hello there, I have a huge problem with a pc. I have updated the BIOS and now the computer does not detect my Hard Disk Drive. Any ideas ???
Can't say, need more info. why did you update bios? what is make/model of hard drive? did you open the case, possibly loosen data or power cable? Get back to me.
I have updated it because when I tried to install a new Hard Disk Drive Seagate Baraguta 40 GB in the BIOS and later in the Windows 98 it only sees it as 8.5 GB.
well, you didn't give me all the info i asked for, but probably the difficulty was that your pc's bios would not recognize hard drives bigger than 32 GIGs-that's a common problem. are you trying to replace an older hard drive, if so, do you still have that old one? I assume you went into the case and hooked up the Seagate yourself, correct? in that case, did you install only the new drive on the cable or are you trying to install both hard drives on the same IDE cable? do you know what i mean by the IDE data cable (usually a ribbon cable that leads back to the motherboard or to a harddrive controller card) and PC power cable, the one with a D-shaped connector and four wires that lead back to the power supply? when you say you updated the bios, did you replace the bios chip or use a floppy to flash a new bios onto the PC? or did you just attempt to manually enter the parameters for cylinders, heads, sectors for the new drive into the right columns in the bios main screen? to install a hard drive, you need to know not only its parameters (cylinders, heads, sectors per track) but its jumper settings--how to set it for master/slave on the cable. that info is usually on the hard drive case as either a diagram or text--also usually given in the data sheet or pamphlet that accompanies a new drive bought at retail. another way to get it is to look up the model number on the Seagate website. what is the model number, by the way?
The HDD I had is not working anymore therefore I replaced it with a new one. The new hdd is a Seagate Barracuda ATA III with model number ST340824A, capacity of 40 GB and speed of 7200 rpm. I cannot find a bios chip so I am trying to update the bios using files that I downloaded from the internet. All files are for this particular motherboard (Acus p55tvp4). I have this HDD as primary master and a CD-ROM as a secondary master. I am using a separate IDE cable for each one drive. I haven't try to change the parameters for cylinders, heads, etc in the bios setup. I do now those values as they are written on the HDD. Do you thing that I have to manually change those values? Do you thing that if I split this HDD into several (4 or 5) partitions with the biggest one be of 8.5 GB could be a good idea? Any other ideas ??? Thanks for your help
ok, now i think i got it. i happen to have one of that model Seagate hdd also, somewhere here in Cirque du Chaos. so you had to reinstall Windows 9x from scratch, right, and you only then realized your drive was only using 8 GB rather than full 40 available? when you bought the drive, didn't it come with a cd-rom "extra value cd" containing the "diskwizard" drive installation software? mine did. you should have used that to install the drive, but you would have needed a DOS/Windows boot floppy to let you start the PC and get access to the cd-rom, then installed the drive using the diskwizard software, then gone on to reinstall Windows. bad news is-that's what you're going to have to do now, 'cause i'm sure you want all the space you paid for. setting up multiple 8 gig partitions on the drive should be possible, but potentially troublesome, certainly irritating--better to just redo the setup. you should be able to do that ok, though, right?--you did it once already. to make the boot floppy in Win9x, go to control panel...add/remove programs..startup disk tab...create disk, and follow directions. be sure to test it to make sure it installs cdrom access. if you don't have the drivewizard software you can either download it from the seagate website, (i think it can fit on a floppy also) or i could copy my cd-rom and mail it to you. same for the hard drive installation guide for that model (pdf format)--download and print that from the website and save it-you might need the info again. well, that's the deal--email me if there's anything else you aren't sure of, and let me know how it goes. ain't computers fun?
Thx a lot for your help. I have downloaded and used the DiskWizard from the Seagate's page and now the HDD is working fine. Thanks again, have a nice day.
