15GB: Biostar MB-8500TVX-A

drugwash · Wed Mar 09, 2005 3:26 am

Hi!
Biostar mobo MB-8500TVX-A didn't recognize a Maxtor 15 GB HDD. Searched for a newer BIOS version hoping to solve this problem, found one (0325) and flashed it using the instructions on that site ( http://www.pantexcom.com/svcpage/bios.htm ). Flash went OK, but now I get a "keyboard error Press F1 to continue" message during POST. All seems to work fine after pressing F1, but that message and the boot sequence stopping are annoying, besides the fact that the HDD still shows up as 8054 MB instead of 15001 MB. What's to be done? Thank you!
P.S. Just now I found 2 more BIOS versions on the Taiwan site ( http://www.biostar.com.tw/support/bios/ ... el=8500TVX ), but strange thing is that none of them has the correct file length (131,072 bytes): one of them has 131,071 and the other one has 131,069 bytes. There's no download error, as I recalled to have downloaded those files a long time ago and the file length was the same in both cases. Should I take the chance and flash the newest version (131,069 bytes)?
I have to mention that my mobo is v2.2 and it indeed has an UMC I/O chipset.
EDIT:
I'll answer myself to the last question: those 2 files are bad, None of them would flash the BIOS, as they're probably recognized as incomplete. I tried both and nothing. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to save my old BIOS, so now I got an older version which probably causes that keyboard error. If I had a guess, I'd say the "System keyboard:Enabled/Disabled" has the options switched, so that if it says "Disabled", in fact it's enabled. After switching this option to "Disabled", I never got that error again, and the keyboard works properly. All I need now is the latest working version of my mobo's BIOS (I had 0619a on it first) and a patch to "see" up to 32 GB (at least). Sorry for writing that much...

drugwash · Wed Mar 09, 2005 11:55 pm

By miracle I found on an old CD a BIOS image for my mobo, version TVX0619B; this time it was a good one. I flashed it and the keyboard error is gone, but the HDD limit is still here.
BIOS string:51-0618-001223-00111111-071595-82430VX-F
Flash ROM is manufactured by SST, code PH29EE010 (128kb)
That's what this BIOS says about my 15 GB Maxtor HDD:
Cyl-16383
Head-16
Sector-63
Size-8064MB
LBA mode-LBA
32 bit mode-On
Block mode-16 sec
PIO mode-4
Phisical parameters of the HDD are correctly recognized; they are identical to what's written on the HDD label. Only the size is 8064MB instead of 15001MB, and that's what fdisk shows me, too. Please, try something for it!

Fri Mar 11, 2005 11:33 am

I'm afraid that TVX0619B.ROM is the latest I have found and that if it does not have the Int 13h extension to do at least 32GB we cannot do the standard patch. As it is a 1997 BIOS that is not a surprise.

The versions of the 8500TVX BIOS at ZDnet.de are also corrupt. I have a good copy of TVX0619B.ROM as a self-extracting archive and as a .ZIP.

drugwash · Fri Mar 11, 2005 5:31 pm

Yes, I also have the SFX version that I used to restore my BIOS after the bad ones. I hope it has that darn INT13...

Phisical parameters of the HDD are correctly recognized; they are identical to what's written on the HDD label. Only the size is 8064MB instead of 15001MB, and that's what fdisk shows me, too.

Damn Maxtor manufacturers! I just found out how to calculate HDD capacity and what they wrote there is exactly for the 8GB! The real parameters of that HDD are as following:
-Cylinders: 29065
-Heads:16
-Sectors: 63
I found that only by downloading all datasheets, manual, etc. from the Maxtor site. So what's written on the label of the phisical HDD is crap! They put the LBA code, though, whatever that might mean: LBA 29297520.

Fri Mar 18, 2005 2:25 pm

LBA is Logical Block Addressing, which means you don't have to know about cylinders/heads/sectors. On a standard HDD a Logical Block is the same size as a normal sector, 512 bytes. So if you multiply that LBA number by 512 you will get the number of bytes on the drive.

drugwash · Fri Mar 18, 2005 4:14 pm

Well, in the end, that LBA code is in fact nothing else but part of the capacity formula (Cylinders x Heads x Sectors) which -as you said- multiplied by 512 bytes, equals the HDD real capacity. I just wonder why they wrote there 16383 cylinders, when they're 29065? They should have specified that those are maximum values admitted for user defined HDDs on older BIOSes. Anyway, that doesn't help me at all...
Did you have another look at my BIOSes (Biostar and UT-586VA)? Maybe there's a slim chance to trick one of them into seing this 15GB HDD... I feel so helpless and sad...

GH0STce11 · Fri Apr 08, 2005 4:48 am

so did any of these BIOS updates let u use the 15GB?
I have the same board and same problem, and I'm trying to get a 13GB hdd recognized.

drugwash · Fri Apr 08, 2005 4:57 am

Well, unfortunately I couldn't make the Biostar "see" the HDD; so I went back to the UT-586VA one, which initially read the parameters correctly.
I installed the HDD on that board and it works for now. The only thing is that I had it partitioned on another system, because fdisk would still see only 8.4GB.
I'm not sure about applications that require DDA (direct disk access), but at least Winamp can play mp3 stored above 8GB.

My Biostar now has to be satisfied with the 1.2GB HDD...

GH0STce11 · Fri Apr 08, 2005 5:04 am

could you please explain the process you used, like formatting to hard drive etc, and the BIOS you used to make this work, because I only need a working computer right now, nothing special.

-Thanks for your help.

drugwash · Fri Apr 08, 2005 5:19 am

There isn't too much to explain. I put the HDD on a newer machine that could see it correctly (AWARD BIOS v6.0 or equivalent) and I used fdisk (from a Win98 boot disk) to partition it. I made 3 partitions, because that's how I was used to have the HDD before.
You can make only 2 partitions if you want; first one would have no more than 8.3-8.4 GB (maximum allowed by the BIOS). That way you can be sure that all applications would work OK. Formatting can be made from that boot disk, too.
About the BIOS, there's nothing to tell, because I couldn't find any proper update, nor patch it, so both my BIOSes are in the initial state.
The one from the Biostar is TVX0619B.ROM, the latest available from their site, but it's no use. The other one was manufactured on some ship, so chances for an update...
I forgot to say that if you're lucky, you might find a Dynamic Disk Overlay utility from your HDD's manufacturer, that would allow you to use the HDD in a more safer way. DDA applications might still fail, but anyway...
Good luck!

GH0STce11 · Fri Apr 08, 2005 5:27 am

ok i'll try fdisking to make two partitions, one lower than 8.4GB, then i'll load the OS back on and see what happens!
and i'll look into the dynamic disk overlay for my drive

thanks for your help!

Ritchie · Fri Apr 08, 2005 10:30 am

I'm not sure if FDISKing the drive into two partitions will work. I think FDISK will only see as a maximum what the BIOS sees. Since the BIOS only sees approx. 8GB of the drive, FDISK will also only see the 8GB the BIOS sees.

GH0STce11 · Sat Apr 09, 2005 2:25 am

Ritchie wrote:I'm not sure if FDISKing the drive into two partitions will work. I think FDISK will only see as a maximum what the BIOS sees. Since the BIOS only sees approx. 8GB of the drive, FDISK will also only see the 8GB the BIOS sees.

Thats why i'll fdisk from another comp that can see it.