BIOS ubgrade or new MoBo?
05 March 2003, 10:38 AM
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Having a bit of a 'mare.... 
I purchased a new HD last week to run as a primary slave. It was 120GB from WD. When I installed it the BIOS only recognised it as 64GB. The WD support pages stated that this may happen on older PCs and you should then set it to User Defined in the BIOS and use their Data LifeGuard tool to install the HD and setup EZ-BIOS so that Win98SE will recognise the full capacity.
All went well, or so I thought. When I tried to capture some DV it started to drop lots of frames. When I checked the system properties it showed the following errors...
Compatibility mode paging reduces overall system performance.
Windows was unable to identify a real-mode driver or memory-resident program loaded in your Config.sys or Autoexec.bat file. You will see another message that lists the name of the driver or program causing the problem.
Because Windows could not identify the driver or program, it has switched to MS-DOS compatibility mode to ensure the program will run. However, this decreases overall performance. To improve performance, remove the program or driver causing the problem, or contact its manufacturer for an upgraded version.
and...
Drive X is using an MS-DOS compatibility mode file system.
This problem often occurs on more than one drive. Usually it is caused by a driver listed in the Config.sys file that Windows does not recognize and that is related to the message Compatibility mode paging reduces overall system performance. If you see both messages, see the Help for the Compatibility mode paging reduces overall system performance message first.
If you only see the message Drive X is using an MS-DOS compatibility mode file system on one drive, that drive is using an MS-DOS compatibility (real-mode) driver, which may reduce that drive’s performance. Contact your hardware manufacturer to see if an updated driver is available for your drive. If not, the drive’s performance may be less than optimal, but you can still use it.
This was showing on both C and D drives.
Now, I've spoken to their support people and tried a couple of things they suggested, but it has not worked so far. I've also looked through the MS support pages for this problem. The bummer is that it appears to be their Life Gaurd tools that has done this and I can not see how to un-install the EZ-BIOS.
So, if WD can not fix the problem I am thinking of either upgrading my BIOS or maybe get a new Mother Board. When I checked the MoBo manf web site (American Megatrends) for BIOS upgrades it points to a third party who charge about £40! I can probably get a new MoBo for that.
What do I need to know when looking for a new MoBo? I want to use my existing CPU (Athlon 700mgz), memory etc for now, but with the option to upgrade later.
Anyone care to offer some advice?
Thanks
I purchased a new HD last week to run as a primary slave. It was 120GB from WD. When I installed it the BIOS only recognised it as 64GB. The WD support pages stated that this may happen on older PCs and you should then set it to User Defined in the BIOS and use their Data LifeGuard tool to install the HD and setup EZ-BIOS so that Win98SE will recognise the full capacity.
All went well, or so I thought. When I tried to capture some DV it started to drop lots of frames. When I checked the system properties it showed the following errors...
Compatibility mode paging reduces overall system performance.
Windows was unable to identify a real-mode driver or memory-resident program loaded in your Config.sys or Autoexec.bat file. You will see another message that lists the name of the driver or program causing the problem.
Because Windows could not identify the driver or program, it has switched to MS-DOS compatibility mode to ensure the program will run. However, this decreases overall performance. To improve performance, remove the program or driver causing the problem, or contact its manufacturer for an upgraded version.
and...
Drive X is using an MS-DOS compatibility mode file system.
This problem often occurs on more than one drive. Usually it is caused by a driver listed in the Config.sys file that Windows does not recognize and that is related to the message Compatibility mode paging reduces overall system performance. If you see both messages, see the Help for the Compatibility mode paging reduces overall system performance message first.
If you only see the message Drive X is using an MS-DOS compatibility mode file system on one drive, that drive is using an MS-DOS compatibility (real-mode) driver, which may reduce that drive’s performance. Contact your hardware manufacturer to see if an updated driver is available for your drive. If not, the drive’s performance may be less than optimal, but you can still use it.
This was showing on both C and D drives.
Now, I've spoken to their support people and tried a couple of things they suggested, but it has not worked so far. I've also looked through the MS support pages for this problem. The bummer is that it appears to be their Life Gaurd tools that has done this and I can not see how to un-install the EZ-BIOS.
So, if WD can not fix the problem I am thinking of either upgrading my BIOS or maybe get a new Mother Board. When I checked the MoBo manf web site (American Megatrends) for BIOS upgrades it points to a third party who charge about £40! I can probably get a new MoBo for that.
What do I need to know when looking for a new MoBo? I want to use my existing CPU (Athlon 700mgz), memory etc for now, but with the option to upgrade later.
Anyone care to offer some advice?
Thanks
05 March 2003, 12:02 PM
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Is there an option in your current BIOS setting for user defined hard disk that allows you to manually enter the cyclinders and heads etc for the hard disk ? If there is then you should be able to use this and enter the parameters for the drive. It should work without the EZ Bios.
