ATA incompatibity

[buckley833]

HI MY old PentiumII motherboard( a VB-601-V) will not accept my newly purchased Maxtor 20gb or my other Maxtor 60GB ATA HDD. The last HDD was a 2.6 GB IDE HDD. Is there a problem with the bios config or is that a problem due to the fact that the new HDD an ATA HDD is? Is there any way round this problem?

MY current bios is 686 amibios (1995 American megatrends) ck31876.

I have heard that maybe an ATA controller might help. I have no idea what this is. Is this a valid tip?

Thanx for any replies
Rob

 

[rvnguy]

buckley833,

Can you define "will not accept"...is the drive recognized in BIOS? if so then do you mean that it is not seen as 20gb or 60gb?

With an older bios there was a limit of about 8gb for a HD that it would recognize

BIOS updating can be tricky please become familiar with the procedures and recovery options before even attempting.
FIC Site for BIOS

http://www.fic.com.tw/product/motherboard/1stmainboard_detail.aspx?type=legacy&model_id=15

rvnguy

"I know everything..I just can't remember it all

 

[Wishdiak]

buckley333,

If you're using a 10 year old bios, you most likely have a motherboard that's around 10 years old.

If that's the case, then recognising a large hard drive will not be the only problem that you're likely to encounter. It might be time to consider upgrading to a more modern motherboard.

Wishdiak
A+, Network+, Security+, MCSA: Security 2003

http://www.wishdiak.com

 

[cdogg]

A Pentium II motherboard should have no problem recognizing the 20GB drive. I got this to work on a Pentium I motherboard with no problems.

Like others have said, the only real issue you should come across is the "reported size" of the drive in the BIOS. This may or may not be correct, but the drive should still show up.

Might be time to upgrade, or if it comes down to it, you can look on eBay for a smaller used drive.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
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