Slave HDD doesn't work

[stevetyler]

I have only got a 2gb HDD so recnetly got a 2nd hand 80GB hard drive off Ebay.

I have connected it up as a slave and also on its own but Bios does not recognise it and I dont know what to do.

I'm really fed up of warning messages coming up saying I'm running Very low on memory.

Some one please help, any ideas.

Thanks

 

[Didou]

Please post a DESCRIPTIVE thread title here. Newcomers must read message below.

 

[RealBlackStuff]

Please fill in the 'User Profile' (top left on this screen) with your PC-specs.
Could be your PC is too ancient to handle such a big HD.
Perhaps a BIOS-update from the mobo-website?

 

[stevetyler]

Have put in some details now, will have to wait till i get home from work before i can get any more hopefully tho this will help, also I'm running Win xp, but not office xp. Cheers

 

[tom_pearson]

regardless of whether the BIOS supports the HDD, you should really set up the 80GB as a primary drive you will find the computer alot faster aswell. If the hard drive in the system has been in there since you got the computer and hasnt been upgraded, i expect you will find the motherboard/BIOS won't support such a large hard drive. Get a new motherboard or if you really want to risk it do a BIOS flash update which MAY let you support large hard drives.

 

[stevetyler]

My plan is to have my new HDD as my master but need to transfer everything across as i did not get any boot disks when i got my PC, and yeah the pc is as it was when i got it. Dont really fancy getting a new mother board, how risky is a BIOS flash update and how do i do it.

 

[RealBlackStuff]

Chances are, your BIOS does not support that HD. If not, see if the HD has a 32GB-jumper on the back. If so, set it, at least you can then use 32GB, which WILL be supported.

Go to the Read: post at the top of this page and have a look at the manufacturers utils. You'll probably find a disk-transfer utility there.

 

[stevetyler]

I dont suppose if i partioned down my 80gb HDD it would make a difference and then be regognised?

 

[RealBlackStuff]

If your BIOS does not recognize the drive, you either need a BIOS-update, or use that 32gb-jumper if it is there. Otherwise that HD will NOT be useable in that PC.
When you partition it, the HD still counts as a 80GB disk for the BIOS, so no dice.

 

[stevetyler]

How do i go about a bios update if that 32gb jumper is not there?

 

[RealBlackStuff]

Open the PC and check for whatever info you can find on the motherboard. Brandname, model, revision, etc. Most mobo's have that info somewhere near the white slots for the sound- and graphics cards, or right on the edge.
You could go to www.lavalys.com and get the free Everest Home Edition. This tells you a lot about the PC and its contents. Once you have the mobo-manufacturer, go to it's website and look for a BIOS-update under Support. They will also have the instructions on how to do that for your specific mobo.