If not, then you need to look on the website for the manufacturer of the motherboard for a BIOS update. I think american Megatrends make the bios, not the board.
If that doesn't work then you could replace the board, but if your Athlon is a slot version and not a socket then you will also have to replace the cpu.
If not, then you need to look on the website for the manufacturer of the motherboard for a BIOS update. I think american Megatrends make the bios, not the board.
If that doesn't work then you could replace the board, but if your Athlon is a slot version and not a socket then you will also have to replace the cpu.
05 March 2003, 12:11 PM
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Ken,
Thanks for your comments.
I have manually entered to cylinders, heads and sectors as per the WD support website. I ran the EZ-Install and although the drive works and shows the full size in Windows, I'm getting those DOS Compatibility Mode errors which means that the drive is not operating at the correct performace. This is preventing it from capturing DV. Without runing EZ-Install the BIOS only recognised the drive as 64GB instead of 120GB. I don't know if I can remove EZ-BIOS.
I'll check the board details to find the manufacture. I thought that AMI made the board as well?
How do I know if the CPU is slot or socket?
Thanks for your help so far.
Thanks for your comments.
I have manually entered to cylinders, heads and sectors as per the WD support website. I ran the EZ-Install and although the drive works and shows the full size in Windows, I'm getting those DOS Compatibility Mode errors which means that the drive is not operating at the correct performace. This is preventing it from capturing DV. Without runing EZ-Install the BIOS only recognised the drive as 64GB instead of 120GB. I don't know if I can remove EZ-BIOS.
I'll check the board details to find the manufacture. I thought that AMI made the board as well?
How do I know if the CPU is slot or socket?
Thanks for your help so far.
05 March 2003, 12:37 PM
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Ami is one of the 3? biggest bios manuf. The pc is running Ami bios, but this is customised by the motherboard maker. You need to find out who makes your motherboard. Is it a custom pc or a branded one?
If its a slot, then you will normally see the heatsink and fan bolted onto the side of the cart. Cart is about 3in high and about 5in long. If its a socket the the heatsink clips onto a normally white socket on the motherboard. You may just be able to see the edge of the socket.
Im just babbling now.....
H
If its a slot, then you will normally see the heatsink and fan bolted onto the side of the cart. Cart is about 3in high and about 5in long. If its a socket the the heatsink clips onto a normally white socket on the motherboard. You may just be able to see the edge of the socket.
Im just babbling now.....
H
05 March 2003, 12:44 PM
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Super_si, 
HHxx, The PC is from Time. We bought it a few (3, 4?) years ago though a "Computers for Teachers" initiative. We got £500 quid off and it was the best of the choices at the time.
I'll have to take a look at the CPU tonight. All I remember is that it's got a hughe black heat sink thingy on it
. It's about the size you mention.
HHxx, The PC is from Time. We bought it a few (3, 4?) years ago though a "Computers for Teachers" initiative. We got £500 quid off and it was the best of the choices at the time.
I'll have to take a look at the CPU tonight. All I remember is that it's got a hughe black heat sink thingy on it
. It's about the size you mention.
05 March 2003, 01:18 PM
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Nimbus
I have never used EZBIOS so would suggest checking the WD website to see if you can remove it. Also check whether or not you have to reformat the drive or repartition it if you do remove it. Have a look at the faqs there to see if you are experiencing a known issue and if there is a fix or workaround for it.
Did the BIOS only recognise 64gb after you entered all the sectors and heads etc or did it default to this when it autodetected the drive ? I would go into the BIOS and check the settings against those for the drive and see what is there, make sure they are correct and see what the capacity is shown as. Also check that the type is shown as user defined.
One other thing, the EZBIOS installation may require you to enter a default number of sectors and heads etc that can be used by any disk with any bios. Is this what you entered, or did you enter the actual numbers for that drive ?
If it is still only showing 64gb then this must be the limit in the BIOS, it calculates the capacity based on the heads and sectors etc but may have a maximum it expects. If this is the case then the BIOS will need an upgrade for it to recognise a higher capacity. This should be provided by the motherboard manufacturer, you will need to know the model number and maybe revision number for the board and download the appropriate bios and the flash utility to do the upgrade. You will find this either on the box the board came with, on the board itself or it may be displayed on bootup.
If you remove the side of the case you should be able to see the cpu. A socket cpu is flat in a square socket with a heatsink/fan on top. A slot cpu will be upright and may have the fan on the side. Have a look on the AMD website and this will show you what a socket cpu is like (Athlon XP), if it looks completely different then likely to be slot. Documentation may also tell you, should say slot A or socket A, and if you identify the motherboard and revision then this should confirm either way.
