how to break 8 g/logic drive limit for win98se 1

[Guest_imported]

Hi,

As the title says, does anyone know how to do it?
Tell me if I am wrong about this. I have tried to make it bigger
but without success.

 

[butchrecon]

The problem is not with Windows 98 but with your Mainboard. You can look on the manufacturers website for an update to the BIOS. Also Hard Drive Mnufacturers produce a program called a dynamic drive overlay to get past BIOS limitations. James Collins
Field Service Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

Please let us (Tek-tips members) know if the solutions we provide are helpful to you. Not only do they help you but they may help others.

 

[chipdip]

If you choose to bypass your BIOS limitations by using an emulator (eg, EZ BIOS ) it will mostly work pretty well but expect a compromise on speed and sometimes on performance. In the past I experienced these difficulties while trying to overcome a 486-with-a-gig problem. Some of my apps were tempermental with the emulator while others did not seem to be bothered. The hardest part was identifying the trouble-maker. I do not know if these problems have been ironed out. Good luck.

 

[Guest_imported]

Sorry, but I can't agree with you. Can window 2k server create
a logical drive more than 8g. yes it can. So it should be an os
problem instead of a hardware problem. (I know novell can do
that too.) Remember in the bad old days of dos6.0 where you
can only have 2Gs drive. I think microsoft is creating the same
old problem with win98se. I read in an article about some
variable in the os having a longer length (a few bits more ) can
manage a larger drive, it that what it is??

 

[bytemrk]

For those who can't decide if this is caused by OS or by Bios -- A Thought------
As you Boot enter the Bios setup screen and try and detect the Hard drive. - If the Bios detects the Drive correctly it is not a Hardware Issue.
- If the Bios cannot detect the Hard drive or detects it incorrectly it probably is Hardware.
In this case my money is on it being Bios related and a quick visit to you mainboard manufactures web site should solve the problem.

 

[butchrecon]

I have yet to run into an issue with Win98 not seeing large hard drives. The only time I have ran into issues is when the Mainboard could not send out correct drive info. Win98 can see up to 2 terrabytes of info when using FAT32. Now I can see how you would run into issues if you are using not enabling large hard drive support or your fdisk is from an older Windows OS that uses FAT16. FAT16 cannot surpass the 8 gig limit without help. Could that be the issue? Sounds more like your problem. Check the boot floppy you are trying to boot from. James Collins
Field Service Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

Please let us (Tek-tips members) know if the solutions we provide are helpful to you. Not only do they help you but they may help others.

 

[tsuji]

Hello all.

A couple of notes which may clarify the issue.

[1] Terebytes limits are the limit to the virtual memory handling and should not be confused with harddrive addressing limits.

[2] If harddrive addressing is through int13h, then it is generally limited to CHS parameters. Int13h has to be mapped to some extension routine to overcome the limit.

[3] The historical magic numbers (milestones of technology) are 504MB, 2GB (LBA technology), 8.4GB are successive developments on the int13h handling. As it is burnt into ROM BIOS, though, it is by nature a software issue, it can be said to be a hardware issue, fault of better vocabulary.

[4] Beyond 8.4GB limit is still a software development. Flash a BIOS is more "hardware" oriented solution. BIOS overlay is more more "software" oriented solution.

[5] As long as OS handles harddrive interface without appealing to int13h, those limits to fdisk are rendered uneffective.

[6] Then there are file-system limits for format, other than fdisk. The only constant for most operation is 512bytes/sector. Other than that, The number of clusters for each logic drive and cluster size (# of sectors) may vary according to the OS, hence, another sets of magic numbers.

[7] There is another OS imposed limitation on the primary partition. NT would have ultimately a 7.8GB limit of the primary, but not the secondary etc.

[8] The above should be understood under the IDE hard ATAPI technology category. SCSI or else are again another matter.

Some there are a substantial number of categories one has to precise before an discussion of the issue can be made intelligently. Hope the above elements may have sketched the skeleton over which each limitation can be placed in its proper context. If there are inexactitudes in my digression, I leave the matters to driver specialists to clarify further.

regards - tsuji