Hi

I'm rebuilding a computer for a friend and ran into a problem that I need some help with. I bought a new 30 GB HD to install as the master while leaving the old 1.5 GB HD as the slave. The motherboard is a couple of years old, but I can't remember what model it is.

When I tried to install the new HD I first tried to install Win98, but got the msg that there wasn't enough memory and that I should run EMM86 or something like that. I then tried to install WinXP, but after copying all the files and doing the restart I got an error msg. reading "disk read error, press ctrl+alt+del to restart".

I thought the drive was bad and got it replaced. However, the new drive gave me the exact same error msg, and the software that came with the drive (maxtor) said the BIOS didn't support a HD of 30 GB, but the EZ BIOS (or whatever it's called) that came with the HD should fix the problem.

Can I assume that the MOBO and HD won't work together, or is it some other thing that is the problem?

Thanks!

They will probably work together with EZBios, but the mobo is probably too old to support large hard drives without it. If you can determine what BIOS you have, you may be able to flash it to a more recent version that does support large disks.

Budfred

Well I can just take a look when I boot, but I have no idea how to flash the BIOS....

1.Determine your current BIOS revision
A: When you first turn on your computer, it should tell you the manufacturer of the BIOS you are using, as well as the revision number.

2. Download the latest revision
(You need a boot floppy.)
A: Go to the support section of your motherboard manufacturer's website and find downloads. Find your latest BIOS revision and ensure that it is more recent than the one currently on your system.
Download the file(s) to your hard drive.
Unzip these files to a bootable floppy. Usually you download a BIOS flash utility (for example, AFLASH.exe) in addition to the update. Be sure to copy the flash utility to the floppy with the unzipped BIOS files.

3. Start flashing and backing up

A: Turn off your computer and boot off of the floppy with the flash utility and new BIOS revision on it.
Type "aflash" (or whatever the name of the flash utility is) at the A:\. The utility will then prompt you to save your current BIOS -- be sure you do this!
Follow the instructions until the computer tells you that the BIOS flash was successful. Don't ever turn off the computer during the flash process until you get the success message, or you will probably end up with an expensive doorstop.

4.Finish up and verify new BIOS

A: Exit the BIOS flash utility, remove the floppy disk, and reboot your computer. You should now see the newest revision number at boot up. Enter the setup and check your settings.

If the BIOS flash did not work, check your instructions for restoring the saved copy of your previous BIOS. It is usually called the Emergency BIOS Recovery Procedure.

Thanks!

I'll certainly give that a try before investing in a new MOBO.

Yoda's advice is great, but I feel the need to reinforce one point: you *must* make sure that the BIOS code you are flashing to the chip is the right one. Get this wrong, and you *will* kill the motherboard. Try going here (http://www.biosworld.com/ctbios.htm) and downloading the ctbios utility - although it's partially in German, it will let you know the manufacturer/chipset of your motherboard so you know where to go to get the right ROM to flash your BIOS with. Good luck :)