If you decide you need to replace the motherboard then things to consider are as follows:
New board must accept current memory, probably SDRam. If you want it to also accept DDR then you need one with both types of slots. You usually get 2 of each type in this situation, or 3 of one type but check. How much memory have you got ? It is cheap right now, DDR about same as SDRam, so could be a good time to change.
New board must fit in existing case, and ensure that cpu and heatsink/fan will not be covered by the power supply. If you currently have a socket A board then you will probably be OK. When you open the case, if the power supply occupies a separate space and is not directly over the board then you're OK, if it is positioned over the board then look at the layout of a socket based board and see where the cpu is located on the board in relation to the power supply in the case. You need to ensure the heatsink and fan will not be blocked by or fould by the power supply.
New board must provide the required number of PCI and maybe ISA slots for your add on cards such as modem, firewire card etc. Does your pc have onboard graphics ? If so, and you buy a board without then you will need an AGP card.
If you have a socket A cpu and are going to reuse, make sure the new board can support the fsb of the chip. Earlier athlons came in 200 and 266mhz which are both usually supported but worth checking. Your current bios should tell you the fsb of the current cpu.
If you have a slot based then replacing the cpu is not that expensive. Durons are 20 something and Athlon XPs start around 30 something plus the vat. In fact, Elite even do a board with a 1.1ghz duron and the fan already on board. XPs are much better, particularly if you are concerned with video and graphics intensive stuff.
Hope this helps
Ken
I have never used EZBIOS so would suggest checking the WD website to see if you can remove it. Also check whether or not you have to reformat the drive or repartition it if you do remove it. Have a look at the faqs there to see if you are experiencing a known issue and if there is a fix or workaround for it.
Did the BIOS only recognise 64gb after you entered all the sectors and heads etc or did it default to this when it autodetected the drive ? I would go into the BIOS and check the settings against those for the drive and see what is there, make sure they are correct and see what the capacity is shown as. Also check that the type is shown as user defined.
One other thing, the EZBIOS installation may require you to enter a default number of sectors and heads etc that can be used by any disk with any bios. Is this what you entered, or did you enter the actual numbers for that drive ?
If it is still only showing 64gb then this must be the limit in the BIOS, it calculates the capacity based on the heads and sectors etc but may have a maximum it expects. If this is the case then the BIOS will need an upgrade for it to recognise a higher capacity. This should be provided by the motherboard manufacturer, you will need to know the model number and maybe revision number for the board and download the appropriate bios and the flash utility to do the upgrade. You will find this either on the box the board came with, on the board itself or it may be displayed on bootup.
If you remove the side of the case you should be able to see the cpu. A socket cpu is flat in a square socket with a heatsink/fan on top. A slot cpu will be upright and may have the fan on the side. Have a look on the AMD website and this will show you what a socket cpu is like (Athlon XP), if it looks completely different then likely to be slot. Documentation may also tell you, should say slot A or socket A, and if you identify the motherboard and revision then this should confirm either way.
If you decide you need to replace the motherboard then things to consider are as follows:
New board must accept current memory, probably SDRam. If you want it to also accept DDR then you need one with both types of slots. You usually get 2 of each type in this situation, or 3 of one type but check. How much memory have you got ? It is cheap right now, DDR about same as SDRam, so could be a good time to change.
New board must fit in existing case, and ensure that cpu and heatsink/fan will not be covered by the power supply. If you currently have a socket A board then you will probably be OK. When you open the case, if the power supply occupies a separate space and is not directly over the board then you're OK, if it is positioned over the board then look at the layout of a socket based board and see where the cpu is located on the board in relation to the power supply in the case. You need to ensure the heatsink and fan will not be blocked by or fould by the power supply.
New board must provide the required number of PCI and maybe ISA slots for your add on cards such as modem, firewire card etc. Does your pc have onboard graphics ? If so, and you buy a board without then you will need an AGP card.
If you have a socket A cpu and are going to reuse, make sure the new board can support the fsb of the chip. Earlier athlons came in 200 and 266mhz which are both usually supported but worth checking. Your current bios should tell you the fsb of the current cpu.
If you have a slot based then replacing the cpu is not that expensive. Durons are 20 something and Athlon XPs start around 30 something plus the vat. In fact, Elite even do a board with a 1.1ghz duron and the fan already on board. XPs are much better, particularly if you are concerned with video and graphics intensive stuff.
Hope this helps
Ken
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05 March 2003, 01:20 PM
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If PC is from Time then you may be able to get a BIOS upgrade from them, or through 'The Computer World' shops.
Don't let them talk you into buying anything though, particularly an extended warranty !
Don't let them talk you into buying anything though, particularly an extended warranty !
