Canadian, or 75% Commie Bastard.
Member # 33
posted
Even if Partition Magic can actually partition the drive beyond BIOS settings, it will not make BIOS recognize the drive itself. What would happen then is that the BIOS would see that no master is present.
Six years old? JUNK IT!!!!!
-------------------- "And slowly, you come to realize, it's all as it should be, you can only do so much. If you're game enough, you could place your trust in me. For the love of life, there's a tradeoff, we could lose it all but we'll go down fighting...." - David Sylvian FreeSpace 2, the greatest space sim of all time, now remastered!
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
You can get a very nice Gateway for $400...
-------------------- "This is why you people think I'm so unknowable. You don't listen!" - God, "God, the Devil and Bob"
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic
