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Can't obtain 10/20GB Hard Drives

celtish

By celtish
in Windows 9x/ME

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Sfor

Sfor

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There are a couple of things in particular I need to follow up on: What is LBA, what does it do, where do I get software which does it? And what is the best HDD 'make' (manufacturer) for Win98SE? Again, thanks guys.

The LBA means Logical Block Adressing.

Old disk drives were adressing a particular sector through a Cylinder Head and Sector values. At some point the CHS addresing was unable to cover the large disk drive capacity. Then LBA solved this problem by changing the way a sector is being adressed.

The LBA is the way BIOS talks to the HDD. So there is no need for additional software. Windows can use LBA, as well.

As for decreasing the capacity of a disk drive. LBA number is used to tell HPA what the capacity should be. So, LBA can not restrict the size of a HDD. It is just a measurement system (like address or size).

Edited by Sfor
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dencorso

dencorso

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Hi, celtish! There is another issue, which I feel may be more pressing for you. In really old boards, like, for instance, PCChips M537DMA33, you have the 32 Gbyte limit, which is due to BIOS. The best solution I know, for one to be able to add bigger HDDs (say 40GBytes), is a BIOS upgrade. If you are lucky and your board either already doesn't have this problem or you can find, by Googling around, a free BIOS upgrade, then all is well. If not, you should consider a paid BIOS upgrade. I did so in the past, and can say that people at e-Support <www.esupport.com> usually can provide you with very good upgrades for reasonable prices, that will breath new life into your board for some more years (my M537DMA33 went on to work for four more years, until its chipset gave way from sheer age), by permitting you to use also somewhat bigger HDDs, when those you are targeting disappear completely from market. Since this is not for free, you should, of course, consider whether a BIOS upgrade or a Mobo upgrade (perhaps to another used board) will be more cost efficient in you particular case. As always, with this things, YMMV. But I just thought that this is an option you may have to consider. And that the 30-40GByte range is still reasonable, in view of all that's been said, but maybe aready out of reach for your mobo's BIOS. Good luck finding your HDD's.

BTW, to answer you other question: IMHO old Seagates are the best of them all (YMMV here also)...

Edited by dencorso
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RJARRRPCGP

RJARRRPCGP

Posted
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If you always get disk errors after a certain cluster under Windows 95, it's a known issue, according to Microsoft.

this isnt an os problem it is a bios problem, llxx found out this ages ago thats why theres a 48bitlba patch for 95

According to Microsoft, Windows 95 has a 32 GB limit!

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Ponch

Ponch

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My problem is that I detest those monstrous mega harddisks they are making these days

If this is your only problem, I'd say... just get over it. :angel

More seriously, is there any technical issue involved here ? Is this a case of "very old" mobo ?

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DonDamm

DonDamm

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Hmmm. I still see a few new 40GB drives (7200rpm) available here in Vienna, but the cost per GB is prohibitive, imho. While you say you don't like partitioning, it is one good way to make use of a larger drive. For example, take an 80GB drive and partition it into 4 20GB partitions. Now format the the first one anyway you like - I assume you want a FAT partition there - and you can format the others as or when you need them. Being a new drive it is likely to be quieter and more reliable (especially if you get something like a Samsung SpinPoint). Your computer will be quite happy and so will your wallet.

For the partitioning you could either use another machine, or something like GPartEd which is a linux-based utility free for the download. I carry a CD of GPartEd in my toolbox. Once you have the partitions set both your BIOS ond Win9x will be able to see and seal with them without resort to patches or even bios upgrades.

However, it is worth looking into a bios upgrade if one is available for your motherboard.

Personally, though I use server OSs and such, I'll be building a new machine shortly and plan to use a single fast disk for the OS only. For this I'll be using a WD Raptor that has a mere 36.5GB, but a 10K rpm speed. It is ridiculously expensive, but it is hard to find smaller disks at a reasonable price and I think there is a definite market for 20-40GB disks. I put all my data on other disks, including email, my Docs, and other folders normally found on C:\.

Don't be afraid of using a slightly larger disk than you need at the moment and partitioning it. The process is quite simple really and will solve your problem.

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herbalist

herbalist

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Posted

The BIOS on my old hardware is limiting me to 8GB drives or smaller. That's after reflashing with an update from the vendor, HP. Haven't checked into whether it's the BIOS or motherboard that's limiting me as I use external drives for data storage. I installed a 10GB, which the BIOS reports to be 8455MB. Windows reports the correct drive size, as does fdisk. Partitioned it into 2, and installed 98 on the primary. Seems to work OK but it's sluggish.

I doubt there's enough demand for drives 20GB and smaller to justify making them. Who besides those of us using older hardware and operating systems would need them? Most users want as much storage as they can get. When I first got this old box, I didn't see how I'd ever need more space than the original 5.1GB drive. I wasn't interested in gaming, movies or videos. To make a long story short, the 80GB external drive I added since then is 75% full and doesn't contain any games, movies or videos. I'm considering a 500GB. Hard drive space is like any other storage. The more you have, the more you need. Start with the maximum amount of storage you can imagine needing, then multiply it by at least 4!

As far as preparing for future breakdowns, the best you can do is pick up used ones in the size range you need. I have 6 of them, 8GB and under for use as my primary master. Move everything but the OS and installed apps to an external drive, which isn't limited by your BIOS.

As far as brands for 98 are concerned, most of mine are Maxtors, but my best one is a 5.1GB Quantum Fireball. It's always been the fastest on my box, even when compared to newer drives of other brands.

Rick

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Sfor

Sfor

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That's exactly what I was telling. Almost all hard drives can be clipped with the HPA function. According to the ATA specification its an optional feature, but all HDD manufacturers are using it as a standard function, today. Samsung does it as well, but their disk tool software is not maintained as good as others.

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jroc

jroc

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go to pricewatch.com and find 20gb hard drives and every other flavor.

http://www.pricewatch.com/hard_drives/ultra_ata_20gb.htm

Generic WL20ATA100-72 20GB EIDE Hard Dive Ultra ATA/100 7200rpm 2MB Cache 1 YEAR WARRANTY

Dealer Part WL20ATA100-72 Manuf Part WL20ATA100-72 ($22.65)--includes shipping

Maxtor 20GB 20GB EIDE Maxtor Hard Dive Ultra ATA/100 5400rpm ($23.00)---includes shipping

Maxtor 20GB 7200 RPM 20GB EIDE Ultra Ata100 7200 RPM 2MB Buffer / Cache 8.9 ms. (1 Year Warranty). ($33.45)

Edited by jroc
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