05 March 2003, 02:09 PM
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Ken,
The MS-DOS Compatibility problem is a known issue. This is there information on it. Although they say that it is rarely caused be the HDD, this problem only occurred after I installed mine, so I'm sure it is the cause. I've just checked their website again and their is an uninstall option for EZ-BIOS, so I'll give this a go tonight and see if I can at least get rid of the errors. I don't know how I missed it earlier
The BIOS showed 64GB if set to user defined, which is why I needed to use EZ-BIOS to have the full capacity (120GB). This procedure is explained on their website
This is what happened with the installation:
1. Installed HDD as slave on primary.
2. BIOS set to AutoDetect
3. BIOS recognised HDD, but only as 64GB
4. Changed BIOS to user settings (1023, 16, 63)
5. Ran Data Life Guard tools from bootdisk, which installed EZ-BIOS.
6. Partitioned HDD to full size (120GB)
7. Restarted PC
After this, the BIOS shows the capacity as 530MB, but in Windows the HD has the full capacity. After speaking to their tech support this morning I also tried setting the BIOS to autodetect and re-installing EZ-BIOS and re-formatting the drive. It gave the full capacity in Windows, but still had the MS-DOS compatibility errors.
Time don't provide BIOS upgrades.
I'm going to print off your post regarding the motherboard and CPU and check it out tonight.
Thanks again for your help.
The MS-DOS Compatibility problem is a known issue. This is there information on it. Although they say that it is rarely caused be the HDD, this problem only occurred after I installed mine, so I'm sure it is the cause. I've just checked their website again and their is an uninstall option for EZ-BIOS, so I'll give this a go tonight and see if I can at least get rid of the errors. I don't know how I missed it earlier
Did the BIOS only recognise 64gb after you entered all the sectors and heads etc or did it default to this when it autodetected the drive ? I would go into the BIOS and check the settings against those for the drive and see what is there, make sure they are correct and see what the capacity is shown as. Also check that the type is shown as user defined.
One other thing, the EZBIOS installation may require you to enter a default number of sectors and heads etc that can be used by any disk with any bios. Is this what you entered, or did you enter the actual numbers for that drive ?
1. Installed HDD as slave on primary.
2. BIOS set to AutoDetect
3. BIOS recognised HDD, but only as 64GB
4. Changed BIOS to user settings (1023, 16, 63)
5. Ran Data Life Guard tools from bootdisk, which installed EZ-BIOS.
6. Partitioned HDD to full size (120GB)
7. Restarted PC
After this, the BIOS shows the capacity as 530MB, but in Windows the HD has the full capacity. After speaking to their tech support this morning I also tried setting the BIOS to autodetect and re-installing EZ-BIOS and re-formatting the drive. It gave the full capacity in Windows, but still had the MS-DOS compatibility errors.
Time don't provide BIOS upgrades.
I'm going to print off your post regarding the motherboard and CPU and check it out tonight.
Thanks again for your help.
05 March 2003, 03:26 PM
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It may be worth trying setting the heads etc. to the actual values for the drive rather than the 530mb settings.
Also, if you can find the manufacturer and model of the board then you may still be able to get a BIOS update from them.
Also, if you can find the manufacturer and model of the board then you may still be able to get a BIOS update from them.
05 March 2003, 03:41 PM
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Ken,
I've just printed out the correct setting for the drive so I'm going to try with these tonight. I'm also going to remove EZ-BIOS and see if that gets rid of the DOS compatibility errors.
I'll look for the actual board manufaxcture and see if I can find a new BIOS.
Cheers
I've just printed out the correct setting for the drive so I'm going to try with these tonight. I'm also going to remove EZ-BIOS and see if that gets rid of the DOS compatibility errors.
I'll look for the actual board manufaxcture and see if I can find a new BIOS.
Cheers
05 March 2003, 10:13 PM
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Nimbus
I installed a 20 gig hard drive on a p75, motherboard only recognised 1 gig iirc, so put hard drive on my machine set it up with fdisk as 20 1 gig partitions and put it back in p75 worked fine, might work for you too, but maybe lager partition lol 
Si
I installed a 20 gig hard drive on a p75, motherboard only recognised 1 gig iirc, so put hard drive on my machine set it up with fdisk as 20 1 gig partitions and put it back in p75 worked fine, might work for you too, but maybe lager partition
lol Si
06 March 2003, 12:05 PM
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SORTED!!!!
I set the BIOS back to AutoDetect, uninstalled and re-installed EZ-BIOS and it works!!
I think my mistake was setting the cyninders, etc to the user values.
Thanks for your help. The Mobo infor will still come in handy for when I do ungrade.
Cheers
I set the BIOS back to AutoDetect, uninstalled and re-installed EZ-BIOS and it works!!
I think my mistake was setting the cyninders, etc to the user values.
Thanks for your help. The Mobo infor will still come in handy for when I do ungrade.
Cheers
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