programs allowing older BIOSes to read larger drives.

[Wayward Clam]

I have never been able to find a definitive program that will allow a computer with the 8GB limit to read a new 10, 20, whatever GB drive. I have goofed off with Maxtor's, Western Digital's, Fujitsu's software, but none of it works. Am I just being stupid? I've found ways to install for example a 6 gig on a machine with a 2 GB or a 500 MB limitation, but is there something out there short of a BIOS flash that will allow me to install this @#$%&* 20 GB drive onto a mobo that only wants 8? Preferably something free and not brand-specific--but I'll pay if necessary, and I'll take anything that works with just one brand as well!

[DR]

If the present BIOS has a 8.4GB limit then you have to upgrade the BIOS if it is to see a larger drive. If you don't like the software option they give you to install the larger drive then you can install an Enhanced IDE interface card with an onboard BIOS that will allow you to use the larger drive.

[Wildman6971]

Programs like EZ drive and the like will work for just about anything. They will not let the BIOS itself see the drive as the entire drive.

The BIOS will continue to see it as whatever the max limit of itself is.

But in Windows the full capacity of the drive will then be seen, or very close to it.

Sometimes I have had to manually set the HD drive settings in the BIOS to the largest they can see and then go about doing what you want.

Have even taken an old 2 gb drive let that be detected by the BIOS set the bios to user configuration and then replaced the drive with the larger one install the drive software. OS that your using must be FAT 32 as well or your limited to that 2 GB partition. ( i.e. Older Versions of Win 95) <IMG SRC="smilies/cool.gif" border="0">