Hi
I'm looking to put the Hitachi Deskstar 120GB 180GXP hdd as a slave drive in my computer.
The original drive is 9GB. Is it possible to use the 120 GB as a slave or would I have to replace it and use the one drive?
Board: MC-6156BX VER1.0
String: A615601 V3.0R3 111098
The bios will not reconise the 120GB drive
Can anyone help with a new bios?
Many thanks
Graham.
120GB: A615601 V3.0R3 111098
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Denniss
- BIOS Guru
- Posts: 3153
- Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2002 8:16 pm
- Location: Near Hannover (CEBIT) Germany
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MSI OEM-Board for Tiny Computers
Tried to mail Tiny Computers to get a newer Bios ?
Is your HDD not detected at all or just detected as 32GB ?
> Remove the 32Gb Limitation jumper from your HDD
It might be possible to use the MSI Standard Bios (Award Bios then) but there are some chances it might not work
Tried to mail Tiny Computers to get a newer Bios ?
Is your HDD not detected at all or just detected as 32GB ?
> Remove the 32Gb Limitation jumper from your HDD
It might be possible to use the MSI Standard Bios (Award Bios then) but there are some chances it might not work
Ok.
When I first intalled the hdd as slave, went into bios, and selected 'Detect new harddrive' or something like those words. The computer froze and would not do anything. I then had to switch it off and on again. It did not recognise the 120 GB HDD.
I then changed the jumper setting on the hdd to the 32GB clip slave setting. I then went into the bios and looked for the new HDD. It found it as 32GB.
I then went into fdisk to partition the HDD. I followed the instruction in Drive Solutions web page http://www.drivesolutions.com/aboutinstallpc.shtml
I got through all the stages until the end and then it told me to restart my computer.
I restarted it and when it was going through the starting process I could see the new drive listed. I thought to myself "Happy days its working". But then when it started to load up Windows 98 the whole lot just switches itself off, as if someone pulled the plug. I tried it again and it tryed to start in safe mode but the screen just went black and nothing happened.
I then went into the bios and selected the slave drive as 'Not Installed' and started the computer up again. It started up fine this time. If I change the bios back again it goes back to switching itself off at start up.
What I'm I doing wrong?
Can anyone help?
Thanks for looking
Graham.
When I first intalled the hdd as slave, went into bios, and selected 'Detect new harddrive' or something like those words. The computer froze and would not do anything. I then had to switch it off and on again. It did not recognise the 120 GB HDD.
I then changed the jumper setting on the hdd to the 32GB clip slave setting. I then went into the bios and looked for the new HDD. It found it as 32GB.
I then went into fdisk to partition the HDD. I followed the instruction in Drive Solutions web page http://www.drivesolutions.com/aboutinstallpc.shtml
I got through all the stages until the end and then it told me to restart my computer.
I restarted it and when it was going through the starting process I could see the new drive listed. I thought to myself "Happy days its working". But then when it started to load up Windows 98 the whole lot just switches itself off, as if someone pulled the plug. I tried it again and it tryed to start in safe mode but the screen just went black and nothing happened.
I then went into the bios and selected the slave drive as 'Not Installed' and started the computer up again. It started up fine this time. If I change the bios back again it goes back to switching itself off at start up.
What I'm I doing wrong?
Can anyone help?
Thanks for looking
Graham.
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Denniss
- BIOS Guru
- Posts: 3153
- Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2002 8:16 pm
- Location: Near Hannover (CEBIT) Germany
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Is the IDE-port the HDD is connected to set to Auto-Detect on each system start ?
> Try "IDE HDD Autodetection" in Bios
> The HDD or Hitachi website should have Cyl Head Sector values written onto it - try to enter these values manually in Bios and enable LBA
> Try "IDE HDD Autodetection" in Bios
> The HDD or Hitachi website should have Cyl Head Sector values written onto it - try to enter these values manually in Bios and enable LBA
I went onto the Hitachi site but when I try to dounload the data page for my HDD, it says that the page contains errors and won't load.
I then thought I would disconnect my original HDD (9GB), and install my 120GB HDD (with 32GB jumper) as the master drive. I started the computer up with my startup CD and Diskett in place, went into bios and Auto detect HDD. It found the HDD as 32GB.
Continued on with the process that the startup discs do, and got all the way to the enter Product key for windows 98. I could not put this in because I couldn't fint it. I then had to shut the computer down.
I then installed my original HDD as Master and my 120GB HDD as slave. Rebooted the computer, went into bios, Auto detect HDD. It found the 2 of them (the 120GB as 32GB). Saved the settings and continued on.
The computer loaded up completely this time and did not switch off. In the desktop I went into "my computer" and the two HDDs were there
Drive C: being the 9GB
Drive D: being the 120GB but showing only 32 GB.
Does this sound to be right
Will Drive D: work ok or do I need to do anything else.
I would really like to get the HDD to use the 120GB now rather than 32GB, how can I do this, as before when I removed the 32GB jumper the bios froze when it tried to detect it.
Thanks
Graham
I then thought I would disconnect my original HDD (9GB), and install my 120GB HDD (with 32GB jumper) as the master drive. I started the computer up with my startup CD and Diskett in place, went into bios and Auto detect HDD. It found the HDD as 32GB.
Continued on with the process that the startup discs do, and got all the way to the enter Product key for windows 98. I could not put this in because I couldn't fint it. I then had to shut the computer down.
I then installed my original HDD as Master and my 120GB HDD as slave. Rebooted the computer, went into bios, Auto detect HDD. It found the 2 of them (the 120GB as 32GB). Saved the settings and continued on.
The computer loaded up completely this time and did not switch off. In the desktop I went into "my computer" and the two HDDs were there
Drive C: being the 9GB
Drive D: being the 120GB but showing only 32 GB.
Does this sound to be right
Will Drive D: work ok or do I need to do anything else.
I would really like to get the HDD to use the 120GB now rather than 32GB, how can I do this, as before when I removed the 32GB jumper the bios froze when it tried to detect it.
Thanks
Graham
The freeze is [edit]notsparky wrote:I would really like to get the HDD to use the 120GB now rather than 32GB, how can I do this, as before when I removed the 32GB jumper the bios froze when it tried to detect it.
[/edit]due to the notorious Award BIOS bug(s). Best bets: either you buy a PCI EIDE card with its own BIOS on-board, or buy a replacement BIOS chip from one of the suppliers such as badflash.com or Unicore, or you will have to take the risk of flashing your BIOS with one of:- a new BIOS bought from Tiny, if available
- the MSI BIOS for the standard MSI board at http://download.msi.com.tw/support/bos_ ... 56v161.exe
Last edited by NickS on Tue Jul 08, 2003 9:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Denniss
- BIOS Guru
- Posts: 3153
- Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2002 8:16 pm
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What's your OS ?
With NT W2K and XP (and Linux) it's possible to install the system onto the first 32GB and partition the unused part using the Windows tool - System Configuration manager or similar is it called
With NT W2K and XP (and Linux) it's possible to install the system onto the first 32GB and partition the unused part using the Windows tool - System Configuration manager or similar is it called
I am using Win98
I was going to try and flash the bios but I can't seem to get it to work.
I made a bootable floppy and extracted the BIOS file into the floppy.
When I start the computer up with the bootable floppy in it goes to a black screen that says:
Flash Memory Writer V7.83 M4
Flash Type- (Nothing appers here)
File Name to Program w6156ims.160
Once this screen appears, nothing happens. The screen just stays like this.
What I'm I doing wrong?
Would I be better to get a patch made up for the bios?
Thanks
Graham
I was going to try and flash the bios but I can't seem to get it to work.
I made a bootable floppy and extracted the BIOS file into the floppy.
When I start the computer up with the bootable floppy in it goes to a black screen that says:
Flash Memory Writer V7.83 M4
Flash Type- (Nothing appers here)
File Name to Program w6156ims.160
Once this screen appears, nothing happens. The screen just stays like this.
What I'm I doing wrong?
Would I be better to get a patch made up for the bios?
Thanks
Graham
NickS: This is AMI BIOS - no Award bug and no patching here.
sparky: Try entering HDD parameters manually - 16384 cylinders, 16 heads and 63 sectors per track.
Most probably you'll need UniFlash to change BIOS from AMI -> Award.
sparky: Try entering HDD parameters manually - 16384 cylinders, 16 heads and 63 sectors per track.
Most probably you'll need UniFlash to change BIOS from AMI -> Award.
Patched and tested BIOSes are at http://wims.rainbow-software.org
UniFlash - Flash anything anywhere
UniFlash - Flash anything anywhere
NickS: I have tried to put the values for the HDD in manually, but have had no success. The startup still freezes.
So what are my options then folks, to get the 120 GB working, and what is the chances of success.
If I uniflash can I get a patch for my bios?
If I Uniflash can someone give me an idea of what way I go about it.
Thanks
Graham
So what are my options then folks, to get the 120 GB working, and what is the chances of success.
If I uniflash can I get a patch for my bios?
If I Uniflash can someone give me an idea of what way I go about it.
Thanks
Graham
UniFlash is a BIOS flashing utility http://www.uniflash.org
You can try flashing the Award BIOS from MSI using UniFlash. Backup your current BIOS first.
You can try flashing the Award BIOS from MSI using UniFlash. Backup your current BIOS first.
Patched and tested BIOSes are at http://wims.rainbow-software.org
UniFlash - Flash anything anywhere
UniFlash - Flash anything anywhere
I think I need to get Soupy to change my by-line to "inattentive"Rainbow wrote:NickS: This is AMI BIOS - no Award bug and no patching here.
It's the MSI BIOS that's Award....@sparky: Options are as listed before, except that we can't patch your present BIOS. If you manage to flash the MSI Award BIOS with Uniflash and it works on your board but doesn't see the 120GB disk, we could patch that.
A few days ago I came across a bios upgrade that someone had tried on their Tiny MS 6156 mobo and claimed success. I found the link on the MSI forum.
http://support.neccomp.com/downloads/search/default.htm
Once you get to the linked page select:
Base Model: Powermate
Model Name: Powermate VT300I
Category: BIOS
Operating System: Win 98
I used the 911mb-33 download, which among other things supports HDD over 32GB. I extracted onto a bootable floppy and restarted the computer and it went through its process. The bios has now changed to Ami Ver:3.3 (I think it said 3.3 would maybe have to confirm this).
To my disapointment it still won't read the 120GB. The only differance now being I can start the computer with the HDD jumper on Pri Slave rather than having to have the 32GB clip in place, but it still only picks up the 32GB. I then thought it had something to do with the HDD partition. I partitioned the HDD before when it had the 32GB clip jumper in place. I went into fdisk and selected the 2nd drive and the values were something like:
Max space 56000Mb
Available space 32000Mb
Usage 65%
(These were not the exact numbers but close enough to give you an idea)
So I deleted the original partition and then partitioned it again. At the end of the process this time it said:
Available space 56000Mb (roughly)
Usage 100%
I then restarted the computer, but now it gets to a certain point when starting windows and switches itself off. Is this due to the bios not being able to read the higher disc space after being partitioned?
I now have the HDD Uninstalled in the BIOS to get the computer to run.
Just now I tried to flash an award BIOS update onto the chip
I downloaded the file, extracted it to C:\test. Made a bootable floopy. Restarted the computer and typed the following at the A: promt
C: <enter>
cd\test <enter>
C:\TEST>awfl783m w6156ims.160 <enter>
It went onto the flash page were it asked me if I wanted to save the current bios. After that it then said that there was something wrong with the CMOS (I can't remember exactly what it said but can find out if need be) so I exited the programme.
I then tried Uniflash (extracted the Uniflash.exe file to C:\test)
Put my bootable floppy in and restarted the computer. Typed the following at the A: promt
C: <enter>
cd\test <enter>
C:\TEST>uniflash.exe
The uniflash page came on the screen. I selected:
Write backup bios image to file.
backup.bin then came on the screen and I pressed enter (Is this all you have to do to backup the BIOS?)
I then selected:
Flash BIOS image file to flash rom.
Image file name: I typed in w6156ims.160
After pressing enter the following appered:
Bootblock Mismatch Proceed anyway Y, N.
I selected No and exited the programme and then came back onto this site to let yous know what the story was.
What can I do now?
Can I proceed in the Unifalsh or will this wreck somthing?
Is it the other bios upgrade which is stopping it from working?
Thanks for taking the time to help.
Graham
http://support.neccomp.com/downloads/search/default.htm
Once you get to the linked page select:
Base Model: Powermate
Model Name: Powermate VT300I
Category: BIOS
Operating System: Win 98
I used the 911mb-33 download, which among other things supports HDD over 32GB. I extracted onto a bootable floppy and restarted the computer and it went through its process. The bios has now changed to Ami Ver:3.3 (I think it said 3.3 would maybe have to confirm this).
To my disapointment it still won't read the 120GB. The only differance now being I can start the computer with the HDD jumper on Pri Slave rather than having to have the 32GB clip in place, but it still only picks up the 32GB. I then thought it had something to do with the HDD partition. I partitioned the HDD before when it had the 32GB clip jumper in place. I went into fdisk and selected the 2nd drive and the values were something like:
Max space 56000Mb
Available space 32000Mb
Usage 65%
(These were not the exact numbers but close enough to give you an idea)
So I deleted the original partition and then partitioned it again. At the end of the process this time it said:
Available space 56000Mb (roughly)
Usage 100%
I then restarted the computer, but now it gets to a certain point when starting windows and switches itself off. Is this due to the bios not being able to read the higher disc space after being partitioned?
I now have the HDD Uninstalled in the BIOS to get the computer to run.
Just now I tried to flash an award BIOS update onto the chip
I downloaded the file, extracted it to C:\test. Made a bootable floopy. Restarted the computer and typed the following at the A: promt
C: <enter>
cd\test <enter>
C:\TEST>awfl783m w6156ims.160 <enter>
It went onto the flash page were it asked me if I wanted to save the current bios. After that it then said that there was something wrong with the CMOS (I can't remember exactly what it said but can find out if need be) so I exited the programme.
I then tried Uniflash (extracted the Uniflash.exe file to C:\test)
Put my bootable floppy in and restarted the computer. Typed the following at the A: promt
C: <enter>
cd\test <enter>
C:\TEST>uniflash.exe
The uniflash page came on the screen. I selected:
Write backup bios image to file.
backup.bin then came on the screen and I pressed enter (Is this all you have to do to backup the BIOS?)
I then selected:
Flash BIOS image file to flash rom.
Image file name: I typed in w6156ims.160
After pressing enter the following appered:
Bootblock Mismatch Proceed anyway Y, N.
I selected No and exited the programme and then came back onto this site to let yous know what the story was.
What can I do now?
Can I proceed in the Unifalsh or will this wreck somthing?
Is it the other bios upgrade which is stopping it from working?
Thanks for taking the time to help.
Graham
Sparky: does the drive show up as 120GB in the self-test page and/or in the configuration summary page ?
There are a couple of possibilities to look at.
1. Well-known problem with Windows 98 FDISK - download a fix:
Microsoft: download fix for W98/W98SE FDISK. Windows 98 FORMAT may also have trouble displaying the correct size, but should work.
2.[edited] You have an AMI BIOS at present - that does not have the same bugs as the Award BIOS.
re: your bootblock mismatch; yes, if you currently have an AMI BIOS and you are trying to flash an Award BIOS their bootblocks will not match. Neither will their BIOS IDs. You will have to overwrite the bootblock to put an Award BIOS into the board.
There are a couple of possibilities to look at.
1. Well-known problem with Windows 98 FDISK - download a fix:
Microsoft: download fix for W98/W98SE FDISK. Windows 98 FORMAT may also have trouble displaying the correct size, but should work.
2.[edited] You have an AMI BIOS at present - that does not have the same bugs as the Award BIOS.
re: your bootblock mismatch; yes, if you currently have an AMI BIOS and you are trying to flash an Award BIOS their bootblocks will not match. Neither will their BIOS IDs. You will have to overwrite the bootblock to put an Award BIOS into the board.
When you say
"does the drive show up as 120GB in the self-test page and/or in the configuration summary page ?"
Is this in the BIOS setup or in fdisk.
In the BIOS 'IDE Device Configuration' the following details are displayed:
Cylinders: 65535 (This should be 16384 for my HDD but when I put this figure in it dosen't change anything).
Heads: 16
Write Precompensation: 0
Sectors: 63
Maximum capacity 65535MB.
Does these figures suggest that the BIOS isn't recognising the full 120GB. No matter if I use 'Auto detect' or put the information in manually, it still only comes up with 65535MB Maximum capacity.
I cannot get into fdisk for the 120GB HDD now because the computer keeps switching off on startup.
Is it still a BIOS problem or is it to do with fdisk.
Thanks
Graham.
"does the drive show up as 120GB in the self-test page and/or in the configuration summary page ?"
Is this in the BIOS setup or in fdisk.
In the BIOS 'IDE Device Configuration' the following details are displayed:
Cylinders: 65535 (This should be 16384 for my HDD but when I put this figure in it dosen't change anything).
Heads: 16
Write Precompensation: 0
Sectors: 63
Maximum capacity 65535MB.
Does these figures suggest that the BIOS isn't recognising the full 120GB. No matter if I use 'Auto detect' or put the information in manually, it still only comes up with 65535MB Maximum capacity.
I cannot get into fdisk for the 120GB HDD now because the computer keeps switching off on startup.
Is it still a BIOS problem or is it to do with fdisk.
Thanks
Graham.